(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a state agency may not use appropriated money to publish a periodical or other publication the cost of which is not reimbursed through revenue attributable to its publication and sale if the publication is:
(1) intended for use by the general public;
(2) generally informational, promotional, or educational; and
(3) not essential to the achievement of a statutory objective of the agency.
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to:
(1) Texas Highways magazine;
(2) the Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine;
(3) publications of the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse;
(4) attorney general opinions, advisories, and decisions;
(5) comptroller opinions, revenue forecasts, and fiscal analyses;
(6) newsletters;
(7) compilations of statutes or rules; or
(8) annual reports and other materials that are required by law and the content of which includes only topics provided by law.

(c) A state agency may not use appropriated money to publish a publication that prominently displays the name or picture of a person holding an office elected statewide or an appointed officer. In this subsection “appointed officer” has the meaning assigned by § 572.002. This subsection does not apply to the official state travel map published by the Texas Department of Transportation.
(d) A state agency of which the executive head is an elected officer may not use appropriated money to publish a publication relating to the activities or legal responsibilities of the agency within the 120-day period preceding the date of an election at which the office held by the executive head will be filled.
(e) Except as provided by Subsection (f), a state agency may not use appropriated money to publish a publication on enamel-coated, cast-coated, or dull-coated printing stock or that contains an average of more than one picture for each two pages of the publication unless the agency imposes a fee for the publication in an amount that recovers the cost of publication.
(f) Subsection (e) does not apply to the publication of a brochure regarding approved foods under the federal special supplemental food program for women, infants, and children administered by the Texas Department of Health, a publication designed to promote tourism or economic development, a publication of the Texas School for the Deaf or the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, or a publication of an institution of higher education.
(g) A state agency or political subdivision that uses an appropriation to publish a free periodical quarterly or less frequently shall insert annually in an issue of the periodical a notice that anyone wishing to continue receiving the periodical must so request in writing. A state agency or political subdivision that uses an appropriation to publish a free periodical more frequently than quarterly shall insert the notice annually in three consecutive issues of the periodical. The agency or political subdivision shall provide future issues of the periodical only to persons who have requested it.