TEXASDATA LAW

Topic

Government Data Records and Access

This hub covers the data of and held by Texas government. It explains the Texas Public Information Act in Government Code chapter 552: what counts as public information, possession or control, exceptions including the privacy and cybersecurity exceptions, procedures, redaction, deadlines, and the difference between disclosure and reuse rights, kept distinct from similarly numbered provisions elsewhere in the Business and Commerce Code and from TRAIGA provisions with similar chapter numbers. It covers public records retention: the state and local retention authority, schedules, archival duties, citizen records access, and the intersections where incident response and public-record duties meet. Government data management follows: Department of Information Resources requirements, accountable officials, inventory, interoperability, quality, and modernization under SB 1964, with a companion link to the AI site for government AI duties. Government cybersecurity covers Government Code chapter 2054 duties, TX-RAMP for applicable vendors, training and reporting requirements, and the Texas Cyber Command legislation in HB 150. Government contractors and custody address CMMC and DFARS requirements, False Claims Act cybersecurity theories and cyber-fraud enforcement, education and public contractor records, and a contractor's duties when it holds public data, cross-listed with the vendor hub. Open data covers de-identification, public release, and the limits of what disclosure authorizes. Lawful access to private user information closes the hub: the Stored Communications Act, ECPA, the CLOUD Act, subpoenas and warrants, user notification, and transparency reports, with law-enforcement and legal requests for user information treated as their own subject.

Key questions

  • What must a Texas governmental body disclose under the Public Information Act, and what may it withhold
  • How do records retention schedules interact with legal holds
  • Which cybersecurity duties apply to state agencies and their contractors
  • When may law enforcement access private user information held by a company
  • What duties follow a government contractor that holds public data

Controlling authorities

Government Code chapter 552 (Public Information Act), with its privacy and cybersecurity exceptions; Government Code chapter 2054 (government cybersecurity); SB 1964 (government AI and data management); HB 150 (Texas Cyber Command); TX-RAMP requirements; the Stored Communications Act and CLOUD Act (federal pinpoints are research leads for drafting).

Guides in this hub

Planned insights

  • candidates from the bank: the annual Texas privacy review; public AG breach-report analysis if usable data exists; the 2027 Texas session; government-contract cybersecurity cases.

Tracker records

  • K18 Texas government AI and data management SB 1964
  • K19 Texas Cyber Command HB 150 and agency duties
  • K20 Texas government cyber training and reporting requirements
  • K21 Texas government information confidentiality HB 3112
  • K22 Texas Public Information Act privacy and cyber exceptions
  • K23 Texas state and local records retention authority and schedules
  • RK017 government data
  • RK041 ECPA, Stored Communications Act, and CLOUD Act (cross-listed with N07).

Companion links