* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.
           
          [Ethics and Governance Committee on March 27, 2025.]
          [00:00:20]
WANT, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE CONTINUE TO, UH, DO GOOD, GOOD WORK AND HAVE, UH, THE STAFF THAT ARE HERE TO PRESENT, UH, CONTINUE TO PRESENT. 
          UM, I ASKED, UH, THEM TO PROCEED, UM, AND FOR COUNSELORS TO PARTIC ALSO PARTICIPATE. 
          THOSE THAT ARE PRESENT, I'M NOT SURE IF THERE'S THERE ARE ANY ONLINE. 
          UM, NO VOTES WILL BE TAKEN TODAY. 
          THIS AGENDA MAY BE PUT FORTH IN THE FUTURE FOR A RESCHEDULED MEETING IN, IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE APPROPRIATE NOTICE. 
          UH, WITH THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO CALL, UH, THIS MEETING TO ORDER. 
          I'D LIKE TO START BY RECOGNIZING MY COLLEAGUES JOINING US TODAY, BEGINNING WITH, UH, VICE CHAIR, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CARTER. 
          UH, WE'VE ALSO BEEN JOINED BY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER MARY, UH, MARIANNE HUFFMAN, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, JULIAN RAMIREZ. 
          UM, AND THEN WE HAVE STAFF FROM STARTING FROM MY RIGHT. 
          UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN'S OFFICE, STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS'S OFFICE, STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER JACKSON'S OFFICE, UH, TO MY LEFT, UH, STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER AMY PECK'S, OFFICE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, EDWARD POLLARD'S, OFFICE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER SALLY ALCORN'S, OFFICE AND STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER LETICIA PLUMMER'S OFFICE. 
          UM, I DON'T THINK I MISSED ANYBODY. 
          I THINK WE'RE ALL GOOD. 
          UH, VICE CHAIR, UH, WOULD YOU LIKE TO OFFER ANY OPENING REMARKS? NO, BUT THANK YOU. 
          I LOOK FORWARD TO, TO, UH, HEARING THE PRESENTATIONS TODAY, AND, UM, I'M EXCITED TO BE HERE AND GETTING THIS OFF. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, VICE CHAIR. 
          UM, I, I DEFINITELY WANNA FIRST KICK OFF THE MEETING BY, UH, BY SHARING, AND, AND I THINK IT'S, UH, IMPORTANT TO, TO STATE BECAUSE, UM, HISTORICALLY THE ETHICS AND GOVERNANCE, UH, COMMITTEE, UH, THEY RARELY MET. 
          UM, AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO LAY THAT OUT BECAUSE I KNOW WE'VE HAD QUESTIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHY ARE, OR WHY AREN'T THERE MONTHLY MEETINGS? UM, AND, AND, AND QUITE FRANKLY, THERE'S, THERE'S STILL A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE. 
          I THINK THIS IS SOME GOOD WORK THAT WE'RE ABOUT TO PRESENT TO YOU ALL. 
          UH, BUT, UH, UH, HISTORICALLY, LIKE, AS I MENTIONED, REALLY, REALLY, UH, NEVER MET. 
          I THINK WE PROBABLY HAVE ALREADY EXCEEDED OUR, WE'VE, WE MET MORE THAN, UH, THE COMMITTEE MET IN THE LAST 10 TO 15 YEARS, QUITE FRANKLY. 
          UM, BUT WE CAN'T DO THIS ALONE. 
          AND, AND UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF, UH, OF MAYOR WHITMEYER, UH, THERE'S, THIS COMMITTEE IS GONNA CONTINUE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, WE ARE MEETING, UH, IF NOT, UM, BIMONTHLY, IF NOT EVERY OTHER, EVERY THREE MONTHS. 
          UH, BECAUSE, UH, AS, AS WE ALL HAVE KIND OF BEEN OUT IN THE COMMUNITY, WE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S A LACK OF TRUST, UH, A LACK OF TRUST, TRANSPARENCY WHEN IT COMES TO THE, UH, CITY, CITY GOVERNMENT, BUT JUST QUITE FRANKLY, GOVERNMENT IN, IN, UH, IN GENERAL. 
          AND SO, UM, THERE ARE, UH, THERE IS IMPORTANT WORK THAT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE BRING TO THE FOREFRONT, UH, TO ENSURE THAT AS WE'RE BUILDING THAT TRUST, UH, UM, WITH THE COMMUNITY, UH, IT ALLOWS US TO DO THE OTHER WORK THAT WE WANNA DO. 
          LIKE PICK IT UP, PICKING UP TRASH, RIGHT? UM, MAKING SURE WATER LEAKS ARE BEING TAKEN CARE OF. 
          UM, BUT, UH, WITH THAT, I WOULD JUST WANNA REMIND COUNCIL MEMBERS TO PLEASE HOLD YOUR QUESTIONS UNTIL THE END OF THE PRESENTATION. 
          UM, UM, TODAY WE ARE GOING TO HEAR ABOUT, UH, THE FIRST PRESENTATION WILL BE ON INFORMATION SHARING FROM THE CITY, CITY OFFICIALS UNDER TPIA AND DANIEL FOLSON SENIOR, A ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY, WILL BE PRESENTING. 
          OUR SECOND PRESENTATION WILL BE PROPOSED REVISIONS TO CHAPTER 15 AND 18. 
          THAT WILL BE, UH, SHARED BY STEVEN DAVID, DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE MAYOR. 
          UM, AND WITH THAT, UH, I WOULD LIKE TO TURN IT OVER TO OUR PRESENTERS IF MS. FOLSON CAN COME TO THE, TO THE PODIUM. 
          UM, AND IF YOU'LL INTRODUCE YOURSELF FOR THE RECORD, UM, AS WELL AS ANY OTHER OF YOUR TEAM MEMBERS THAT ARE, THAT ARE HERE JOINING YOU, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SIT? I'M OKAY. 
          THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MY NAME IS DANIELLE FOLSOM, AND I'M A SENIOR ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY WITH THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT. 
          GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS AND COUNCIL STAFF. 
          I'M HERE TODAY TO DISCUSS INFORMATION SHARING FOR CITY OFFICIALS UNDER THE TPIA. 
          UH, THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE OVERVIEW OR REFRESHER OF ALL THE, THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE TPIA, BUT VERY NARROWLY TAILORED AT SPECIFICALLY, UM, SHARING INFORMATION THAT YOU MAY RECEIVE, UM, AND WHAT POT POTENTIAL LAWS OR OBLIGATIONS YOU HAVE UNDER THE LAW. 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO, WE'LL START WITH JUST A VERY BASIC SUMMARY OF THE UMBRELLA THAT WE HAVE OF LAWS AND REQUIREMENTS WITH THE TEXAS PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT. 
          AND THAT IS TYPICALLY WHAT WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING AT FIRST, WHEN WE HAVE ISSUES REGARDING, UH, THE STATUS OF INFORMATION THAT'S IN THE CITY'S CUSTODY. 
          UH, THE ACT CONTAINS RULES AND PROCESSES FOR RESPONDING TO PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUESTS. 
          AND THE PRESUMPTIONS 
          [00:05:01]
THERE IN THAT ACT IS THAT RECORDS ARE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC UNLESS THEY FALL UNDER A LAUNDRY LIST OF BOTH DISCRETIONARY AND MANDATORY EXCEPTIONS TO PUBLIC DISCLOSURE. 
          AND THE ACT CONTAINS ITS OWN EXCEPTIONS, BUT IT ALSO ACTS AS KIND OF AN UMBRELLA THAT PULLS IN ALL MANNER OF CONFIDENTIALITY STATUTES AT THE STATE LEVEL, THE FEDERAL LEVEL, AND ALSO JUDICIAL DECISIONS THAT MAY ESTABLISH COMMON LAW, CONFIDENTIALITY PROTECTIONS. 
          AND THEN FINALLY, GENERALLY, INFORMATION CANNOT BE UNILATERALLY WITHHELD BY THE CITY. 
          WE MUST GO THROUGH A ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS INVOLVING THE TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE. 
          AND THAT PROCESS IS PRIMARILY HANDLED BY THE ATTORNEYS IN THE GENERAL COUNSEL SECTION IN THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT. 
          AND THEY WORK IN CONJUNCTION WITH PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICERS IN EVERY CITY DEPARTMENT WHO ARE GATHERING THE INFORMATION, REVIEWING IT, REDACTING IT. 
          AND YOU MAY DEAL WITH ONE OF THEM IF YOU'RE TRYING TO OBTAIN INFORMATION, UM, REGARDING A MATTER THAT YOU MAY BE WORKING ON. 
          NEXT SLIDE, IN TERMS OF WHAT EXACTLY IS PUBLIC INFORMATION AND WHAT SORT OF COMES UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF THE PROTECTION OF THIS ACT THAT YOU MAY COME INTO CONTACT WITH. 
          IT'S, I MEAN, IT, IT'S PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING. 
          SO IT'S A DEFINED TERM IN THE PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT, AND IT'S INFORMATION THAT'S WRITTEN, PRODUCED, COLLECTED, ASSEMBLED, OR MAINTAINED UNDER A LAW OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE TRANSACTION OF CITY BUSINESS, EITHER BY THE CITY, FOR THE CITY, AND THE CITY OWNS THE INFORMATION OR HAS A RIGHT OF ACCESS TO IT, OR HAS CONTRIBUTED PUBLIC MONEY, UH, TO THE CREATION OF IT. 
          AND IT CAN EVEN EXTEND TO INFORMATION THAT'S IN THE INDIVIDUAL CUSTODY OF EMPLOYEES AND ELECTED OFFICIALS THAT'S RELATED TO OFFICIAL CITY BUSINESS. 
          SO WE'RE NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT PHYSICAL RECORDS IN THE CITY'S CUSTODY OR EVEN ELECTRONIC RECORDS IN THE CITY, CITY SERVERS THAT THE CITY HAS CREATED, BUT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT INFORMATION THAT OTHER ENTITIES, WHETHER THEY'RE INDIVIDUALS OR COMPANIES HAVE GIVEN TO THE CITY. 
          WE'RE TALKING ABOUT INFORMATION IN THE CUSTODY OF OTHER ENTITIES THAT WE MAY BE DOING BUSINESS WITH THAT WE DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE IN OUR PHYSICAL CUSTODY, BUT ARE IN OUR CONSTRUCTIVE CUSTODY. 
          AND THEN, OF COURSE, EMAILS OR TEXT MESSAGES OR OTHER TYPES OF COMMUNICATIONS THAT YOU MAY BE HAVING ON, UH, IN, UH, INDIVIDUAL OR PRIVATE DEVICES THAT RELATES TO CITY BUSINESS. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, ONE OR MORE OF THOSE THINGS COULD BE SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT OR THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST OR THAT YOU NEED IN THE FURTHERANCE OF PERFORMING YOUR BUSINESS. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          I WANTED TO GO THROUGH BEFORE WE GET INTO SOME OF THE OBLIGATIONS UNDER THE LAW, UH, AND THE STATUTES THAT APPLY TO ELECTIVE OFFICIALS. 
          TALK ABOUT SOME OF, LIKE THE COMMON DESCRIPTIONS THAT WE SEE, OR THAT WHEN PEOPLE COME TO US TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE NATURE OF INFORMATION, THEY MAY USE THESE TERMS. YOU MAY SEE THESE TERMS ON DOCUMENTS THAT YOU LOOK AT, AND SOME OF THEM ARE LEGAL TERMS OF ART, AND OTHER ONES ARE JUST SORT OF COLLOQUIAL TERMS. SO WE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT PUBLIC INFORMATION, AND THAT'S A DEFINED TERM UNDER THE PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT. 
          AND DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN THAT THAT IS INFORMATION THAT IS SUBJECT TO DISCLOSURE. 
          IT IS A, A TERM THAT DESCRIBES ALL INFORMATION THAT'S SUBJECT TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT. 
          AND THAT MAY INCLUDE INFORMATION THAT IS CONFIDENTIAL BY LAW. 
          SO THEN WE HAVE PUBLIC INFORMATION OR RELEASABLE INFORMATION, AND QUITE A BIT OF THE CITY'S INFORMATION AND, AND MAYBE INFORMATION THAT, THAT YOU USE IN YOUR DAILY BUSINESS. 
          IT IS PUBLIC IN NATURE. 
          UM, FINALLY, YOU KNOW, INFORMATION THAT IS CONFIDENTIAL, AND WE'RE TALKING SPECIFICALLY THAT A LAW OR AN EXCEPTION, EITHER WITHIN THE PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT OR OUTSIDE OF THE PUBLIC INFORMATION AT, AT STATE LAW, FEDERAL LAW, OR, UH, BY A JUDICIAL DECISION, MAKES THIS INFORMATION CONFIDENTIAL BY LAW. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES THAT TERM IS USED FOR INFORMATION THAT PEOPLE MAY DEEM SENSITIVE FROM AN OPERATIONAL STANDPOINT, BUT THAT MAY NOT EQUATE TO ACTUAL PROTECTION UNDER THE LAW. 
          FINALLY, THE TERM PROPRIETARY COMES UP A LOT IN THE COURSE OF SOLICITATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS ABOUT CITY CONTRACT CONTRACTS THAT CAN REFER TO COMMERCIAL INFORMATION RELATING TO A COMPANY, OFTEN PROTECTED BY COPY RIGHTS OR TRADEMARKS, BUT NOT NECESSARILY JUST THAT. 
          THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS AND PROVISIONS IN THE PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT THAT PROTECT INFORMATION THAT A COMPANY DEEMS MAY GIVE A, UH, 
          [00:10:01]
AN ADVANTAGE TO THEIR COMPETITORS. 
          SO THERE IS A, AGAIN, SOMEWHAT, UH, BEYOND THE SCOPE OF, OF THIS PRESENTATION THAT WE'VE BEEN ASKED TO DO, BUT THERE'S AN ENTIRE PROCESS THAT WE HAVE THAT WE'RE REQUIRED TO PERFORM BY LAW WHEN QUOTE UNQUOTE THIRD PARTY POSSIBLE PROPRIETARY INFORMATION IS REQUESTED, UM, FROM THE CITY. 
          AND THEN FINALLY, YOU MAY SEE TERMS LIKE SENSITIVE INTERNAL DRAFTS, WHERE THERE'S AN EXPECTATION THAT THAT INFORMATION NOT BE READILY SHARED WITH THE PUBLIC YET. 
          'CAUSE IT RE UM, IT REFLECTS DISCUSSION. 
          IT REFLECTS INTERNAL INFORMATION THAT HAS NOT YET BEEN FINALIZED. 
          UM, BUT THAT MAY NOT NECESSARILY MEAN THAT THAT INFORMATION IS CONFIDENTIAL BY LAW. 
          NEXT SLIDE, . 
          AND SO, UH, FURTHER TO, YOU KNOW, MY DISCUSSION ABOUT THE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF INFORMATION. 
          THIS IS JUST A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE TYPES OF EXCEPTIONS TO PUBLIC DISCLOSURE. 
          WE HAVE IN THE TPIA, SO COMMON MANDATORY, UH, EXCEPTIONS. 
          THESE ARE EXCEPTIONS THAT MAKE INFORMATION CONFIDENTIAL BY LAW, THE CITY CANNOT WAIVE THEM. 
          YOU KNOW, EVEN IF THE CITY DETERMINED IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST, THEY MAY WANT TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION. 
          THIS IS INFORMATION THAT IS CONFIDENTIAL BY LAW. 
          SO YOU DEFINITELY, WHEN YOU'RE RECEIVING INFORMATION, UM, OR LOOKING AT INFORMATION, UH, PURSUANT TO YOUR, YOUR OFFICIAL DUTIES, YOU WANNA BE MOST COGNIZANT OF ANYTHING THAT CAN BE SUBJECT TO THESE EXCEPTIONS. 
          BECAUSE THIS, WHILE IT CAN BE SHARED, UM, INTRA-AGENCY AND MAYBE WITH OTHER GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN A FEW MORE SLIDES, IT CAN NOT NECESSARILY BE RELEASED OR GIVEN TO THE PUBLIC. 
          SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, UH, THERE'S AN EXCEPTION. 
          IT'S CALLED 5 52 1 0 1. 
          IT'S ANYTHING CONFIDENTIAL BY LAW. 
          AND THAT'S SORT OF THE UMBRELLA EXCEPTION THAT I TALKED ABOUT. 
          IT PULLS IN ANYTHING THAT IS, YOU KNOW, UM, A PRIVATE MEDICAL HEALTH RECORDS. 
          IT PULLS IN, OH, EXCUSE ME, IT PULLS IN INFORMATION THAT IS PROTECTED BY THE HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE AND OTHER STATE LAW. 
          UM, OF COURSE WE HAVE PRIVILEGE ATTORNEY-CLIENT COMMUNICATIONS, UH, 5 52, 1 10, AND 1101. 
          UH, THOSE ARE THE TWO EXCEPTIONS. 
          WHEN I TALK ABOUT PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. 
          THOSE ARE THE KIND OF EXCEPTIONS THAT A THIRD PARTY WOULD RAISE. 
          UM, FINALLY, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE PRIVACY PROTECTIONS FOR THE CONTACT INFORMATION OF EMPLOYEES AND ELECTED OFFICIALS. 
          ALSO, PROTECTIONS AND FOR MOTOR VEHICLE RECORD INFORMATION. 
          SO THAT'S ANY DRIVER'S LICENSE, LICENSE PLATE, DEBIT CARD, CREDIT CARD, UH, PERSONAL EMAIL ADDRESSES OF ME, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC. 
          AND FINALLY, SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS. 
          AND THIS IS JUST A VERY SHORT COMMON LIST, BUT THE ACT INCORPORATES OVER LIKE 700 STATE CONFIDENTIALITY STATE STATUTES. 
          AND THAT'S NOT TO MENTION FEDERAL LAW AND COURT CASES. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          AND THEN THERE ARE THE COMMON DISCRETIONARY EXCEPTIONS. 
          SO YOU MAY ALSO BE DEALING OR WORKING WITH A LOT OF INTERNAL INFORMATION THAT RELATES TO THESE TOPICS. 
          BUT, UH, THAT IS IMPORTANT TO MAINTAIN, UH, THE, THE SENSITIVITY OF FOR OPERATIONAL PURPOSES, BUT ARE NOT NECESSARILY CONFIDENTIAL BY LAW. 
          SO THAT IS INFORMATION RELATED TO PENDING OR ANTICIPATED LITIGATION. 
          THAT'S INFORMATION RELATED TO, UH, A PENDING SOLICITATION, UH, FOR AN ITEM THAT HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED BY CITY COUNCIL YET. 
          AND SOMETIMES EVEN SOME ITEMS THAT HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY CITY COUNCIL, IF THEY ARE REOCCURRING CONTRACTS. 
          INFORMATION RELATED TO THE LOCATION OR PRICE OF PROPERTY THAT THE CITY IS THINKING ABOUT BUYING BEFORE THAT'S BEEN PUBLICLY ANNOUNCED. 
          UM, LEGISLATIVE DOCUMENTS. 
          SO DRAFTS OF, UH, ORDINANCES, UH, INTERNAL DIS DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF ORDINANCES OR OF STATE LAW AND PROPOSED LEGISLATION AT THE STATE LEVEL. 
          UH, FINALLY, UM, LAW ENFORCEMENT RECORDS RELATED BOTH TO OPEN INVESTIGATIONS AND ALSO TO CLOSED INVESTIGATIONS IF THEY HAVE NOT RESULTED IN A CONVICTION OR DEFERRED ADJUDICATION. 
          AND THEN, UH, ONE, PROBABLY A, A VERY COMMONLY USED EXCEPTION IS 5 52 1 11. 
          SO THAT'S AGENCY MEMORANDA. 
          SO THAT CAN GO TOWARDS ANY TYPE OF INTERNAL DISCUSSION RELATED TO ADVICE, OPINION, OR RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT POLICY MAKING MATTERS. 
          SO YOU MAY BE CREATING OR RECEIVING, UM, LOTS OF INTERNAL MEMOS OR EMAILS DISCUSSING THE MERITS OF DIFFERENT POLICY PROPOSALS. 
          AND SO THAT'S INFORMATION THAT AT TIMES IS NOT CONFIDENTIAL, BUT IS SUBJECT TO A DISCRETIONARY EXCEPTION. 
          AND THERE IS A PROCESS IN PLACE FOR WHICH, UH, THE CITY CAN, UM, GET PERMISSION TO WITHHOLD THAT INFORMATION FOR THE, FROM THE PUBLIC 
          [00:15:01]
IF IT IS REQUESTED. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO, MOVING ON FROM SORT OF THE, THE, THE VERY QUICK OVERVIEW I GAVE OF KIND OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE ACT IS, WHAT IT PROTECTS. 
          MOVING ON TO SORT OF THE, THE OBLIGATIONS OF A CITY OFFICIAL IN REGARDS TO SAFEGUARDING INFORMATION. 
          SO THIS PROVISION RIGHT HERE, UH, SECTION 5 52, 3 52 OF THE GOVERNMENT CODE, IT DEALS WITH DISTRIBUTION OR MISUSE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION. 
          SO IT DOES MAKE AN OFFENSE IF A PERSON DISTRIBUTES INFORMATION CONSIDERED CONFIDENTIAL UNDER THE TPIA. 
          AND WE'RE SPECIFICALLY TALKING ABOUT INFORMATION THAT'S CONFIDENTIAL BY LAW, AND NOT NECESSARILY INFORMATION SUBJECT TO A DISCRETIONARY EXCEPTION. 
          UH, THIS, UH, THIS SECTION OFTEN WORKS IN CONJUNCTION WITH, THERE'S ANOTHER PROVISION IN THE PENAL CODE SECTION 39.06 THAT'S CALLED MISUSE OF OFFICIAL INFORMATION. 
          AND THAT TALKS ABOUT THE SHARING OF INFORMATION THAT HAS NOT BEEN MADE PUBLIC WITH INTENT TO OBTAIN A BENEFIT OR WITH INTENT TO HARM OR DEFRAUD ANOTHER. 
          SO THAT IS A MORE SERIOUS, UM, UH, PROVISION OF THE LAW AND PROHIBITION. 
          'CAUSE THERE'S THIS INTENT TO, UH, TO OBTAIN A BENEFIT OR INTENT TO HARM, WHICH IS NOT AT PLAY IN SECTION, UH, 5 52, 3 52. 
          BUT BOTH PROVISIONS, UM, ESTABLISH CRIMINAL OFFENSES FOR THE RELEASE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          MOVING FROM STATE LAW, WE ALSO HAVE PROVISIONS IN CITY CODE RELATED TO OUR OBLIGATION AS CITY OFFICIALS TO SAFEGUARD CITY RECORDS. 
          AND THAT'S NOT JUST FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS, BUT ALSO FOR EXECUTIVE LEVEL EMPLOYEES AND ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL THAT QUALIFIES AS A CITY OFFICIAL UNDER CHAPTER 18. 
          IT ALSO, UM, APPLIES TO ANY OTHER EMPLOYEES HERE AT THE CITY. 
          SO IN OUR STANDARDS OF CONDUCT, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE PROVISIONS THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE IN SOME OF MY OTHER PRESENTATIONS ON, ON VARIOUS ETHICS ISSUES. 
          WE HAVE SECTION 18 DASH THREE A THREE, WHICH IS A PROHIBITION AGAINST DISCLOSING CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION REGARDING THE PROPERTY OPERATIONS POLICIES OR AFFAIRS OF THE CITY, OR USING THAT INFORMATION TO ADVANCE THE PERSONAL INTERESTS, FINANCIAL OR OTHERWISE OF THE OFFICIAL OR OTHERS. 
          IN VIOLATION OF THAT IS A CLASS C MISDEMEANOR, UM, FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO DON'T QUALIFY AS CITY OFFICIALS. 
          UM, SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT EXECUTIVE LEVEL EMPLOYEES OR ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEYS. 
          THEY STILL HAVE OBLIGATION TO NOT DISCLOSE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION IN CHAPTER 14 OF THE CODE. 
          AND TO DO SO, THEY MAY, UM, EXPERIENCE DISCIPLINE UP TO, UH, INDEFINITE SUSPENSION. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY BOTH OF THESE PROVISIONS AND THE STATE LAW AS WELL UNDERLIE SORT OF THE IMPORTANCE OF, SAY IDENTIFYING AND SAFEGUARDING CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION AND SORT OF MAINTAINING INFORMATION THAT IS, IS, IS QUALIFIED AS INTERNAL OR CONFIDENTIAL. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          THAT BEING SAID, UM, IN, IN ORDER TO SORT OF, UH, AFFECT THE, THE OB UH, THE OBLIGATIONS AND NEEDS OF THE CITY, AND IN ORDER TO FULFILL OUR, OUR JOB DUTIES HERE, THERE IS OFTEN A, A QUITE A BIT OF TRANSFER OF INFORMATION, EITHER BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS, BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS AND CITY COUNCIL WITHIN CITY COUNCIL, AND BETWEEN THE CITY AND OTHER ENTITIES THAT ARE SUBJECT TO THE TPIA, LIKE THE COUNTY, LIKE OTHER STATE AGENCIES, WHAT HAVE YOU. 
          AND SO THAT TRANSFER OF INFORMATION, THERE ARE QUITE A FEW ATTORNEY GENERAL DEC DECISIONS ESTABLISHING THAT THAT IS IN MOST CIRCUMSTANCES COMPLETELY PERMISSIBLE, EVEN IF IT INCLUDES CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION WITH A FEW EXCEPTIONS FOR VERY CERTAIN CONFIDENTIALITY STATUTES THAT, UM, CLEARLY IDENTIFY AND NARROW THE SCOPE OF INDIVIDUALS WHO CAN RECEIVE THE INFORMATION. 
          BUT IF THERE'S TRANSFER AMONG OR BETWEEN THOSE GROUPS, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY CONSIDERED A RELEASE FOR PURPOSES OF THE PUBLIC. 
          SO A PROCESS THAT WE'VE PUT IN PLACE HERE AT THE CITY AND THAT MANY OTHER GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES DO AS WELL, IS, THERE'S AN EXAMPLE DISCLAIMER ON THE SLIDE. 
          AND SO THAT'S AN DISCLAIMER THAT YOU MAY HAVE ALREADY SEEN, YOU MAY SEE IN THE FUTURE IF YOU'RE RECEIVING OR DEALING WITH SOME INFORMATION THAT MIGHT BE CONFIDENTIAL, INTERNAL OR OTHERWISE SENSITIVE IN NATURE. 
          AND THAT'S BASICALLY NOTIFYING YOU THAT YOU'RE RECEIVING IT IN YOUR OFFICIAL CAPACITY, WHICH YOU'RE ENTITLED TO DO. 
          BUT THIS ISN'T A RELEASE FOR PURPOSES OF THE PUBLIC. 
          [00:20:01]
AND SO YOU SHOULD NOT REALLY SEND INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC. 
          AND IF YOU DO GET A REQUEST FOR THAT INFORMATION, YOU SHOULD CONTACT EITHER THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER OF THAT DEPARTMENT OR THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT, AND WE CAN HELP, YOU KNOW, UH, SHEPHERD YOU THROUGH THE PROCESS OF WHAT, WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO WITH MY, MY FINAL SLIDES, I WANNA SHIFT TOWARDS SORT OF, UM, AWAY FROM SORT OF THE DISCUSSION OF, OF THE LAW AND THEORY TO JUST SOME PRACTICAL TIPS ABOUT HANDLING CITY RECORDS. 
          SO YOU, YOU SAW THAT DISCLAIMER. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, ONE OF MY CHIEF TIPS IS IF YOU'RE RECEIVING ANY DOCUMENTS OR RECORDS IN YOUR OFFICIAL CAPACITY, WHETHER THAT'S MEMOS, WHETHER THAT'S ELECTRONIC OR PHYSICAL INFORMATION, OR HARD DATA, OR PROPOSALS SUBMITTED BY COMPANIES LOOKING TO DO BUSINESS WITH THE CITY, TAKE NOTE OF ANY DISCLAIMERS OR LABELS THAT MAY BE PRESENT, CATEGORIZING THE INFORMATION. 
          AND IF YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANS, YOU KNOW, PLEASE REACH OUT TO THE DEPARTMENT WHO PROVIDED YOU THE INFORMATION OR THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT. 
          'CAUSE YOU KNOW, WHEN IN DOUBT, SPEAK WITH ONE OF US ABOUT SORT OF THE NATURE OF THESE RECORDS. 
          AND I WOULD SAY EVEN IF INFORMATION DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAVE A DISCLAIMER ON THAT, UM, YOU NEVER KNOW, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE'RE GETTING INFORMATION FROM THE OUTSIDE, THERE MAY BE PROTECTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT INFORMATION, EVEN IF IT IS NOT LABELED. 
          SO, I, YOU KNOW, I ALWAYS SAY WHEN IN DOUBT, THE ATTORNEYS IN THE GENERAL COUNSEL SECTION THAT WORK ON TPI MA, TPIA MATTERS. 
          THAT IS WHAT WE'RE HERE FOR. 
          AND WE'RE ALWAYS HAPPY TO WORK WITH GROUPS AND REVIEW INDIVIDUAL INFORMATION IF YOU'VE RECEIVED A REQUEST FROM THAT INFORMATION OR YOU'RE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND BETTER, LIKE THE NATURE OF THIS INFORMATION. 
          THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HERE FOR. 
          AND THEN, OF COURSE, IF YOU RECEIVE AN ACTUAL TPIA REQUEST, PLEASE GET IN TOUCH WITH AS SOON AS POSSIBLE YOUR DESIGNATED PIO FOR, UH, CITY COUNCIL, UM, SO THAT THEY CAN HELP YOU, UH, SHEPHERD YOU THROUGH THAT PROCESS AND WORK WITH, UH, LEGAL AS NECESSARY ON THAT PROCESS. 
          AS, AS YOU MAY KNOW, WE HAVE A, A, A CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR TPIA REQUESTS GOV QA. 
          THERE'S BOTH THE PUBLIC SIDE WHERE PEOPLE CAN SUBMIT THE REQUESTS, AND THERE'S AN INTERNAL SIDE WHERE WE PROCESS REQUESTS. 
          WE TRACK REQUESTS THE STATUS OF THEM, THE STATUS OF INFORMATION GOING TO THE AG. 
          WE REVIEW RECORDS, WE REDACT RECORDS ALL WITHIN THE SYSTEM. 
          SO IF YOU GET A REQUEST FROM THE OUTSIDE, WHICH YOU MAY, BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE ENTITLED, THEY DON'T HAVE TO USE GOV QA, YOU KNOW, PLEASE LET THE PIO KNOW AND THEY'LL QUICKLY GET IT INTO THE SYSTEM AND SORT OF THE PROCESS WILL, WILL TAKE HOLD. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          FINALLY, I JUST WANTED TO LEAVE A SLIDE UP OF JUST SOME OF THE, UH, THE REFERENCES AND RESOURCES THAT WE RELY ON A LOT WHEN IT COMES TO SHARING INFORMATION AND TRYING TO DETERMINE THE NATURE OF IT. 
          UH, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S WEBSITE, THE, THE TPIA HANDBOOK, WHICH IS PUT TOGETHER BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE, UM, AS ELECTED OFFICIALS, ALTHOUGH, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLETE TRAINING ON THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT, YOU'RE NOT REQUIRED. 
          IT'S JUST ENCOURAGED THAT YOU COMPLETE TRAINING ON THE PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT. 
          IF YOU HAVEN'T, I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT. 
          IT'S A REALLY, IT'S JUST A ONE HOUR TRAINING AND IT'S A REALLY GREAT OVERVIEW, UM, OF THE PROCESS. 
          AND THEN WE HAVE OUR OWN SORT OF INTERNAL, UH, POLICIES, AND THAT'S AP TWO DASH NINE AS WELL. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, DANIELLE. 
          UM, BEFORE WE, UH, MOVE ON, I WANT, WANNA RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER, WHO, WHO, UH, STEPPED INTO THE CHAMBER COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO AS WELL, AND THEN STAFF FROM, UH, MAYOR PROTON T'S OFFICE. 
          UM, AND, AND JUST AS A, UM, FIRST DANIELLE, I DON'T KNOW IF I'VE EVER DONE THIS YET FOR YOU, BUT I WANNA SAY THANK YOU. 
          I DON'T KNOW IF HOW MANY STAFF MEMBERS OR COUNSELORS HAVE, HAVE HAD REGULAR CONVERSATION WITH YOU, BUT BECAUSE OF THIS COMMITTEE, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO HAVE, UH, A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE SHARED WITH US. 
          SOME OF IT'S BEEN A LITTLE KIND OF EYEOPENING. 
          WE DIDN'T KNOW THAT COUNCILORS COULD DO THIS OR THAT, UM, IN THIS PARTICULAR, UH, TOPIC. 
          UM, THE TRAINING, UM, AND WE HAD THIS DISCUSSION, UH, YOU KNOW, DURING OUR BRIEFING IS, UH, IT'S, I THINK IT SHOULD BE SOMETHING MANDATORY EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT. 
          UM, AND SOMETHING THAT I WOULD LOVE TO TALK TO THE ADMINISTRATION ABOUT ENSURING THAT NOT ONLY AS ELECTED OFFICIALS, BUT AS STAFF, UH, YOU MENTIONED, YOU MENTIONED CHAPTER 14 AND, UH, STAFF HAVE AN OBLIGATION AS WELL. 
          UM, AND I, AND I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          UM, OUR OFFICES ARE ABLE TO BE, BE PRESENT HERE AND PARTICIPATE IN THIS CONVERSATION. 
          UM, AND THEN OUR, OUR PIO FOR, UH, CITY COUNCIL, MOST OF Y'ALL ALREADY KNOW WHO IT IS, UH, BUT IT'S THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF CITY COUNCIL. 
          UH, WE ALL KNOW WHO VENITA IS, AND THAT'S USUALLY WHO WORKS WITH US. 
          BUT I THINK AS, UH, AS, AS COUNCIL OFFICES, WE SHOULD ALWAYS LEAN INTO THE CITY LEGAL AS 
          [00:25:01]
WELL. 
          UM, AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NORMALLY DO NOT DO. 
          WE DON'T HAVE TRAINING FOR TPIA, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD ALL BE AWARE OF. 
          AND SO THE ATTACHED RESOURCES ARE ALSO, UM, A HUGE HELP. 
          AND I RECOMMEND THAT EVERYBODY AROUND THIS HORSESHOE, UM, TO DEFINITELY MAKE SURE YOU SHARE THAT BACK WITH YOUR OFFICES AS WELL. 
          UM, WE HAVE, UH, COUNCILOR RAMIREZ, UM, FIRST IN THE QUEUE. 
          UH, THANK YOU, UH, MR. CHAIR AND THANK YOU, DANIELLE, FOR, FOR YOUR PRESENTATION, AND THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP YOU GIVE US OUTSIDE OF, OUTSIDE OF THIS MEETING. 
          UH, I KNOW WE CALL ON YOU FAIRLY FREQUENTLY, AND WE APPRECIATE THAT. 
          I HAD SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT, UH, PRIVILEGES. 
          SO THERE'S SOME, UH, MANDATORY EXCEPTIONS TO PUBLIC DISCLOSURE, AND THEN THERE'S SOME DISCRETIONARY. 
          SO DO, DOES LEGAL DEPARTMENT, UH, TRACK HOW MANY TIMES WE, UH, CLAIM A PARTICULAR TYPE OF PRIVILEGE, WHETHER IT'S MANDATORY OR DISCRETIONARY? UH, WE DO NOT. 
          UH, WE DO HAVE INFORMATION DATA ON IF WE WOULD RIGHT TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE OR NOT, BUT NOT DRILL DOWN INTO THE SPECIFIC EXCEPTION OR MANDATORY VERSUS DISCRETIONARY. 
          OKAY. 
          MAY I SUGGEST IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO TRACK HOW MANY TIMES WE CLAIM A MANDATORY EXCEPTION, UH, OR A DISCRETIONARY AND SEND IT ON TO THE AGS OFFICE, AND THEN ALSO HOW MANY TIMES THAT'S UPHELD OR NOT UPHELD MIGHT BE, MIGHT BE HELPFUL INFORMATION TO, TO, TO KNOW. 
          AND SO, UH, WITH REGARD TO THE MANDATORY ONE IS, UM, CERTAIN LEGAL MATTERS. 
          SO ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE, BASICALLY. 
          AND, UM, WONDERING FOR, FOR THIS PURPOSE, UH, WHO, WHO EXACTLY IS THE CLIENT? IS IT ANY CITY EMPLOYEE THAT YOU MAY BE ADVISING OR, OR WHAT? WELL, THE, THE, THE CLIENT, UM, IN TERMS OF SORT OF OUR ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP IS, IS THE CITY AS AN ORGANIZATION. 
          BUT THAT IS OFTEN REFLECTED IN, YOU KNOW, ALL INVI INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEES ARE SORT OF CLIENT REPRESENTATIVES. 
          AND SO, YOU KNOW, QUITE OFTEN, YOU KNOW, WE CAN, WE WILL, WE'LL SEND UP INFORMATION THAT MIGHT BE, UH, THE PROVISION OF LEGAL ADVISOR SERVICES, UH, RELATED TO COMMUNICATIONS WITH AN ELECTED OFFICIAL, BUT IT MIGHT ALSO BE A DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR, OR IT MAY BE AN INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEE IN A DEPARTMENT. 
          SO, UH, YOU KNOW, IT CAN, IT CAN COVER THE, THE GAMUT BECAUSE OUR, OUR CLIENT IS THE CITY IS THE INSTITUTION. 
          MM-HMM . 
          OKAY. 
          AND, UM, I KNOW THAT PRIVILEGES CAN, CAN BE WAIVED. 
          RIGHT? UM, FOURTH AMENDMENT FOR INSTANCE, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE MAY HAVE COMMITTED A CRIME, THEY GIVE UP THEIR RIGHT AND CONFESS TO THE POLICE. 
          THAT'S JUST ONE, UH, EXAMPLE. 
          UM, SO IN, IN THIS CONTEXT, ATTORNEY CLIENT, UH, PRIVILEGE, IF CAN, CAN A GIVEN CITY EMPLOYEE WAIVE THE PRIVILEGE SINCE THEY'RE SORT OF A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE CLIENT? OR HOW, HOW DOES THAT WORK IN TERMS OF A DETERMINATION NOT TO RAISE THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE AND TO RELEASE INFORMATION? THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT WILL LOOK TO ITS, UH, CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER, THE, THE MAYOR TO, UH, TO MAKE THAT DETERMINATION. 
          THAT IS WHAT WE, WE HAVE DONE IN THE PAST. 
          BUT AS A GENERAL RULE, WHEN THE INFORMATION, UH, RELATES TO ATTORNEY-CLIENT COMMUNICATIONS, THE, THE CITY WILL SEND THAT UP TO THE AGS OFFICE THAT HAS BEEN PAST PRACTICE. 
          OKAY. 
          SO IF I'M HEARING YOU, UM, THE, IS IT THE MAYOR THAT MAKES THAT DETERMINATION WHETHER TO WAIVE, WHETHER IT'S OKAY TO WAIVE THAT PRIVILEGE OR, OR WHAT? THAT'S CORRECT. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, ANOTHER MANDATORY IS PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. 
          AND, UM, I'VE HAD IT TOLD TO ME BEFORE, UH, THAT INFORMATION THAT I WAS CONSIDERING ON A VOTE, ON AN AGENDA ITEM, UH, WAS PROPRIETARY AND, AND COULDN'T BE SHARED. 
          IT, IT STRUCK ME AT THE TIME THAT IF I'M PREPARING TO VOTE ON SOMETHING AND I'M LOOKING AT INFORMATION THAT WAS PROVIDED TO ME IN ORDER TO MAKE A DECISION, THEN THE PUBLIC SHOULD BE ABLE TO GO BEHIND THAT DECISION THAT I MADE AND EVALUATE IT, UH, WHETHER OR NOT IT WAS A, A GOOD DECISION. 
          UM, SO, SO WHERE DO YOU KIND OF DRAW THE LINE THERE? IF WE'RE PROVIDED INFORMATION THAT MAYBE EARLIER IN THE PROCESS WOULD'VE BEEN PROPRIETARY, BUT NOW IT'S TO COUNSEL FOR A VOTE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE IDENTIFIED ONE SPECIFIC PROJECT OR VENDOR. 
          UM, IS, IS THAT STILL MANDATORY AND, AND NOT, UH, ABLE TO BE DISCLOSED? WELL, IT DE DEPENDS ON THE INFOR THE EXACT INFORMATION AT ISSUE. 
          BUT GENERALLY SPEAKING, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR A DISCRETIONARY EXCEPTION THAT THE CITY OFTEN USES, UH, YOU KNOW, 1 0 4, WHICH IS FOR OPEN BIDDING AND SOLICITATION, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING WHERE, YOU KNOW, AFTER COUNSEL HAS VOTED 
          [00:30:01]
THAT USUALLY THAT EXCEPTION DOESN'T APPLY. 
          BUT IF THE NATURE OF THE UNDERLYING INFORMATION IS PROPRIETARY AND, AND ONE, I GUESS PROPRIETARY IS A TERM THAT IS USED A LOT, BUT, BUT WHAT I THINK WE REALLY WANNA DRILL DOWN IS THAT IT FALLS UNDER ONE OF THE SPECIFIC EXCEPTIONS THAT EXIST UNDER THE LAW. 
          MM-HMM . 
          FOR TYPES OF INFORMATION THAT SOMEONE MAY, UM, CONSIDER TO BE PROPRIETARY. 
          SO THERE'S SPECIFIC PROVISIONS FOR TRADEMARK INFORMATION. 
          AND THEN 11 0 1 IS SPECIFIC INFORMATION RELATED TO, UH, INFORMATION THAT A COMPANY, UM, BELIEVES COULD GIVE AN ADVANTAGE TO A COMPETITOR. 
          UH, I GUESS REGARDLESS OF WHERE IT IS IN THE COUNCIL PROCESS, THOSE EXCEPTIONS MAY APPLY. 
          AND SO WE MAY BE REQUIRED EITHER BEFORE IT BECOMES, COMES TO COUNCIL WHILE IT'S AT COUNCIL OR AFTER IT'S AT COUNCIL TO NOTIFY THAT THIRD PARTY AND GO THROUGH THE AG AGS RULING PROCESS. 
          'CAUSE THAT IS SET BY, BY STATE LAW AND, AND, AND WE'RE REQUIRED MM-HMM . 
          TO COMPLY WITH THAT, THAT INFORMATION. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, I GUESS A GOOD EXAMPLE I, I WOULD THINK OF IS THAT, SO FOR A, UM, FOR PARTICULAR CONTRACT VENDORS OFTEN SUBMIT PROPOSALS AND, AND YOU MAY BE REVIEWING THOSE PROPOSALS, UM, YOU KNOW, AS, AS TIME RAMPS UP FOR THE ITEM TO BE ON THE COUNCIL AGENDA, IT APPEARS ON A COUNCIL COMMITTEE. 
          UM, TYPICALLY NOT ALL, NOT EVERYTHING IN A PROPOSAL, BUT USUALLY THERE ARE ONE OR TWO THINGS IN, IN MOST PROPOSALS, ESPECIALLY FOR VERY COMPLEX, UH, CONTRACTS INVOLVING IT OR OTHER TYPES OF LIKE, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES THAT THOSE INDIVIDUALS CONSIDER TO BE PROPRIETARY. 
          SO I GUESS WHETHER OR NOT, UM, AN ELECTED OFFICIAL HAS REVIEWED THAT INFORMATION FOR PURPOSES OF VOTING ON IT, DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN THAT THAT INFORMATION IS NOT STILL SUBJECT TO THOSE EXCEPTIONS. 
          SO WE HAVE TO SORT OF GO THROUGH THE, PER THIS PROCESS TO, TO FIGURE THAT OUT. 
          AND THE CITY DOESN'T RAISE ANY EXCEPTIONS ON BEHALF OF THIRD PARTIES. 
          YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT BEST PLACED TO, TO DETERMINE WHETHER WHAT SOMETHING, WHETHER OR NOT SOMETHING IS TRULY PROPRIETARY OR NOT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT THE, THE, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE THAT BUSINESS ACUMEN 'CAUSE THIS IS NOT OUR BUSINESS, THESE ARE NOT OUR RECORDS, BUT WE DO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS THAT WE'RE REQUIRED TO BY STATE LAW AND THEN THEY CAN, UH, MAKE THEIR ARGUMENTS TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE. 
          AND IF THEY'RE SUCCESSFUL, THEN, YOU KNOW, WE'LL HAVE TO REDACT OR WITHHOLD AS, AS THE RULING, UM, DIRECTS US TO, OR IF NOT, THEN WE'LL RELEASE THE INFORMATION. 
          UM, AND THERE ARE SOME INFORMATION THAT BY LAW RELATED TO CONTRACTS, WE DO ALWAYS HAVE TO RELEASE. 
          LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, IF THE, THE CONTRACT HAS BEEN APPROVED, INFORMATION ABOUT SORT OF THE, THE TOTAL AMOUNT, SOME OF THE BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT, UM, SCOPE OF SERVICES AND, UM, AND INFORMATION ABOUT LIKE WHAT, UH, WHAT ARE THE PROVISIONS RELATED TO BREACH. 
          THERE IS A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT WE DO HAVE TO RELEASE, BUT, UM, THERE IS INFORMATION EVEN IN AN APPROVED CONTRACT THAT, THAT THE CITY HAS HAD TO WITHHOLD BEFORE BECAUSE THE COMPANY WAS ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE THAT THAT INFORMATION WAS PROPRIETARY TO THEIR BUSINESS PRACTICES. 
          THANK YOU, DANIELLE. 
          UM, IF YOU DON'T, IF YOU DON'T MIND, COUNCIL MEMBER, WE HAVE SOMEONE ELSE IN THE QUEUE. 
          SURE, ABSOLUTELY. 
          UM, WE HAVE SOME STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN'S OFFICE. 
          HI. 
          YES. 
          HI, DANIELLE. 
          SORRY, I WANTED JUST A CLARIFYING QUESTION REAL QUICK. 
          UM, ARE TEXT MESSAGES TO PERSONAL PHONES SUBJECT TO TPA OR JUST CSU DEVICES? IT CAN INCLUDE PERSONAL PHONES AS WELL. 
          OKAY. 
          BUT IT'S NOT EVERYTHING ON YOUR PERSONAL PHONE WHEN, UH, A REQUEST COMES DOWN, UM, OR IF SITUATION COMES DOWN WHERE THEY'RE ASKING FOR EVERYTHING ON ALL DEVICES OR ALL COMMUN OR ALL TEXT MESSAGES AND, YOU KNOW, SAY YOU MAY HAVE, HAVE MADE A COMMUNICATION ON YOUR PERSONAL PHONE RELATED TO CITY BUSINESS. 
          IT'S THAT SPECIFIC COMMUNICATION THAT'S SUBJECT TO THE ACT. 
          AND, AND NOT, NOT EVERY, YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T BRING YOUR PHONE UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE ACT FOR EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE FOR ALL TIME. 
          A GOOD WAY OF THINKING ABOUT THE ACT IS IT'S VERY CONTENT BASED, NOT DEVICE BASED. 
          SO WE'RE NOT THINKING ABOUT WHO'S PAYING FOR THE DEVICE, WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THE CON THE CONTENT AND THE COMMUNICATION THAT'S BEING CREATED AND THE SPECIFIC ONES THAT RELATE TO CITY BUSINESS OR WHAT CAN BE, UM, PULLED INTO THE ACT. 
          SO WE ALWAYS RECOMMEND THAT YOU USE YOUR CITY ISSUED PHONE AND YOUR CITY ISSUED EMAIL ACCOUNT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, WE HAVE COUNCIL MURRAY CARTER. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          SO JUST TO CLARIFY WHAT I THINK I HEARD YOU SAY, IF, FOR INSTANCE, I WAS ON THIS IPAD, WHICH MIGHT NOT BE CITY ISSUED, AND I'M LOGGED INTO MY OUTLOOK, 
          [00:35:01]
MY CITY EMAIL IS, THE RECORD SHOWS UP ON MY DESKTOP. 
          SO WHEN IT COMES TO RECORDS, IT'S ALL ON THE DESKTOP, EVEN THOUGH IT'S LOGGED THROUGH THIS IPAD THAT, THAT'S CORRECT. 
          AND SO, YOU KNOW, A A, A GREAT, UM, BENEFIT OF USING OUR MICROSOFT OUTLOOK AND USING OUR CITY'S, UH, APPLICATIONS AND PLATFORM IS THAT THAT INFORMATION IS SAVED IN THE CLOUD. 
          IF THERE'S A TPI REQUEST, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU, Y'ALL MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH PROOFPOINT, THAT IS THE ARCHIVAL EMAIL, UH, SYSTEM THAT HITS USES. 
          EVERY EMAIL CENTER RECEIVED IS LOGGED THERE, AND THEY CAN GO AND PULL THAT INFORMATION. 
          PERFECT. 
          SO, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, ANOTHER KIND OF TIP, YOU KNOW, IN THE, IN THE ODD SITUATION, YOU MAY HAVE SOMETHING THAT LIKE WAS A PER A TEXT MESSAGE ON A PERSONAL DEVICE, IT'S NOT UPLOADED, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'LL FORWARD THAT TO YOUR OUTLOOK OR YOU'LL COPY YOUR CITY EMAIL ADDRESS, SO THEN THAT GETS PULLED UP INTO THE CITY SERVERS, AND THEN YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT LOOKING BACK THROUGH YOUR PERSONAL DEVICES TO MAKE SURE THERE'S NOT ANYTHING THERE THAT'S RESPONSIVE TO A REQUEST. 
          WELL, I APPRECIATE YOU CLEARING, CLARIFYING THAT, BECAUSE I THINK THAT MAKES LIFE A LOT EASIER. 
          YOU KNOW, BECAUSE AGAIN, IF I'M, IF I'M ON MY EMAIL HERE, IT'S, IT'S IN THE CLOUD AND IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS DEVICE. 
          SO THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION, BECAUSE I THINK COMING ON BOARD, WE WERE MAYBE A LITTLE BIT CONFUSED. 
          MY NEIGHBOR HERE JUST AGREED, DIDN'T YOU? YEAH, THANK YOU. 
          I, AGAIN, I THINK THAT'S WHY IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DEFINITELY, WE, I THINK IT SHOULD BE MANDATORY TO HAVE A TPI, UH, TRAINING FOR ESPECIALLY ONBOARDING, UH, NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS AS WELL. 
          UM, BUT, UM, AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR THE, THESE, THOSE CLARIFICATION, THOSE TIPS WE HAVE, UH, COUNCILLOR RAMIREZ, UH, YES, DANIELLE, JUST A COUPLE, COUPLE MORE TOPICS. 
          ONE IS, UM, SO IF YOU COULD GO TO SLIDE SIX, WHICH IS DISCRETIONARY EXCEPTIONS IN LOOKING AT, UH, CERTAIN LEGISLATIVE DOCUMENTS. 
          I NOTICED THAT PARTICULAR BULLET POINT IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT SHADE THAN THE OTHERS. 
          IS THERE, IS THERE REASON FOR THAT? IS IT DIFFERENT OR NO, IT'S NOT. 
          I THINK IT WAS, YOU KNOW, I USED ONE OF THOSE, UM, DESIGNER SLIDES THAT KIND OF SUGGESTS SOMETHING THAT LOOKS MORE VISUALLY STIMULATING. 
          SO THAT WAS ALL, THAT WAS ALL. 
          GOTCHA. 
          SO, SO AT, ON THIS ONE, THE LEGISLATIVE, UH, DOCUMENTS DISCRETIONARY EXCEPTION. 
          SO, UH, I THINK IT'S THE CODE, MAYBE IT'S A CHARTER THAT SAYS, CITY COUNCIL IS THE LEGISLATIVE BODY FOR THE CITY. 
          THAT'S, THAT'S THE WAY IT'S SUPPOSED TO WORK. 
          UM, SO THIS, UH, SECTION IN STATE LAW DEALS WITH, UH, LEGISLATIVE DOCUMENTS AND, UM, UH, I DON'T, YOU PROBABLY DON'T HAVE IT IN FRONT OF YOU, BUT I'M, I'M SURE YOU'VE, YOU'VE LOOKED AT IT BEFORE, AND SO YOU WERE REFERRING, I THINK TO A, A SUBSECTION A OF THAT A DRAFT OR WORKING PAPER INVOLVED IN THE PREPARATION OF PROPOSED LEGISLATION IS ACCEPTED FROM THE REQUIREMENTS. 
          BUT THEN SUBSECTION B TALKS ABOUT INTERNAL BILL ANALYSIS, UH, WHICH WE DON'T DO BILLS, UH, PREPARED BY THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WORK WITH THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE ON OUR, OUR ORDINANCES. 
          SO DOES THAT, I, I GUESS WHAT I'M GETTING IS, DOES SECTION, UH, 1 0 6 ACTUALLY APPLY TO US OR JUST SUBSECTION A, WHAT, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT? SO, YES, WHEN, WHEN I'M REFERRING TO 5 52 1 0 6, I'M REFERRING TO SUBSECTION A, THE, THE CITY HAS USED THAT EXCEPTION BEFORE. 
          AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE IN OPINIONS HAS INTERPRETED THAT PROVISION TO ALSO, UM, REFER TO SORT OF PROPOSED ORDINANCES OR DRAFTS LAWS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL AND NOT JUST AT THE STATE LEVEL. 
          UM, THAT BEING SAID, UH, THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, ATTORNEY GENERAL, UH, DISCUSSION AND DECISIONS ABOUT 5 52, 1 0 6 AND ONE 11, WHICH IS THAT ONE THAT'S LISTED AGENCY MEMORANDA. 
          SO THE AGS OFFICE KIND OF CON CONSIDERS AS EXCEPTIONS TO BE OVERLAPPING OR COMPANION EXCEPTIONS. 
          A LOT OF TIMES THEY MAY REFERENCE, UH, DECISIONS REGARDING ONE AND OPINION ABOUT THE OTHER. 
          SO THEY, THEY APPLY IT THEM BOTH SIMILARLY. 
          SO AS A PRACTICAL MATTER ONE 11 ALSO COVERS DRAFT, UH, ORDINANCES, UH, ANALYSES OF DRAFT, DRAFT ORDINANCES, AS WELL AS ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ABOUT POLICY MAKING. 
          SO AS A PRACTICAL MATTER, WE USUALLY RAISE ONE 11 FOR MOST CIRCUMSTANCES 'CAUSE IT'S A MORE, UM, WIDE REACHING EXCEPTION. 
          BUT WE DO HAVE 1 0 6 IN OUR POCKET AS WELL. 
          AND WE HAVE USED IT BEFORE AS, AS AS NECESSARY. 
          OKAY. 
          LAST, LAST TOPIC IS, UM, WHAT EXACTLY IS, UH, PUBLIC INFORMATION, I GUESS IS THE WAY I WOULD PHRASE IT. 
          SO WE GET A LOT OF MAIL, 
          [00:40:01]
RIGHT? UM, NOT ALL OF IT, OR SOME OF IT IS LESS IMPORTANT THAN, THAN OTHERS TYPES OF MAIL. 
          LIKE FOR INSTANCE, I MIGHT GET, UH, SOMETHING ON A PARTICULAR COMPANY OFFERING A PARTICULAR SERVICE. 
          YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY A CITY VENDOR. 
          MAYBE IN THE FUTURE THEY'D LIKE TO GET SOME, SOME BUSINESS. 
          DO I HAVE, DO I HAVE TO SAVE ALL THAT? WELL, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SORT OF RETENTION VERSUS, UH, THE PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT IS ABOUT DISCLOSURE. 
          YEAH. 
          RESPONDING TO REQUEST FOR INFORMATION AS IT EXISTS, AS OF THE TIME OF THE REQUEST. 
          NOW WE HAVE THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT RECORDS ACT THAT GOVERNS THE RETENTION FOR VARIOUS TYPES OF DOC DOCUMENTS. 
          AND THERE ARE A LOT OF DOCUMENTS THAT THE CITY CREATES RECEIVES THAT ARE WHAT ARE TERMED A V THAT YOU ONLY HAVE TO HOLD ONTO AS LONG AS THEY'RE ADMINISTRATIVELY VALUABLE. 
          AND THERE'S OTHER DOCUMENTS THAT, YOU KNOW, FALL INTO VARIOUS BUCK BUCKETS. 
          UM, I WOULD RECOMMEND, UM, OF REACHING OUT TO, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR RECORDS MANAGEMENT OFFICER AND A RA IS THE, THE DESIGNATED RECORDS MANAGEMENT OFFICER FOR THE ENTIRE CITY. 
          THEY PUT TOGETHER SCHEDULES FOR EVERY CITY DEPARTMENT, INCLUDING COUNCIL OFFICES. 
          AND SO THAT'S WHO WE GO TO AT, IN THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT FOR QUESTIONS ABOUT, OKAY, THIS PARTICULAR DOCUMENT, WHERE WOULD IT FALL IN THE SCHEDULE AND THE PROCESS BY WHICH TO DISPOSE OF RECORDS IF IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN SIMPLY THROW AWAY, THERE ARE CERTAIN RECORDS THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO KEEP FOREVER, BUT YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH A PROCESS INVOLVING A RA TO GET PERMISSION TO DISPOSE OF THEM. 
          YEAH. 
          AND THEY CAN, THEY ARE AMAZING PEOPLE IN A RA THEY CAN WALK YOU THROUGH THAT ENTIRE PROCESS FOR YOUR OFFICE IF YOU'VE GOT RECORDS LIKE THAT. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU, DANIELLE. 
          THANK YOU DANIELLE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ FOR THE, THE CONVERSATION AS WELL, DANIELLE. 
          UM, THERE'S NO MORE, NO MORE COUNCILORS. 
          OH, ACTUALLY THERE IS SOMEONE ELSE IN THE QUEUE. 
          UH, WE HAVE COUNCILOR CASTILLO. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          THIS DISCUSSION, UM, ACTUALLY BROUGHT BACK A MEMORY WHEN THE IMPROVEMENTS ON HOUSTON AVENUE WERE BEING REMOVED. 
          AND THERE WERE SOME QUESTIONS, UH, POSED ABOUT THE INFORMATION. 
          ONE OF THE, THE REASONS FOR NOT DISCLOSING IT WAS HOMELAND SECURITY PURPOSES AROUND SOME OF THE, THE ISSUES. 
          WHAT, WHAT IS THE THRESHOLD FOR USING THAT DESIGNATION FOR NOT DISCLOSING INFORMATION? AND IS THAT SOMETHING COUNCIL OFFICES CAN ALSO UTILIZE? UH, YES. 
          SO THE HOMELAND SECURITY ACT IS, UH, IT'S IN THE GOVERNMENT CODE. 
          I'M BLANKING OUT ON THE EXACT CHAPTER, BUT IT HAS VARIOUS PROVISIONS THAT PROTECT DIFFERENT TYPES OF INFORMATION. 
          BUT THE ONE THAT I THINK IS OFTEN MOST COMMONLY USED BY GOVERNMENTAL BODIES PROTECTS INFORMATION THAT REVEALS TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS AND VULNERABILITIES OF CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          AND SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT OFTEN COMES INTO PLAY WITH IN, UH, DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT OUR AIRPORT SYSTEM INFORMATION THAT PUBLIC WORKS HAS. 
          UM, SO IT REALLY ENDS UP COMING INTO PLAY. 
          UM, IF THE, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE RIDING SOMETHING TO THE AG, WE'RE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH THE DEPARTMENT WHO'S THE CUSTODIAN AND REALLY THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT ON THE RECORDS TO KIND OF PAIR THEIR CONCERNS AND THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF THE RECORDS WITH OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE LAW AND APPLICABLE EXCEPTIONS. 
          SO WE, ESPECIALLY WITH THAT PROVISION, BECAUSE WE ARE NOT PRIVY TO ALL THE TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS OF CERTAIN INFORMATION, AND ALSO INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT POTENTIAL, UM, UH, SAFETY RISKS THERE CAN BE. 
          UH, WE USUALLY LOOK TO SORT OF THE, THE DEPARTMENT FOR LEAVE. 
          SO IF YOU HAVE SOME INFORMATION THAT IS REQUESTED THAT YOU THINK MIGHT BE YOU HAVE HOMELAND SECURITY, UH, CONCERNS ABOUT, THEN, YOU KNOW, PLEASE EXPRESS THEM TO THE PIO, THEY'LL GET IN TOUCH WITH US, AND THEN WE CAN SORT OF WORK TOGETHER AND LOOK AND SEE IF IT WOULD BE APPLICABLE IN THAT SITUATION. 
          UH, THAT'S A GOOD POINT. 
          'CAUSE ON THE SURFACE, YOU KNOW, I WOULDN'T HAVE THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE A HOMELAND SECURITY ISSUE. 
          RIGHT. 
          BUT IF THERE'S ISSUES THERE THAT ARE RELATED TO HOMELAND SECURITY, YOU KNOW, AND NOT WANTING TO DISCLOSE THE INFORMATION, UM, THAT MAY NOT BE, UH, EASILY, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT ON THE SURFACE A COUNCIL OFFICE WOULD KNOW ABOUT. 
          RIGHT? LIKE, OH, THIS JUST SEEMS LIKE A STRAIGHTFORWARD, YOU KNOW, KIND OF TRAFFIC QUESTION. 
          DOESN'T APPEAR LIKE HOMELAND SECURITY COMES INTO PLAY HERE, BUT IT, IT MAY. 
          SO IF THERE ARE QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT OR TO PREVENT US FROM DISCLOSING INFORMATION THAT MAY BE, UH, RELATED TO THAT, YOUR GUIDANCE IS JUST TO GO TO THE PIO. 
          YES, ABSOLUTELY. 
          'CAUSE THEN THEY CAN ALSO, IF YOU'VE GOT, IF YOU'VE BEEN WORKING WITH A DEPARTMENT, UM, AND, AND MOST OF THIS INFORMATION IS INFORMATION THAT, UH, IS THE DEPARTMENT IS A CUSTODIAN OF, WELL THEN THAT IS SOMEONE THAT EITHER THE PPIO OR LEGAL, WE, YOU KNOW, WE KIND OF ALL HAVE TO SORT OF WORK TOGETHER TO IDENTIFY, YOU KNOW, WHO'S THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT ON 
          [00:45:01]
THIS, ON THIS, ON THESE RECORDS. 
          AND WHETHER OR NOT THERE, UM, IS A CONCERN THERE. 
          UM, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, I, I DIDN'T REALIZE THIS IS UNTIL I CAME TO THE, TO THE CITY, BUT YOU KNOW, WE WRITE ON HOMELAND SECURITY FOR ALL AIRPORT FOOTAGE AT THE AIRPORT, YOU KNOW, REGARDLESS OF WHAT IS THE CONTENT OF THE AIRPORT. 
          'CAUSE THE AIRPORT SYSTEM HAS A CONCERN THAT IF YOU CAN SEE THE, WHERE CAMERAS ARE AND THE ANGLE THAT CAMERAS ARE LOOKING AT, SOMEONE CAN PUT THAT INFORMATION TOGETHER MM-HMM . 
          AND SORT OF GET A BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF, WELL, WHERE OUR SORT OF BLIND SPOT SPOTS ARE IN TERMS OF, OF INFORMATION, UM, REAL, YOU KNOW, UH, RELATED TO, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE AIRPORT. 
          SO THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT CAME ABOUT BECAUSE THE AIRPORT SYSTEM IDENTIFIED THAT CONCERN. 
          UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE WOULDN'T HAVE, YOU KNOW, WOULDN'T HAVE KNOWN OTHERWISE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          GREAT QUESTION. 
          COUNCILOR CASTILLO, UM, ON THE, THE TRAINING FOR, IS THERE MANDATORY TRAINING FOR PIOS? YES. 
          IN FACT, I'M DOING SOME THIS AFTERNOON,  2:00 PM IT'S A VIRTUAL TRAINING IF ANYBODY WANTS TO ATTEND. 
          UM, BUT YES, SO, UM, WHEN A-A-P-I-A STARTS AT THAT ROLE, AT, AT THE CITY, WE HAVE A LITTLE CHECKLIST. 
          AND, AND ONE OF THOSE ITEMS ON THERE IS TO COMPLETE THE STATE, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE TRAINING. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THEY HAVE TO DO THAT ONE HOUR OVERVIEW. 
          THEN THEY ALSO HAVE TO DO TRAINING ON OUR GOV QA SYSTEM. 
          PLUS WE, WE OFTEN WORK ONE-ON-ONE WITH INDIVIDUALS, PLUS WE DO EVERY OTHER MONTH A CITYWIDE PIO TRAINING. 
          UM, WE JUST CIRCLE THROUGH, UH, DIFFERENT TOPICS RELATED TO THE ACT. 
          AND WE'RE REALLY GETTING INTO SORT OF THE MINUTIA OF PROCESSING UNDER THE ACTA. 
          THE SUBJECT MATTER FOR TODAY IS WE'RE GONNA DO AN OVERVIEW ABOUT EXCEPTIONS. 
          WE TALK ABOUT COST RULES, WE TALK ABOUT CLARIFICATIONS AND HOW TO BE CUSTOMER SERVICE ORIENTED. 
          SO WE ALSO DO, UH, TRAININGS UPON REQUESTS. 
          SO IF A COUNCIL OFFICE WOULD LIKE A TRAINING, WE ARE HAPPY TO COME OUT AND, AND DO THAT, AND, AND WE CAN TAILOR IT TO WHAT YOU NEED. 
          THANK YOU, DANIELLE. 
          UM, AND WE HAVE COUNCILLOR RAMIREZ IN THE QUEUE. 
          AGAIN, IF WE CAN LIMIT IT, IT'S SO WE CAN GET TO THE NEXT PRESENTATION AS WELL. 
          RIGHT. 
          SO, UH, I'M GLAD COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILE BROUGHT THAT UP BECAUSE, UH, THE HOMELAND SECURITY IS SORT OF A, I GUESS, CONFIDENTIAL BY LAW AS I UNDERSTAND IT. 
          BUT THAT SORT OF SPEAKS TO THE TENSION BETWEEN THE PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT, WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO, UM, OPEN UP GOVERNMENT, MAKE IT, UH, MAKE IT EASIER FOR THE PUBLIC TO ACCESS INFORMATION ABOUT ITS GOVERNMENT. 
          AND SO THIS CAME UP RECENTLY, UH, IN THE CONTEXT OF THE POLK STREET STREET ABANDONMENT. 
          UM, WHEN YOU WANT TO TAKE OVER A STREET, YOU HAVE TO APPLY TO THE JOINT REVIEW COMMITTEE IN ORDER TO TAKE IT OVER. 
          UH, THIS IS A WRITTEN APPLICATION THAT HAS TO BE MADE. 
          SO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC SOUGHT THE WRITTEN APPLICATION TO TAKE OVER POKE. 
          AND INITIALLY, UH, THEY WERE DENIED ACCESS TO IT BECAUSE IT HAD, UH, SOME INFORMATION ABOUT DRAINAGE, SOME DRAWINGS ABOUT DRAINAGE. 
          AND THE CLAIM WAS, THAT'S HOMELAND SECURITY INFORMATION. 
          AND SO, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS PRETTY IMPORTANT. 
          THAT'S A PRETTY IMPORTANT ONGOING PUBLIC ISSUE RIGHT NOW, IS THE DEBATE CONCERNING THE POLK STREET ABANDONMENT. 
          UM, AND SO I, I WAS ASKED TO LOOK INTO IT, I DID. 
          AND IT TURNS OUT THAT BECAUSE THOSE SAME, UH, THAT SAME DRAINAGE INFORMATION HAD ALREADY BEEN DISCLOSED IN ANOTHER CONTEXT, WE COULDN'T VERY WELL WITHHOLD THAT. 
          BUT IT SEEMS LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT WANTS TO OPEN UP GOVERNMENT FOR PEOPLE, BUT SOMETIMES AS A GOVERNMENT, WE ARE VERY STRICT ABOUT RELEASING INFORMATION. 
          AND SO, UM, I GUESS MY POINT IS MAYBE WE SHOULD TRY TO BE MORE OPEN, UH, AND, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT'S POSSIBLE. 
          UM, 'CAUSE YOU, YOU CAN READ THOSE PROVISIONS LIKE HOMELAND SECURITY VERY, VERY BROADLY AND, AND IT REALLY JUST GOES AGAINST, I THINK, THE SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT. 
          SO THAT'S JUST A, AN OBSERVATION. 
          THANK YOU. 
          REALLY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, DANIELLE. 
          THERE'S NO MORE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS OR STAFF IN THE QUEUE. 
          UH, WE APPRECIATE THIS CONVERSATION AND LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AGAIN SOON. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, NEXT UP WE HAVE, UH, STEVEN DAVID, THE DE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF FOR THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, UH, WHO WILL BE PRESENTING ON UPDATE PROPOSED, UH, AMENDMENTS TO THE CODE, UH, ORDINANCE OF CHAPTER 15 AND 18. 
          UM, IF YOU CAN, UH, FOR THE, FOR THE RECORD, INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND ANYBODY THAT'S HERE WITH YOU FROM YOUR TEAM. 
          YEP. 
          GOOD MORNING. 
          I'M STEPHEN DAVID, DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO MAYOR WHITMEYER. 
          UH, CHAIR, VICE CHAIR, COUNCIL MEMBER STAFF. 
          THANK Y'ALL FOR HOSTING. 
          WHAT I WANTED TO BE ABLE TO DO WAS WALK YOU THROUGH, UH, ACTUALLY I'M GONNA TAKE A LITTLE PERSONAL PRIVILEGE HERE AND SAY, HAPPY OPENING DAY TO THE ASTROS. 
          VERY EXCITED, BUT ALSO, I DO APPRECIATE YOU RECOGNIZING DANIELLE FOLSOM. 
          SHE IS LIKE THE PERSON THAT I CALL FOR BASICALLY EVERYTHING. 
          UM, SHE'S CLEARLY 
          [00:50:01]
A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE, SO JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU. 
          UM, SO WHAT I'M GOING TO BE PRESENTING TODAY, UM, ARE A SERIES OF POTENTIAL SUGGESTIONS. 
          UM, THIS I'M GOING TO VIEW, UH, AND HOPE Y'ALL DO TOO, NOT DISSIMILAR FROM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER HUFFMAN'S, UH, PROP, A COMMITTEE WHERE WE CAN COME AND HAVE AN OPEN DISCUSSION. 
          ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MAYOR WHITMEYER WAS VERY, UH, VERY, UH, KEEN ON DOING WAS ENSURING THAT THIS COMMITTEE BECAME A COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. 
          AND, UH, SO WHEN WE CAME INTO OFFICE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WANTED TO DO WAS PUT FORWARD A SERIES OF TRAININGS, UH, ETHICS UPDATES, WHICH IS WHAT DANIELLE HAS BEEN DOING, AND THEN ALSO BRING FORWARD, UM, A SERIES OF POTENTIAL REVISIONS TO, UH, OUR ORDINANCES, UH, THAT GUIDE ETHICS AND CONTRACTING, UH, CHAPTERS 18 AND 15 RESPECTIVELY. 
          AND THEN, UH, BE ABLE TO, UH, ALLOW Y'ALL TO DELIBERATE IN A FORUM WHERE WE PRESERVE Y'ALL'S ABILITY TO NOT HAVE A WALK-IN QUORUM, UH, WITH THIS OPEN FORUM HERE. 
          AND THEN, UH, GIVE YOU'ALL THE ABILITY TO MAKE SUGGESTIONS TO US ABOUT WHAT YOU THINK WOULD BE AN APPROPRIATE SET OF CHANGES WITHIN OUR ORDINANCES. 
          SO, UH, WHAT I'LL SAY IS THAT THIS PRESENTATION, UM, IS A SET OF THINGS THAT WE HAVE HEARD ENVISIONS A SET OF CHANGES THAT WE'VE HEARD Y'ALL SPEAK ABOUT AT THE HORSESHOE, UM, EITHER AT THE HORSESHOE OR ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL. 
          AND THEN OF COURSE, MAYOR WHITMEYER CAMPAIGNED ON, UH, ETHICS REFORMS, O OBVIOUSLY FRAUD, WASTE AND ABUSE, AND BEING ABLE TO, OR POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, UM, AND BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THOSE IN AN APPROPRIATE WAY THROUGH ORDINANCE CHANGES, WHILE ALSO PRESERVING THE, THE FACT THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF FOLKS WHO WANT TO DO GOOD AND VOLUNTEER WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          UM, SO WHAT I'M GONNA DO IS TAKE THE TIME TO WALK YOU THROUGH THIS. 
          MY PREFERENCE IS TO GO THROUGH IT AT A CLIP AND THEN ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. 
          I THINK THIS IS MORE OF A DIALOGUE AS OPPOSED TO ME JUST TALKING AT Y'ALL. 
          UM, SO WITH NO FURTHER DO, I'LL GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED. 
          SO IF I COULD GO TO SLIDE TWO. 
          SO WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS, UH, A DEFINITION PORTION WITHIN CHAPTER 18 DASH TWO, UM, SECTION 18 DASH TWO. 
          SO WHAT WE WOULD DO WAS, UH, IS POTENTIALLY EXPAND, UH, THE, UH, DEFINITION OF WHAT A BOARD COMMITTEE OR COMMISSION MEMBER MEANS. 
          UM, I'LL POINT YOU TO THE LAST HALF OF THE FIRST BULLET ON THE LEFT SIDE, WHICH IS, UH, THE, UH, VOTING MEMBER OF A BOARD COMMITTEE OR COMMISSION OF WHICH THE CITY EITHER CREATED OR THE CITY IS AUTHORIZED BY LAW TO APPOINT ON OR, UH, MORE MEMBERS. 
          SO WHAT THAT MEANS, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? UH, ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THIS IS WE HAVE ADVISORY BOARDS, OFFICER BOARDS, HERS, LGC, CITY, NONPROFITS, AND OTHER GOVERNING AGENCIES LIKE METRO PORT OF HOUSTON, HOUSING AUTHORITY, THE STUFF THAT YOU'RE USED TO SEEING. 
          SO WHAT THIS WOULD ALLOW US TO DO IS TO HAVE A CODIFIED DEFINITION WITHIN CHAPTER 18 DASH TWO OF WHAT A BOARD COMMISSION OR COMMITTEE MEMBER MEANS TO US. 
          UM, NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO Y'ALL ARE, UH, HAVING Y'ALL HAD THE CONVERSATION, UH, AND THE VOTE TO DELAY, UH, YESTERDAY FOR, UM, THE DISPARITY STUDY THAT ALSO HOUSES IS HOUSED WITHIN CHAPTER 15. 
          THIS IS ANOTHER SECTION OF CHAPTER 15. 
          UM, WHAT WE TALK ABOUT HERE IS SPECIFICALLY THE AWARDING OF CITY CONTRACTS. 
          THE, UH, TWO BULLET POINTS THAT YOU SEE ON THE LEFT SIDE. 
          SO SECTIONS 15 ONE A AND 15 ONE B. 
          UM, THEY ARE ALREADY IN EXISTENCE AND THEY, THEY'RE EXCLUSIVELY REPRESENTED FOR CITY EMPLOYEES. 
          AND SO WHAT IT EFFECTIVELY READS IS THAT A CITY EMPLOYEE IS NOT ALLOWED TO BID ON A CONTRACT, UH, INDIVIDUALLY. 
          AND THEN A CITY EMPLOYEE IS NOT ALLOWED TO, UH, BID ON A CONTRACT IN WHICH THE COMPANY THAT IS BIDDING, THEY ARE 1% OR GREATER OWNER OF THAT COMPANY. 
          AND SO WHAT WE ENVISION HERE IS SLOTTING IN BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND, UH, BOARD THE BOARD DEFINITION THAT WE JUST REFERENCED IN THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, TO WHERE IT WOULD MAKE IT UNLAWFUL FOR A CITY EMPLOYEE OR A CITY APPOINTED MEMBER OF A BOARD COMMITTEE OR COMMISSION TO BID ON OR BE AWARDED ANY CONTRACT LED BY THE CITY. 
          AND THEN ALSO SPECIFICALLY ANY CONTRACT THAT HAS, UH, WHERE IN WHICH THAT PERSON HAS GREATER THAN 1% OWNERSHIP STAKE WITHIN A COMPANY. 
          THE EFFECT OF THAT, WHAT THAT MEANS, UM, SO IF THEY, UH, WE ENVISION THIS IN SECTION 15, ONE DASH I, EXCUSE ME, 15 DASH ONE I, UH, AND IF A CITY BOARD MEMBER COMMITTEE, CITY MEMBER, UH, OR CITY EMPLOYEE, UH, BOARD MEMBER COMMITTEE OR COMMISSION BIDS ON OR IS AWARDED, UH, THEY SHOULD BE IMMEDIATELY REMOVED FROM THE BOARD. 
          UH, AND THEN, UH, THEY WOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO, UH, SIT ON A BOARD FOR TWO YEARS, BASICALLY GET A TIMEOUT PENALTY BOX. 
          NOW, HAVING SAID THAT, WE HAVE A TON OF BOARD MEMBERS ACROSS THE CITY OF HOUSTON, AND THEY DO GREAT VOLUNTEER WORK. 
          WE ALSO HAVE A TON OF VENDORS ACROSS THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          SO THE CONVERSATION THAT WE WANNA HAVE, AND THIS IS THE CONVERSATION I'D LIKE FOR Y'ALL TO THINK THROUGH, IS HOW DO WE HAVE A POTENTIAL DELAYED IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS? THIS WHOLE THING IS NET NEW, MEANING WE HAVE TO EDUCATE PEOPLE. 
          THIS ISN'T SOMETHING THAT WE CAN JUST PULL A LEVER ON AND EXPECT THE IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS THAT OUR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS DO TO, TO CONTINUE TO OPERATE. 
          AND SO THE, THE IDEA HERE IS THAT WE WOULD ALLOW FOR POTENTIAL DELAYED IMPLEMENTATION. 
          IT WOULD ALLOW FOR THE CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS TO BE EDUCATED, UH, ON THE CHOICES THEY WILL NEED TO MAKE, WHETHER OR NOT THEY WANNA CONTINUE TO SERVE ON A BOARD, OR WHETHER OR NOT THEY WANNA CONTINUE TO BE A 
          [00:55:01]
CONTRACTOR OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          UM, IT ALSO, UH, ALLOWS US TO NOT CREATE LARGE VACANCIES OR HOLES WITHIN OUR BOARDS SO THEY CAN CONTINUE TO FUNCTION. 
          AND THEN ALSO IT GIVES THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT TO DEVELOP, IT GIVES THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT TIME TO DEVELOP A PROCESS FOR CONDUCTING A NET NEW CHECK ON BUSINESS INTERESTS OF BOARD MEMBERS. 
          SO IF WE'RE GOING TO BE UNDERSTANDING WHETHER OR NOT OUR BOARD MEMBERS ARE GREATER THAN 1% OWNER OF A COMPANY, WE HAVE TO TALK TO THEM AND WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO TRACK THAT INFORMATION AND VALIDATE IT. 
          THERE ARE WAYS IN WHICH WE COULD EXPEDITE THAT PROCESS BY DOING AN AFFIRMATION EFFECTIVELY. 
          UH, BUT WHAT WE DON'T WANT TO DO AGAIN, IS STOP THE BUSINESS OF THE BOARDS. 
          SO THERE IS A POTENTIAL HERE. 
          IF Y'ALL THINK THAT THIS WOULD BE A REASONABLE, UH, A REASONABLE SET OF ETHICS CHANGES TO PUT IN PLACE, I WOULD SUGGEST THAT WE ALSO CONSIDER DOING A DELAYED IMPLEMENTATION. 
          UH, BOARD MEMBERSHIPS, UH, BOARD, UH, SITTING ON A BOARD IS USUALLY BETWEEN TWO AND THREE YEARS. 
          UH, SERVICE, SOMETIMES WE SEE FOUR YEAR BOARDS. 
          I BELIEVE THERE'S ONE OR TWO THAT HAVE LIKE FIVE, FIVE OR SIX YEARS. 
          SO WHAT WE SEE IS A CYCLE OF EVERY TWO YEARS, NEW BOARD MEMBERS NEED TO BE APPOINTED OR WE NEED TO REAPPOINT BOARD MEMBERS. 
          SO THE THOUGHT HERE IS LET'S GIVE IT TWO YEARS, RIGHT? THAT SEEMS LIKE A REASONABLE THING. 
          THAT'S SORT OF THE LANGUAGE OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON ITSELF. 
          AND THAT WOULD GIVE PEOPLE THE ABILITY TO MAKE A, A DECISION FOR THEMSELVES AND THEN ALSO BE ABLE TO, UH, GET EDUCATED TO THE CURRENT PROCESS. 
          UM, SO FLIPPING TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          SLIDE, UH, WE HAVE CHAPTER 18. 
          THIS IS THE ETHICS AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE DISCLOSURE CHAPTERS. 
          SO THIS IS WHAT WOW. 
          ETHICS AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE CHAPTER. 
          UH, THIS IS WHAT WE CALL THE ETHICS CHAPTER. 
          UM, SO WHAT WE WOULD DO, UH, POTENTIAL HERE IS, UH, 18 3D. 
          IF WE MAKE THE CHANGES TO CHAPTER 15, WHICH IS OUR CONTRACTS CHAPTER, WE WOULD REFLECT IT IN CHAPTER 18. 
          AND SO BRING IT OVER INTO THE ETHICS CHAPTER. 
          UH, AND THEN WE WOULD ACTUALLY POTENTIALLY CREATE A NEW SECTION. 
          SO THIS WOULD BE SECTION 18 DASH SIX. 
          THIS IS NET NEW. 
          AND WHAT THIS WOULD BE IS A REQUIREMENT FOR ALL CONTRACTORS AND SUBCONTRACTORS, UH, WHO WANT TO DO BUSINESS WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON TO GIVE THEIR US NAMES OF THE FOLKS WITHIN THE BUSINESS, THE BUSINESS ADDRESS, AS WELL AS WHETHER OR NOT THEY WERE RELATED TO ANY CITY EMPLOYEE OR ELECTED CITY OFFICIAL WITHIN ONE DEGREE OF CONSANGUINITY OR AFFINITY. 
          AND I'M GONNA GO INTO WHAT THAT MEANS IN JUST A SECOND. 
          UM, ADDITIONALLY, UH, WHAT THIS COULD REQUIRE, UH, WHAT WE WOULD ENVISION THIS REQUIRING IS THAT, UH, THIS INFORMATION MUST BE SUBMITTED TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON NO LATER THAN 72 HOURS PRIOR TO GOING TO COUNCIL FOR ACTION. 
          SO, MEANING IF A VENDOR WHO IS TRYING TO GET BUSINESS WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON DOES NOT SUBMIT ALL OF THE, ALL OF WHO THEY VIEW AS CONTRACTORS WITHIN THIS CONTRACT AND THEIR SUBS WITHIN 72 HOURS, WE DON'T BRING IT TO Y'ALL FOR VOTE. 
          UM, I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY ONE OF THE BIGGEST TRANSPARENCY EFFORTS WITHIN THIS PACKET, UH, THAT YOU COULD SEE. 
          UM, THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT WE'VE HEARD OVER, UH, DURING THE CAMPAIGN AS WELL AS, UH, DURING, UM, THE FIRST YEAR AND THREE MONTHS OF, OF BEING IN OFFICE, IS THAT THERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF OPAQUENESS WITHIN WHO, UH, CONTRACTORS HIRE AND WHO SUBS HIGHER. 
          SO THIS WOULD BE A GREAT EXAMPLE, A GREAT WAY TO BRING A LITTLE SUNSHINE TO THAT. 
          AND THEN SECOND, UH, THIS WOULD BE A, UH, THIS WOULD NOT BE A NET NEW, BUT IT WOULD BE A TWEAK THAT ACTUALLY MAKES IT A LITTLE BIT MORE CONVENIENT FOR Y'ALL IN YOUR COUNCIL OFFICES IN SECTION 18 DASH 36 ON THE PROHIBITED CONTRACTOR CONTRIBUTIONS. 
          OBVIOUSLY Y'ALL KNOW THAT YOU CAN'T SPEAK TO PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING THROUGH THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS. 
          THERE IS A BLACKOUT PERIOD, UM, THAT'S ENUMERATED WITHIN THIS CHAPTER AS WELL. 
          UH, SO WHAT THE TWEAK WOULD BE IS THAT THE CITY SECRETARY, WE WOULD REQUIRE THE CITY SECRETARY TO AT A ROUTINE CLIP. 
          INSTEAD OF POSTING IT ON THE WEBSITE AND REQUIRING Y'ALL TO GO FIND IT YOURSELF, WE WOULD SEND THAT INFORMATION TO YOU ON A MONTHLY CADENCE OR A BIWEEKLY CADENCE. 
          WE HAVEN'T FIGURED THAT ONE OUT JUST YET. 
          UH, BUT BE ABLE TO SEND YOU THAT INFORMATION SO YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHO YOU SHOULD AND SHOULD NOT BE MEETING WITH. 
          UM, ADDITIONALLY, AND THAT WOULD BE PAIRED WITH, UH, LOBBYIST PROVISIONS THAT ALLOWS YOU TO ALSO UNDERSTAND WHICH LOBBYISTS ARE REPRESENTING WHICH BUSINESSES. 
          UM, AND SO THAT, UH, I'LL FLIP TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, AND BEFORE I DIVE INTO WHAT AFFINITY AND CONSANGUINITY IS, UM, WHAT I'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO TALK TO Y'ALL ABOUT, UH, IS THAT YOU'RE GONNA BE SEEING THIS COME FORWARD. 
          IT'S BEEN PROGRAMMED IN THE CIP FOR A WHILE, AND WE FINALLY HAD THE CONVERSATION WITH, UH, THE COMPANY THAT DOES THIS FOR THE STATE OF TEXAS, THE TEXAS ETHICS ETHICS COMMISSION. 
          WE ARE GOING TO BE DOING A NEW CAMPAIGN FILING, UH, CAMPAIGN FINANCE FILING PLATFORM. 
          UH, THIS IS GOING TO BE EXACTLY WHAT STATE LAWMAKERS USE. 
          UM, IT IS WIDELY, UH, CONSIDERED TO BE ONE OF THE BEST IN THE STATE. 
          UM, I THINK PROBABLY THE STATE SAYS THAT SOME MAY, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE A LITTLE BIASED ON IT, BUT WHAT IT ALLOWS FOR IS A MORE CONVENIENT WAY. 
          I KNOW WE KNOW THAT OUR CAMPAIGN FILE FILING PROCESS CAMPAIGN FINANCE FILING PROCESS IS A CHALLENGING ONE. 
          UM, IT'S A HEAVY SPREADSHEET. 
          YOU'VE GOTTA MANUALLY UPDATE IT. 
          THIS IS GOING TO BE A MORE CONVENIENT PROCESS. 
          THE OTHER THINGS THAT COME WITH THIS PARTICULAR PACKAGE IS THE ABILITY TO AUTOMATE LOBBYIST REGISTRATION. 
          SO WE CAN SEE VERY QUICKLY WHO OUR LOBBYISTS ARE AND WHO THEY REPRESENT. 
          IT WOULD ALLOW FOR A NON-PAPER VERSION OF, UH, FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE. 
          SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY JUST GO ONLINE AND DO YOUR FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES AS OPPOSED TO HAVING TO FILL IT OUT BY HAND. 
          AND THEN FINALLY, UH, IT WOULD ALLOW FOR US, UH, TO BE ABLE TO MORE APPROPRIATELY GIVE Y'ALL, UH, BLACKOUT INFORMATION WITH REGARD TO, UM, WITH REGARD TO WHICH CONTRACTORS YOU CAN AND CANNOT MEET WITH OR SPEAK TO. 
          UM, SO HAVING 
          [01:00:01]
SAID THAT, UH, THE LAST SLIDE, AND THEN I'LL PAUSE AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS IS WHAT AFFINITY VERSUS, UH, CONSANGUINITY IS. 
          SO AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE LEFT SIDE, WE HAVE OUR AFFINITY, AND THIS IS A DANIELLE FOLSOM DIAGRAM. 
          AGAIN, SHE GIVES US ALL THE GOOD STUFF HERE. 
          UH, AFFINITY KINSHIP IS REALLY, UH, RELATIONSHIP BY MARRIAGE. 
          SO FIRST DEGREE OF AFFINITY IS GONNA BE YOUR FATHER-IN-LAW, MOTHER-IN-LAW, SON-IN-LAW, DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, OR THE, THE OFFICER'S SPOUSE. 
          AND THEN FIRST DEGREE OF CONSANGUINITY IS GONNA BE FATHER, MOTHER, SON, DAUGHTER, UH, IN, IN RELATION. 
          AND SO WHAT THIS ENVISIONS RIGHT NOW IS THE ASSUMPTION OF FIRST DEGREE OF AFFINITY AND CONSANGUINITY. 
          UM, WITH BEING ABLE WITH RESTRICTIONS, UM, I WOULD EXPECT Y'ALL TO DELIBERATE AND SEE IF THERE IS VALUE IN GOING HIGHER THAN THAT. 
          UM, I HAD A CONVERSATION WITH DANIELLE RIGHT BEFORE THIS, AND SHE INDICATED THAT THERE ARE MULTIPLE, UH, PROVISIONS ACROSS THE STATE OF TEXAS THAT CHOOSE FIRST DEGREE. 
          SECOND DEGREE. 
          YOU CAN GO UP TO FOURTH DEGREE, BUT THAT FEELS LIKE IT WOULD BE A REAL RESTRICTIVE. 
          THE THING THAT I'LL SAY IS, THE FURTHER OUT YOU GO IN THESE CONCENTRIC CIRCLE DIAGRAMS, THE MORE WORK THAT THERE IS TO UNDERSTAND WHO FITS WITHIN THAT CATEGORY. 
          UM, SO HAVING SAID THAT, I'LL PAUSE, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT Y'ALL MIGHT HAVE. 
          UH, FIRST, UH, JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU, STEVEN. 
          UH, I KNOW WE'VE HAD DISCUSSIONS OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS, AND OF COURSE WITH VICE CHAIR CARTER ABOUT WANTING TO GET TO A POINT WHERE WE CAN START SHARING SOME OF THIS INFORMATION ON, ON WHAT, WHAT POSSIBLE CHANGES CAN HAPPEN TO CHAPTER 15 AND CHAPTER 18. 
          AND SO, SO IT'S GOOD INFORMATION. 
          UH, A LOT OF INFORMATION FOR SOME OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS AROUND HERE AND THE STAFF. 
          UM, WANNA MAKE SURE THAT AS WE HAVE THESE, THESE, THESE DISCUSSIONS AROUND THE HORSESHOE, AGAIN, WE DON'T HAVE QUORUM TO, TO DO ANY, ANY KIND OF ACTUAL, UM, UM, VOTING. 
          BUT, UM, WE DEFINITELY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE GET TO A POINT WHERE WE, WE ADOPT SOME CHANGES, UH, THAT MAKE SENSE TO US ALL. 
          UH, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE OF SOME OF THE RECENT, UH, ITEMS THAT HAVE BEEN IN THE NEWS. 
          WE, ONE THAT'S BEEN MORE, MORE PUBLIC HAS BEEN THE, THE, UH, WATER LEAK CONTRACTS, UM, WHAT THAT LOOK LIKE. 
          AND, AND AGAIN, I THINK, UM, AS ELECTED OFFICIALS AND AND STAFF, WE REALLY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BUILDING TRUST WITH COMMUNITY. 
          UH, WE WANT THEM TO KNOW THAT WE ARE HERE TO DO THE WORK OF THE, OF THE, OF THE PUBLIC. 
          UH, BUT IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, WE HAVE SOME, UH, SOME GUIDELINES AND SOME, SOME FIREWALLS THAT WE CAN, WE CAN CREATE. 
          AND SO, UH, WITH THAT, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND START WITH, UH, WITH SOME OF THE, UH, THE COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT ARE IN THE QUEUE. 
          WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO, THANK YOU, CHAIR, AND THANK YOU STEVEN. 
          MM-HMM . 
          UH, IT, IT'S GREAT TO SEE THAT SOME CHANGES ARE COMING. 
          UH, I THINK THEY'RE, THEY'RE LONG OVERDUE. 
          AND SPECIFICALLY ON THE CAMPAIGN FINANCE TOOL, , UH, WHICH IS A RELIC FROM THE PAST, UH, THAT WE USED THERE, MY QUESTIONS, UH, ARE RELATED TO THE CHANGES ON, UH, FOLKS SERVING ON BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS. 
          SURE. 
          SO IF WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, PEOPLE WHO SERVE ON BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, YOU KNOW, T AND THEN LET'S SAY THEY WORK FOR A COMPANY THAT GETS A CONTRACT MM-HMM . 
          AND DOES THAT PRECLUDE THEM FROM SERVING? OR WHERE, WHERE IS THE LINE IF 1% OF IS IN PRIME? IS IT A SUB? IS IT YEAH. 
          DOESN'T APPLY TO SUBS? UH, 1% OWNERSHIP OF A COMPANY. 
          SO IF STEVE AND DAVID, OWNER OF AN ENGINEERING FIRM, UH, SAY 50% OWNERSHIP, EVEN 5% OWNERSHIP OF AN ENGINEERING FIRM, UH, GETS A CONTRACT WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON, BUT ALSO SITS ON A BOARD, UM, I HAVE TO MAKE THE CHOICE OF WHICH ONE I WANT TO DO. 
          IF STEVE AND DAVID, EMPLOYEE OF AN ENGINEERING FIRM WHO HAS LESS THAN 1% OWNERSHIP, UH, IS PART OF A TEAM THAT BIDS ON A CONTRACT, I CAN STILL SIT ON THAT BOARD. 
          WE ARE NOT PRECLUDING REPRESENTATION ON THOSE BOARDS, BUT WHAT WE ARE SAYING IS THAT THE PERSON WHO IS THE OWNER OR DECISION MAKER, THE PERSON WHO DOES THE STRATEGY AND THE EX, THAT IS THE, THE PERSON THAT WE WOULD BE TALKING ABOUT WITHIN THIS SCENARIO, IF THERE ARE CHANGES THAT YOU ENVISION, IF YOU THINK THAT IT'S TOO RESTRICTIVE, IF YOU THINK THAT IT COULD BE MORE RESTRICTIVE, UH, THOSE ARE CONVERSATIONS WE'RE ABSOLUTELY WILLING TO ENTERTAIN. 
          IT'S THE REASON WHY WE WANTED TO HAVE THIS DIALOGUE. 
          BUT IN ITS CURRENT VERSION, THAT'S WHAT THAT ENVISIONED 1% OWNERSHIP, AT LEAST 1% OWNERSHIP. 
          MM-HMM . 
          OF, UH, OF THE COMPANY. 
          OKAY. 
          THAT'S GOOD TO KNOW. 
          'CAUSE I THINK, YOU KNOW, SPECIFICALLY WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SOME OF OUR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, YOU KNOW, HAVING CERTAIN EXPERTISE ABSOLUTELY. 
          IS VALUABLE FROM THE ENGINEERING SIDE, FROM THE ARCHITECTURE, FINANCE, ALL THE STUFF YEAH. 
          FINANCE. 
          AND SO, UM, YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SO RESTRICTIVE THAT YOU'RE PROHIBITING FOLKS WHO DO GOOD WORK, VOLUNTEER, HAVE THE EXPERTISE FROM BEING A PART OF IT. 
          UM, BUT I ABSOLUTELY AGREE WITH WANTING TO PUT SOME, SOME MORE TIGHTER RESTRICTIONS AROUND THAT. 
          YEAH. 
          IN A REAL WORLD EXAMPLE, I MEAN, I'LL, I'LL MAKE THIS PERSONAL. 
          PRIOR TO COMING BACK TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON, I WORKED FOR ACCENTURE AND I WORKED FOR KPMG OF WHICH COMPANY I NEITHER HAD, DEFINITELY HAD STOCK IN THE COMPANY, BUT, UH, NOWHERE EVEN NEAR 1% OWNERSHIP. 
          BUT I DID GREAT WORK. 
          I DID WONDERFUL WORK, UM, IN THE GOVERNMENT SECTOR WITH ACCENTURE. 
          THIS WOULD NOT PRECLUDE ME FROM SERVING ON A BOARD AS A VOLUNTEER AND A, A PERSON WHO LOVES HOUSTON AND WANTS TO GIVE BACK. 
          GOT IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YEAH, THANK YOU. 
          THAT'S A 
          [01:05:01]
GREAT QUESTION. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO. 
          AND OF COURSE THE CON THE CONVERSATION IS BEING HAD AS WELL. 
          AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE CONTINUE THIS DIALOGUE BECAUSE AGAIN, UH, WE DEFINITELY DON'T WANNA, UM, PRECLUDE FOLKS WITH, YOU KNOW, TALENT SKILLS YEAH. 
          TO BE ABLE TO ABSOLUTELY SUPPORT OUR CITY, UH, AND VOLUNTEER. 
          UH, BUT ON THAT SAME, UH, ON THAT SAME, UH, YOU KNOW, TOPIC, WE ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE BEING TRANSPARENT, RIGHT? WE ARE MAKING SURE THAT, UH, FOLKS THAT ARE SERVING ARE, HAVE THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CITY AT, AT THE END OF THE DAY, UH, WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, RAMIREZ IN THE QUEUE. 
          YES. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          AND THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATIONS. 
          UH, STEVEN. 
          YES, SIR. 
          AND FOR THE, UH, CHANGES TO BEING PROPOSED. 
          SO CHAPTER 15 CONTRACTS AS I'M LOOKING AT THIS, OKAY. 
          SO IF SOMEONE, UH, SERVING ON A BOARD, UM, GETS AWARDED A CONTRACT, UM, THE PENALTY IS THEY GET, THEY GET REMOVED FROM THE BOARD, THEY GET TO KEEP THEIR CONTRACT. 
          IS, IS THAT THAT'S RIGHT. 
          YES, SIR. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, SO THERE ARE NO CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH THERE'D BE A FINANCIAL PENALTY TO THEM? I DO NOT, NO. 
          NO, THAT'S NOT ENVISIONED IN THIS. 
          OKAY. 
          AND WHAT, WHAT I WOULD SAY IS THAT THE, UH, THE, HOW DO I WANNA PHRASE THIS? UH, THE ASSUMPTION THAT WE GO THROUGH IS THAT IF A PERSON HAS GONE THROUGH THE NORMAL PROCUREMENT PROCESS, THEY ARE A QUALIFIED VENDOR, RIGHT? WE, WE TRY NOT TO, THROUGH OUR PROCUREMENT PROCESSES, BRING UNQUALIFIED VENDORS FORWARD. 
          AND SO THE IDEA HERE IS THAT WE DO WANT THEM TO HAVE TO MAKE A CHOICE BETWEEN SERVING ON A BOARD AND BEING A VENDOR. 
          BUT YOU GOT THROUGH THE PROCESS. 
          I MEAN, I, I TRUST JED AND THE TEAMS THAT HE PUTS TOGETHER TO REVIEW THESE THINGS. 
          THESE ARE GOOD FOLKS AND WE WANT THEM TO SERVE THE CITY. 
          RIGHT. 
          OKAY. 
          AND REGARDING, UM, THE ROLLOUT PERIOD, EDWARD IMPLEMENTATION, UM, WOULD IT MAKE SENSE? GOT SURE, SURE. 
          WOULD IT MAKE SENSE TO MAKE THIS APPLICABLE AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH NEW TERM? WOULD IT MAKE SENSE TO MAKE THIS APPLICABLE AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH NEW TERM? SO AS MEMBERS SORT OF ROLL OFF OR GET RENEWED, THAT'S WHEN IT BECOMES APPLICABLE TO THEM? YEAH, I THINK THAT'S A REASONABLE, A REASONABLE RECOMMENDATION. 
          OKAY. 
          UH, IN REGARDING, UH, CHAPTER 18, SO DISCLOSURE OF CONTRACTORS AND SUBCONTRACTORS. 
          SO UNDER THE PROPOSED CHANGES, SUBCONTRACTORS AND CONTRACTORS WOULD HAVE TO BE DISCLOSED, UH, ONLY ON MWBE CONTRACTS OR ON ALL, ALL ON ALL CONTRACTS. 
          CORRECT. 
          OKAY. 
          AND, UM, WHAT ABOUT RESTRICTIONS ON, OR DISCLOSURE, I SHOULD SAY, DISCLOSURE OF CONSULTANTS ON, UH, CITY CONTRACTS? IS THAT, IS THAT CURRENTLY, UM, A REQUIREMENT? CONSULTANTS IN WHAT CAPACITY? MEANING THAT, UH, STEVE AND DAVID CONSULTING HIRES SOMEONE TO BE A CONSULTANT ON MY STAFF FOR THE PURPOSES OF THAT CONTRACT AT, AT THE, AT THE STAGE WHERE THE CONTRACT IS BEING AWARDED. 
          OKAY. 
          OR NEGOTIATED SOME, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. 
          CONSULTANTS MAKING MONEY OFF, OFF THAT DEAL. 
          DO, DO THEY HAVE TO BE DISCLOSED? UH, I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE A GOOD RECOMMENDATION. 
          OKAY. 
          UH, IN ENVISIONED IN THIS, I BELIEVE IT WOULD CAPTURE IT. 
          I'LL SAY THAT THE SPIRIT OF HOW WE WROTE THIS IS IT WOULD CAPTURE IT. 
          BUT IF YOU THINK THAT THERE IS A POTENTIAL THAT, THAT COULD NOT BE TRUE, THEN I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE INCLUDE IT. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          WELL, LET ME MAKE THAT RECOMMENDATION AS WELL, . 
          OKAY. 
          AND I'LL, I'LL GET OFF RIGHT NOW. 
          THANK YOU. 
          NEXT WE HAVE, UH, COUNCILOR FLICKINGER. 
          THANK YOU. 
          APPRECIATE IT, STEVEN. 
          YES, SIR. 
          UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT IT GROWS EXPONENTIALLY AS YOU GO OUT TO DIFFERENT DEGREES MM-HMM. 
          . 
          UM, BUT IF IT'S NOT TOO TERRIBLY BURDENSOME, I WOULD MIGHT SUGGEST THAT WE GO TO SECOND DEGREE RATHER THAN JUST FIRST DEGREE. 
          THAT'S ALL. 
          OKAY. 
          THAT'S A GREAT RECOMMENDATION. 
          NOW, WE, WE HAD THIS CONVERSATION AS WELL, AND WE HAVE SCOUT THAT'S IN THE, IN THE CHAMBERS. 
          AND I THINK THIS WILL ALL FALL ON HER  TO DO THIS. 
          SO YEAH, THIS CONVERSATION IS DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTED TO HER WORKLOAD. 
          YEAH. 
          SORRY, SCOUT. 
          UM, BUT, BUT AGAIN, I THINK IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S A GOOD SUGGESTION AS WELL. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER. 
          UM, NEXT WE HAVE A STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS'S OFFICE. 
          THANK YOU, STEVEN. 
          DAVID? UM, YES MA'AM. 
          I HAVE A QUESTION REGARDING THE BOARD TERM. 
          MM-HMM . 
          WHAT'S THE CURRENT TERM FOR A BOARD MEMBER? IT VARIES. 
          UH, THERE ARE, I'LL SAY THAT THE, THERE ARE BOARD OFFICER TERMS THAT ARE SOMETIMES AT A YEAR. 
          UH, MOST OF THE BOARDS THAT WE HAVE ARE TWO YEAR TERMS, BUT WE'VE SEEN UPWARDS. 
          UH, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF BOARDS THAT WERE CREATED, UH, PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION WHERE WE SAW SIX YEAR TERMS. SO IT, IT HAS A BIG WIDE RANGE OF IT. 
          UM, YEAH, IT HAS A BIG WIDE RANGE. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MM-HMM . 
          STEPH FROM COUNCILOR ALCORN'S OFFICE. 
          HI. 
          HI STEVEN. 
          UM, CAN YOU REITERATE OR EXPLAIN THE BLACKOUT PARAMETERS WHEN WE HAVE, WHEN WE LIKE THE CONTRACTORS, LIKE, CAN AND CANNOT TALK TO US? BECAUSE WE, I MEAN, IT'S NOT, WE GET SOME QUESTIONS THAT AREN'T, MAYBE THEY DON'T KNOW, THEY DON'T MEAN TO. 
          AND I ALWAYS GET NERVOUS ABOUT LIKE, OH MY GOD. 
          LIKE, WHAT DO WE DO? SO I'LL WHAT I'LL SAY WHILE, WHILE DANIELLE COMES UP, PLEASE. 
          UM, WHILE DANIELLE COMES UP, 'CAUSE SHE LITERALLY IS THE EXPERT ON THIS. 
          SHE'S THE PERSON I WOULD CALL. 
          SO IT'S GREAT SHE'S HERE. 
          UM, WHAT I'LL SAY IS THAT THE POINT IN THE SOFTWARE SYSTEM THAT I REFERENCED EARLIER IS TO 
          [01:10:01]
AUTOMATE THAT ENTIRE THING, RIGHT? WE HAVE NEW SYSTEMS, UH, IN PLACE. 
          JET HAS DONE A WONDERFUL JOB OF BRINGING IN, UH, WITH SAP, WITH SAP ARIBA, WE ARE NOW DIGITIZING THE APPLICATION PROCESS, RIGHT? AND WE HAVE OUR, ALL OF THESE VENDORS HAVE UNIQUE VENDOR IDS WITHIN OUR DATA SYSTEMS. I WANNA BE ABLE TO AUTOMATE THAT TO WHERE WHEN SOMEONE PUTS A BID IN FOR SOMETHING, IT IMMEDIATELY COMPELS WHATEVER ACTIONS NEED TO OCCUR. 
          AND Y'ALL ARE FULLY AWARE OF IT. 
          THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. 
          UM, OH, UH, BEAR WITH ME 'CAUSE I DON'T HAVE MY SLIDE THAT I USUALLY REFERENCE WITH THE, UH, WITH THE TIMELINE ON IT. 
          SO, UH, I GUESS WHEN WE, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UH, UH, BLACKOUT PERIODS, I THINK A, A LOT OF TIMES WE THINK ABOUT 18 DASH 36, WHICH IS WHAT IS BEING REFERENCED HERE IN THIS PROPOSAL, AND IS WHAT IS THE LIST THAT WILL POTENTIALLY BE AUTOMATED? THAT'S CURRENTLY, UM, IN A SPREADSHEET FORM ON THE CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE, BUT THERE'S ACTUALLY LIKE THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF BLACKOUT TYPE OF PROHIBITION PERIODS. 
          SO THERE IS THE QUIET PERIOD, WHICH THAT DEALS WITH SORT OF COMMUNICATION WITH VENDORS. 
          AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS, IS NOT IN CITY POLICY OR IN CITY CODE, BUT IS IN THE TERMS OF THE SOLICITATION. 
          SO, SO VIOLATION FROM THAT ON THE, UM, THE ELECTED OFFICIAL OR ON THE EMPLOYEE'S SIDE IS NOT NECESSARILY SORT OF A VIOLATION OF THE CODE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT IS A TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE SOLICITATION. 
          SO IF ONE OF THE INDIVIDUALS WHO'S SUBJECT TO THE QUIET PERIOD WHEN THE BUSINESS IS VIOLATES IT, THEY CAN LOSE OUT ON, ON THE CONTRACT. 
          UM, AND, UH, THEN THERE IS A, A NO BENEFIT PERIOD THAT'S IN 18 DASH THREE OF THE CODE THAT EXCLUDES POLITICAL CONTRIBUTION. 
          AND THIS KIND OF RUNS FROM THE POSTING OF THE SOLICITATION TILL IT GETS PUT ON THE COUNCIL AGENDA. 
          AND THEN FINALLY, I THINK KIND OF WHAT WE WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT PREVIOUSLY IS 18 DASH 36. 
          SO THAT'S GONNA START RIGHT WHEN THE OTHER, UM, UH, PERIODS END. 
          IT'S GONNA START WHEN SOMETHING'S PUT ON THE, UH, COUNCIL AGENDA AND A DETERMINATION IS MADE UP OR DOWN. 
          AND THEN 30 DAYS ON FROM THAT IS WHEN, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO ACCEPT POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS FROM A CONTRACTOR THAT'S SUBJECT TO THAT PROVISION. 
          AND THAT, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY THESE, THESE NEW SYSTEMS WILL MAKE IT A LOT EASIER TO SORT OF LOCATE THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT MIGHT BE SUBJECT TO THAT PROVISION WHEN, YOU KNOW, WHEN REVIEWING, UM, UH, UH, THE COMMUNICATIONS OR POTENTIAL POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS. 
          THANK YOU BOTH FOR THAT ANSWER. 
          WE DO HAVE A FEW MORE IN THE QUEUE. 
          UM, I JUST WANNA, UH, KIND OF SPEAK TO THE LOBBYISTS. 
          UH, WE DON'T KNOW WHO LOBBYISTS ARE SOMETIMES. 
          AND SO, UM, DO, SHOULD WE BRING SOMETHING TO THE, TO THE HORSE OR TO THIS COMMITTEE TO, UH, MAKE IT SOME SOMEWHAT MORE, UH, MANAGEABLE WHERE WE KIND OF HAVE TO FORCE PEOPLE TO, HOW, HOW DO, HOW DO WE GO ABOUT DOING THAT? SO WHAT OCCURS NOW IS THAT THE CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE POSTS TWO VERSIONS OF REGISTERED LOBBYISTS. 
          SO AS LOBBYISTS GO AND THEY REGISTER AND THEY SAY, I'M REPRESENTING THIS COMPANY, THEY WILL DO TWO VERSIONS OF IT ON THE SAME SPREADSHEET. 
          THERE'S TWO TABS. 
          THE FIRST TAB IS, UH, THE ALPHABETIZATION OF THE LOBBYIST THEMSELVES AND WHO THEY REPRESENT. 
          SO A STEVE AND DAVID LOBBYIST WOULD BE, YOU'D BE ABLE TO GO AND LOOK AT THE D SECTION, YOU CAN SEE EVERYBODY THAT I REPRESENT. 
          THEN THERE IS A REPRESENTATION OF THE COMPANY ITSELF. 
          SO THE COMPANY X AMAZON, FOR EXAMPLE, HAS A, I BELIEVE THEY HAVE A LOCAL HIRED LOBBYIST. 
          SO YOU WOULD GO AND YOU'D LOOK IN THE A SECTION FOR AMAZON, YOU'D SEE WHO EVERYBODY'S REPRESENT, WHO EVERY WHO REPRESENTS THAT COMPANY. 
          AND THEN THAT'S YOUR AWARENESS OF WHERE THAT IS. 
          THAT IS A SPREADSHEET. 
          IT IS POSTED MANUALLY ON THE CITY'S SECRETARY'S WEBSITE. 
          AND THEY DO IT AT A FREQUENCY, I BELIEVE IT'S ONCE A MONTH OR ONCE A QUARTER. 
          UM, IT DEPENDS, BUT IT'S USUALLY ONCE A MONTH OR ONCE A QUARTER, THEY'LL POST IT. 
          AND THAT IS A REACTION TO LOBBYISTS, SELF REGISTERING. 
          UM, WHAT I'LL SAY IS THAT IF AT ANY POINT IN TIME YOU BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE MET WITH A LOBBYIST OF A, UH, OF A COMPANY AND THEY, UH, DID NOT MAYBE REPRESENT THEMSELVES AS A LOBBYIST, BUT YOU SUSPECTED OTHERWISE, YOU COULD FEEL FREE TO BRING IT TO DANIELLE OR TO ME OR TO THE CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE, AND WE CAN HELP RUN THAT DOWN. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          UM, TALKING ABOUT POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME REGULATIONS AROUND FOLKS WHO CAN RAISE MONEY MM-HMM . 
          IF THEY'RE ON CERTAIN BOARDS, THERE'S FIVE BOARD. 
          UM, DOES, IS THERE ANYTHING IN THESE PROPOSALS THAT ADDRESSES THAT? NO, THERE'S NOT. 
          UM, BECAUSE WHAT WE REACTED TO WAS LISTENING TO WHAT Y'ALL TALKED ABOUT AND WHAT WAS TALKED ABOUT ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL. 
          I THINK THAT IF YOU, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU'D BE INTERESTED IN DOING, YOU COULD BRING IT FORWARD. 
          THE FIVE BOARDS THAT ARE RESTRICTED FROM GIVING OR SOLICITING MONEY OF ELECTED OFFICIALS IS THE PLANNING COMMISSION, METRO ETHICS, HOUSTON ETHICS, THE ETHICS COMMISSION, HU NO, NOT HOUSTON FIRST, THE ETHICS COMMISSION, UM, THE PORT AUTHORITY. 
          AND THEN THERE'S ONE MORE, AND I CAN GIMME 
          [01:15:01]
A SECOND. 
          I MEAN, ARE THERE, IS THERE A REASON THAT IT'S THOSE FIVE AND NOT ALL THE OTHERS? THOSE FIVE WERE CHOSEN BEFORE ALL OF US WERE HERE. 
          OKAY. 
          THEN I, I MEAN, IF WE'RE GONNA MAKE SOME CHANGES AND MODERNIZE SOME OF THIS, UM, IN MY OPINION, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD WANT TO KNOW WHY THOSE FIVE WERE, WERE SELECTED, IF THERE'S SPECIFIC REASONS. 
          IF NOT, THEN WHY, WHY SINGLE THEM OUT? YEAH. 
          THAT CAN ABSOLUTELY BE SOMETHING THAT WE BRING FORWARD. 
          AND THE, UH, THE SPORTS AUTHORITY IS THE FIFTH ONE. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SO THOSE ARE THE FIVE. 
          IF YOU HAVE BOARDS THAT YOU WOULD SUGGEST, UH, BE ADDED TO THAT LIST. 
          I THINK THIS IS EXACTLY THE VENUE OR THE FORUM IN WHICH WE WOULD WANT THAT DISCUSSION TO BE HAD. 
          I MEAN, TO ME, IF THERE'S REASONS, THEN LET'S FIND OUT WHAT THOSE ARE, BECAUSE THEN MAYBE OTHERS OKAY. 
          CAN READ SOME RESEARCH. 
          THIS HAS BEEN AROUND FOR A WHILE. 
          IF IT WAS ARBITRARY, THEN WHY HAVE THAT RULE IN PLACE AT ALL? I MEAN, IF OTHER BOARDS CAN RAISE AND GIVE AND JUST THESE FIVE CAN'T, WHAT'S THE REASON, IF NOT THE LIST? I DOUBT THOSE FIVE ARE ARBITRARY, BUT AGAIN, THOSE, THAT WAS, I THINK IT WAS MADE IN THE NINETIES, SO WE CAN HAVE THAT CONVERSATION. 
          YEAH, IT'S, IT'S, WE'LL DO THE RESEARCH AND FIGURE OUT THE THOUGHT, THE THINKING OF THE ADMINISTRATION AT THAT TIME. 
          YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. 
          UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO, WE'VE, WE'VE HAD THIS, UH, CONVERSATION AROUND THE HORSESHOE, UH, IN PAST, UH, PRESENTATIONS THERE, THERE'S ANOTHER, UH, SECTION OF EXECUTIVE BRANCH TYPE OF, UH, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS. 
          SO THEY'RE LIKE, UH, THEY, THEY, THEY, THEY CAN CREATE ANY POLICY WITHIN THAT BOARDING COMMISSION OR THEY HAVE A FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY AS WELL PAYING OUT THINGS. 
          THEN I, AND I WANNA SAY IT'S PROBABLY ABOUT 15 TO 18 OF THOSE THAT ARE EXECUTIVE BRANCH THAT WE CAN LOOK AT AS WELL, UH, TO YOUR POINT. 
          BUT AGAIN, I THINK UNDERSTANDING WHY THESE FIVE, UH, BOARDS ARE, ARE WITHIN THIS, UH, THIS REALM. 
          AND, AND THEN IF, IF THERE IS AGAIN, SOME OPPORTUNITIES TO, TO MODERNIZE IT, THEN I, I'D BE, I WOULD BE A PROPONENT OF IT AS WELL. 
          SO WHAT I'M HEARING IS THAT Y'ALL ARE GONNA MAKE ME READ MEETING MINUTES FROM THE NINETIES. 
          . 
          THANK YOU. 
          NOTHING IS NOT GONNA BE ON THE COMPUTER. 
          RIGHT. 
          I'M ACTUALLY GONNA ENJOY THE HECK OUT OF IT. 
          SO,  UH, COUNCILOR FLICKINGER GOT A QUESTION ABOUT THE QUIET AND THE BLACKOUT PERIOD. 
          DOES THAT ONLY PERTAIN TO CONTRIBUTIONS OR IS THAT ALL COMMUNICATION? HOW DOES THAT WORK? SO FOR THE, THE BLACKOUT PERIOD THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IN 18 DASH 36, AND THAT'S THE ONE THAT STARTS WHEN A, AN ITEM IS CONSIDERED AND THEN 30 DAYS AFTER, AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE SPREADSHEET IN THE CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE, THAT'S SPECIFICALLY POLITICAL CO CONTRIBUTIONS. 
          THAT'S JUST A REGULATION THAT IS WITHIN THE LIST OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE REGULATIONS THAT ARE, THAT'S IN ARTICLE FOUR NOW FOR 18 DASH THREE, UH, WHICH ESTABLISHES A NO BENEFIT PERIOD THAT EXPANDS FARTHER THAN, THAN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS. 
          BENEFIT IS A DEFINED TERM IN SECTION 18, AND I MAY HAVE THE DEFINITION IN FRONT OF ME. 
          UM, BENEFIT MEANS ANYTHING REASONABLY REGARDED AS ECONOMIC GAME OR ECONOMIC ADVANTAGE, INCLUDING ANY CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION TO ANY OTHER PERSON IN WHOSE WELFARE A CITY OFFICIAL IS DIRECTLY INTERESTED. 
          THE TERM BENEFIT SHALL NOT APPLY TO ELECTED CITY OFFICIALS IN RECEIPT OF ANY POLITICAL CONTRIBUTION FEE, GIFT AWARD, OR OTHER BENEFIT AS EXEMPTED BY SECTION 36, UH, 0.10 OF THE TEXAS PENAL CODE. 
          SO, UH, THAT, THAT PARTICULAR PERIOD ACTUALLY EXCLUDES POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS, BUT PICKS UP OTHER THINGS. 
          OKAY. 
          SO IF THEY'VE GOT A QUESTION, YOU KNOW, NOT RELATED TO ANYTHING FINANCIAL, WHETHER IT'S A DONATION OR WHATEVER, THAT THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH THEM AND, AND TAKE CARE OF IT. 
          THEY'VE GOT ANOTHER ISSUE OR WHATEVER. 
          SO, SO IF WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT SORT OF A BENEFIT AT ALL, BUT JUST, YOU KNOW, COMMUNICATION FROM, FROM CONSTITUENT CONSTITUENTS, UH, THAT DOESN'T IMPLICATE EITHER ONE OF THESE PROVISIONS. 
          'CAUSE THEY'RE SPECIFICALLY TALKING ABOUT BENEFITS. 
          IT COULD IMPLICATE THE QUIET PERIOD FOR THAT VENDOR SOLICITATION. 
          BUT THAT VENDOR OR POTENTIAL VENDOR, YOU KNOW, SHOULD REVIEW ALL THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THEIR SOLICITATION AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE NOT, UM, COMMUNICATING ON A, UH, SOMETHING THAT IS AN OPEN SOLICITATION. 
          NOW THEY CAN COME TO YOU ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE. 
          OR IF THEY HAVE A CURRENT CONTRACT WITH THE CITY AND YOU'RE TALKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT A CONTRACT THE CITY IS ALREADY IN, THAT'S DISTINCT FROM TALKING ABOUT. 
          OKAY. 
          I, I'M, I'M IN THE RUNNING FOR THIS, THIS SOLICITATION. 
          OKAY, THANK YOU. 
          NEXT WE HAVE, UH, COUNCIL RAMIREZ. 
          THANK YOU, UH, MR. CHAIR. 
          SO STEVEN, UH, I NOTICED THIS ROUND OF REFORMS DOESN'T TOUCH ON CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORT DEADLINES. 
          SO I, I CAN TELL YOU, AND I'VE TOLD YOU BEFORE, I THINK AS A CANDIDATE, UH, YOU KNOW, I AGONIZED OVER MY REPORTS AND FILING THEM ON TIME, WHILE SOME OTHER CANDIDATES AT SOMETIMES DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO FILE. 
          AND I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT WAS UNFAIR. 
          AND THE ONLY WAY THAT THE PUBLIC KNEW ABOUT THAT REALLY 
          [01:20:01]
EASILY WAS IF THE MEDIA REPORTED ON IT. 
          AND, AND THE CHRONICLE DOES THAT, UH, FROM TIME TO TIME. 
          SO, AND, AND I'VE SUGGESTED THAT WE IMPLEMENT SOME REFORMS, MAINLY THAT WHEN, WHEN THE CITY KNOWS A CANDIDATE HAS NOT FILED A REPORT ON TIME, THAT WE NOTIFY, UH, HAVE THE CITY SECRETARY OR SOMEONE WITHIN THE GOVERNMENT NOTIFY THE ETHICS COMMISSION, BECAUSE IN THAT CONTEXT, THE, THE ETHICS COMMISSION ONLY CAN ENFORCE THOSE RULES. 
          SO WHAT, WHAT'S THE ADMINISTRATION'S THOUGHT ABOUT THAT? SO I, SO I THINK WHAT YOU'RE REFERENCING HERE IS NOT, UH, THE FACT THAT A VIOLATION DOES NOT OCCUR WHEN SOMEONE DOES IT. 
          IT'S THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE VIOLATION. 
          CORRECT. 
          OR AT LEAST THE NOTIFICATION PROCESS THAT SOMEONE IS VIOLATED. 
          RIGHT. 
          UH, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THERE IS GOING TO BE I ONE THANK YOU FOR THE EMAIL THAT YOU SENT, UH, MAKING THAT SUGGESTION, UH, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA FACTOR IN. 
          I'D LIKE TO SEE, UH, EVERYBODY DEBATED HERE. 
          UH, WE'RE NOT OPPOSED TO THAT. 
          I MEAN, IF PEOPLE, THERE'S RULES THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO FOLLOW IN RUNNING FOR OFFICE. 
          YEAH. 
          GREAT. 
          MAY MAYBE WE SHOULD TAKE THAT UP IN, IN, IN A FUTURE MEETING. 
          SIMILARLY, UH, WITH REGARD TO THE PERSONAL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS, WHEN THOSE DON'T GET TIMELY FILED, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE CITY SECRETARY TELLS OUR, OUR CITY ATTORNEY. 
          IS THAT, IS THAT CORRECT, DANIELLE? FOR THE PER PERSONAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS? YES. 
          CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE DOES REPORT TO THE, THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT. 
          DEPARTMENT. 
          ANOTHER SUBSEQUENT NOTICE IS SENT ALSO. 
          IF, IF THEY CONTINUE NOT TO FILE THE, THAT INFORMATION IS FORWARDED TO THE CITY'S ETHICS COMMISSION, WHICH DOESN'T MEET WELL, BUT MAY MAKE A RECOMMENDATION. 
          OKAY. 
          BUT I, I, I WILL SAY I, I DON'T DIRECTLY WITH PFS, BUT I KNOW THAT THE ATTORNEYS WHO DO WORK REALLY HARD TO, TO GET SORT OF A, A, A FOR EMPLOYEES AND CURRENT ELECTED OFFICIALS WORK REALLY HARD TO GET, YOU KNOW, ALMOST A HUNDRED PERCENT FILING RATE AND FOLLOW UP FOR, WITH PEOPLE OR FOLLOW UP WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOT FILED AND, AND REALLY DO SORT OF PUSH ON THAT PROCESS, UM, TO, TO GET THOSE TURNED IN. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          IN FACT, THEY'RE ABOUT TO BE DISTRIBUTED THIS WEEK. 
          YEAH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND THANK YOU FOR THE CHART, BY THE WAY. 
          YEAH. 
          UH, AND THE CHART I WOULD EVEN ADD ON TO, YOU KNOW, I, I KNOW, UM, AS WE RUN EVERYONE, LIKE THAT'S A CANDIDATE'S SUPPOSED TO BE, YOU KNOW, FILING THEIR, THEIR, UM, YOU KNOW, SUBMITTING THEIR, THEIR FINANCIALS, RIGHT? UH, BUT I THINK, AND I'M SURE EVERYBODY AROUND HERE IS DOING IT RIGHT, WE SHOULD ALL MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALL DOING THAT AS WELL HERE AROUND THE HORSESHOE. 
          SO, UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA HOLD THESE OTHER CANDIDATES ACCOUNTABLE, WE SHOULD BE DOING THAT OURSELVES. 
          UH, SO WE, TO SOME EXTENT, I THINK, UH, WE WILL, WELL, WE WILL BE TAKING IT UP IN, IN THE FUTURE AS WELL. 
          UH, WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER, JUST WANTED TO CHIME IN WITH JULIAN'S COMMENT. 
          I, I HAD A LOT OF HEARTBURN OVER THAT TOO. 
          I MEAN, I GOT MY STUFF DONE, GOT IT IN ON TIME, AND YOU KNOW, A MONTH LATER YOU FIND OUT SOME OF THESE PEOPLE HADN'T EVEN TURNED IN AT ALL, SO MM-HMM . 
          YEAH, NO, I THINK WE CAN ALL, WE'VE ALL PROBABLY BEEN AROUND THAT, UH, WITH OTHER FOLKS THAT ARE RUNNING AS WELL. 
          UM, THERE'S NO ONE ELSE IN THE QUEUE. 
          UM, AGAIN, WE DON'T HAVE QUORUMS, SO WE CAN'T VOTE ON ANY OF THESE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS. 
          UH, BUT WHAT I WOULD ASK THE, MY COLLEAGUES AND AND STAFF TO TAKE THIS BACK TO YOUR, YOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS, IF Y'ALL CAN PROVIDE ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS ON, ON SOME OF THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS, UH, WE, WE WILL GET THIS TO THE ADMINISTRATION. 
          I WANT TO THANK, UH, STEVEN, UH, DANIELLE, OF COURSE, UH, THE MAYOR, UH, UH, FOR MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE KEEPING AN, AN EYE ON THIS KIND OF STUFF FOR, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HE CAMPAIGN ON. 
          I THINK WE ALL CAN AGREE THAT SOMETHING THAT WE'RE, IT'S IMPORTANT TO US AS WELL, MAKING SURE THAT, THAT WE HOLD, UH, TRANSPARENCY, UH, TO HIGHEST DEGREE. 
          AND SO, UH, AGAIN, UH, THIS WILL CONCLUDE, UH, ACTUALLY, I APOLOGIZE. 
          WE HAVE A FEW SPEAKERS, UH, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT, UH, IS LUCIA MORENO HERE, LUCIA MORENO, UH, CHARLES BLAINE, HE STEPPED OUT. 
          I, I DUNNO IF WE'LL BE THERE. 
          OKAY. 
          IF THERE ARE NO OTHER SPEAKERS, ANYBODY IN THE CHAMBER THAT WOULD LOVE, LIKE TO COME UP AND SPEAK. 
          I SCARED 'EM OFF. 
          PERFECT. 
          YOU SCARED SOME OF THE COUNCILORS OFF TOO. 
          NO, I'M KIDDING. 
          NO, THANK YOU. 
          SO THIS CONCLUDES, UH, THE PRESENTATION. 
          UM, WHAT I'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL IS THAT, UM, THE NEXT, UH, MEETING THAT WE'LL, WE'RE LOOKING TO HAVE, COMMITTEE MEETING IS GONNA BE SCHEDULED FOR MAY 22ND, 2025. 
          IF WE CAN GET A QUORUM, WE DEFINITELY WOULD LIKE TO, UH, YOU KNOW, VOTE ON SOME OF THESE THINGS AND, AND PROPOSE 'EM UP TO CITY COUNCIL. 
          THANK YOU.
* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.