Texas Government Code 552.153 – Proprietary Records and Trade Secrets Involved in Certain Partnerships
(a) In this section, “affected jurisdiction,” “comprehensive agreement,” “contracting person,” “interim agreement,” “qualifying project,” and “responsible governmental entity” have the meanings assigned those terms by § 2267.001.
(b) Information in the custody of a responsible governmental entity that relates to a proposal for a qualifying project authorized under Chapter 2267 is excepted from the requirements of § 552.021 if:
(1) the information consists of memoranda, staff evaluations, or other records prepared by the responsible governmental entity, its staff, outside advisors, or consultants exclusively for the evaluation and negotiation of proposals filed under Chapter 2267 for which:
(A) disclosure to the public before or after the execution of an interim or comprehensive agreement would adversely affect the financial interest or bargaining position of the responsible governmental entity; and
(B) the basis for the determination under Paragraph (A) is documented in writing by the responsible governmental entity; or
(2) the records are provided by a proposer to a responsible governmental entity or affected jurisdiction under Chapter 2267 and contain:
(A) trade secrets of the proposer;
(B) financial records of the proposer, including balance sheets and financial statements, that are not generally available to the public through regulatory disclosure or other means; or
(C) work product related to a competitive bid or proposal submitted by the proposer that, if made public before the execution of an interim or comprehensive agreement, would provide a competing proposer an unjust advantage or adversely affect the financial interest or bargaining position of the responsible governmental entity or the proposer.
Terms Used In Texas Government Code 552.153
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by writing, printing, or other means. See Texas Government Code 312.011
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) Except as specifically provided by Subsection (b), this section does not authorize the withholding of information concerning:
(1) the terms of any interim or comprehensive agreement, service contract, lease, partnership, or agreement of any kind entered into by the responsible governmental entity and the contracting person or the terms of any financing arrangement that involves the use of any public money; or
(2) the performance of any person developing or operating a qualifying project under Chapter 2267.
(d) In this section, “proposer” has the meaning assigned by § 2267.001.