Public Information Requests

You have the right to:

• Prompt access to information that is not confidential or otherwise protected;

• Receive treatment equal to all other requestors, including accommodation in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements;

• Receive certain kinds of information without exception, like the voting record of public officials, and other information;

• Receive a written statement of estimated charges when charges will exceed $40, in advance of work being started, and the opportunity to modify the request in response to the itemized statement;

• Choose whether to inspect the requested information (most often at no charge), receive copies of the information, or both;

• A waiver or reduction of charges if the governmental body determines that access to the information primarily benefits the general public;

• Receive a copy of the communication from the governmental body asking the Office of the Attorney General for a ruling on whether the information can be withheld under one of the accepted exceptions, or if the communication discloses the requested information, a redacted copy;

• Lodge a written complaint about overcharges for public information with the Attorney General's Office.  Complaints of other possible violations may be filed with the county or district attorney of the county where the governmental body, other than a state agency, is located.  If the complaint is against the county or district attorney, the complaint must be filed with the Office of the Attorney General.

All governmental bodies responding to information requests have the responsibility to:

• Establish reasonable procedures for inspecting or copying public information and inform requestors of these procedures;

• Treat all requestors uniformly and shall give to the requestor all reasonable comfort and facility, including accommodation in accordance with ADA requirements;

• Be informed about open records laws and educate employees on the requirements of those laws;

• Inform requestors of the estimated charges greater than $40 and any changes in the estimates above 20 percent of the original estimate, and confirm that the requestor accepts the charges, or has amended the request, in writing before finalizing the request;

• Inform the requestor if the information cannot be provided promptly and set a date and time to provide it within a reasonable time.

• Request a ruling from the Office of the Attorney General regarding any information the governmental body wishes to withhold, and send a copy of the request for ruling, or a redacted copy, to the requestor;

• Segregate public information from information that may be withheld and provide that public information promptly;

• Make a good-faith attempt to inform third parties when their proprietary information is being requested from the governmental body;

• Respond in writing to all written communications from the Office of the Attorney General regarding charges for the information.  Respond to the Office of the Attorney General regarding complaints about violations of the Act.

• Submit a written request by mail, email, or in person according to a governmental body's reasonable procedures.

• Include enough description and detail about the information requested to enable the governmental body to accurately identify and locate the information requested.

• Cooperate with the governmental body's reasonable efforts to clarify the type or amount of information requested.

• You may review it promptly, and if it cannot be produced within 10 working days, the public information officer will notify you in writing of the reasonable date and time when it will be available.

• Keep all appointments to inspect records and to pick up copies.  Failure to keep appointments may result in losing the opportunity to inspect the information at the time requested.

• By the 10th business day after a governmental body receives your written request, a governmental body must:

  1. Request an Attorney General opinion and state which exceptions apply;

  2. Notify the requestor of the referral to the Attorney General; and

  3. Notify third parties if the request involves their proprietary information.

• Failure to request an Attorney General opinion and notify the requestor within 10 business days will result in a presumption that the information is open unless there is a compelling reason to withhold it.

• Requestors may send a letter to the Attorney General arguing for release and may review arguments made by the governmental body.   If the arguments disclose the requested information, the requestor may obtain a redacted copy.

• The Attorney General must issue a decision no later than the 45th working day from the day after the Attorney General received the request for a decision.  The attorney general may request an additional 10 working-day extension.

• Governmental bodies may not ask the Attorney General to "reconsider" an opinion.

For complaints regarding failure to release public information, please contact your local County or District Attorney.

• You may also contact the Office of the Attorney General, Open Records Hotline, at 512-478-6736 or toll-free at 1-877-673-6839.

• For complaints regarding overcharges, please contact the AG Cost Rules Administrator at 512-475-2497.

If you need special accommodation pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, please contact our ADA coordinators in the Office of Employee Relations at 512-414-9687 or 512-414-1481.

• You must respond to any written estimate of charges within 10 days of the date the governmental body sent it or the request is considered automatically withdrawn.

• If estimated costs exceed $100.00 (or $50.00 if a governmental body has fewer than 16 full-time employees) the governmental body may require a bond, prepayment, or deposit.

• You may ask the governmental body to determine whether providing the information primarily benefits the general public, resulting in a waiver or reduction of charges.

• Make a timely payment for all mutually agreed charges. A governmental body can demand payment of overdue balances exceeding $100.00 or obtain a security deposit before processing additional requests from you.

• Charges for copies of public information are set by the  Office of the Attorney General. In general, if the number of copies in your request is less than 50 pages, the charge will be $0.10 per page plus the cost of postage (or other delivery method, at your request). If the number of copies is more than 50 pages, the charge will be $0.10 per page plus personnel and overhead costs necessary to compile the documents, in addition to the postage.

• If the charge for fulfilling your requests exceeds $40.00, we will provide you with an itemized written estimate of the charges and indicate if a less costly alternative is available. You must respond in writing within 10 days after the estimate is sent that you will accept the costs, or that you desire any stated alternative, or your request will be considered withdrawn.

Under the PIA, NYOS is required to respond promptly to a request received.  Generally, within 10 business days of receipt of a request, NOYS must either:

1. Provide the responsive information

2. Request clarification

3. Provide written notice of the date and time the information will be available, or

4. Notify the requestor that NYOS will seek to withhold the information by asking for a ruling from the Office of the Attorney General, Open Records Division.

Receipt of Requests - 10 Business Day Deadline

• Requests are considered received on business days.

• After-Hours Requests:
  Requests received after regular posted business hours (see our Google Business listing) are considered received the next business day.
  ** Example: A request received at 8:00 PM on Monday is officially marked as received on Tuesday. Day 1 of the 10-day response window begins Wednesday.

•  Holidays and Weekends: Weekends and state and national holidays outlined below are not considered business days for the purpose of the PIA.

Non-Business Days Include:

Tex. Govt. Code §552.0031(a)(2) designates the following as nonbusiness days, as they are Federal holidays under Tex. Govt. Code §662.003(a):

• The first day of January, “New Year’s Day”;
• The third Monday in January, “Martin Luther King, Jr., Day” in observance of the birthday
  of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.;
• the third Monday in February, “Presidents’ Day”;
• The last Monday in May, “Memorial Day”;
• The fourth day of July, “Independence Day”;
• The first Monday in September, “Labor Day”;
• The 11th day of November, “Veterans Day,” is dedicated to the cause of world peace and
  to honoring the veterans of all wars in which Texans and other Americans have fought.
• The fourth Thursday in November, “Thanksgiving Day”; and
• The 25th day of December, “Christmas Day.”

In addition, the following are designated as nonbusiness days by Tex. Govt. Code §552.0031(a)(3) as they are state holidays under Tex. Govt. Code §662.003(b):

• The 19th day of January, “Confederate Heroes Day,” in honor of Jefferson Davis, Robert
  E. Lee, and other Confederate heroes;
• The second day of March, “Texas Independence Day”;
• The 21st day of April, “San Jacinto Day”;
• The 19th day of June, “Emancipation Day in Texas,” in honor of the emancipation of the
  slaves in Texas in 1865;
• The 27th day of August, “Lyndon Baines Johnson Day,” in observance of the birthday of
  Lyndon Baines Johnson;
• The Friday after Thanksgiving Day;
• The 24th day of December; and
• The 26th day of December.

Tex. Govt. Code §552.0031(c) also allows “an optional holiday,” defined by Tex. Govt. Code §662.003(c) as Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, or Good Friday to count as a nonbusiness day–but only if the officer for public information for the governmental body observes the optional holiday.

Tex. Govt. Code §552.0031(e) states that the Friday before, or Monday after, a federal or state holiday is not a business day if the holiday occurs on a Saturday or Sunday and the governmental body observes the holiday on that Friday or Monday.

School districts are unique in that Tex. Govt. Code §552.0031(f) allows them to designate up to 10 additional nonbusiness days for purposes of the Texas Public Information Act. Such designation must be made by the board of trustees and must not exceed 10 days per calendar year.

The NYOS Board of Directors has designated the following as non-business days for purposes of the Texas Public Information Act:

• September 29, 2025
• September 30, 2025
• October 1, 2025
• November 26, 2025
• December 22, 2025
• December 23, 2025
• January 2, 2026
• March 9, 2026
• March 10, 2026
• March 11, 2026