2005 Texas Government Code CHAPTER 2051. GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS, PUBLICATIONS, AND NOTICES

GOVERNMENT CODE

SUBTITLE B. INFORMATION AND PLANNING

CHAPTER 2051. GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS, PUBLICATIONS, AND NOTICES

SUBCHAPTER A. OFFICIAL SEALS


	§ 2051.001. ADOPTION OF SEAL.  A commission or board 
created by state law and a commissioner whose office is created by 
state law may adopt a seal with which to attest an official 
document, certificate, or other written paper.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.           

SUBCHAPTER B. PAPER SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT


	§ 2051.021. UNIFORM SIZE OF PAPER SUPPLY AND 
CABINET.  (a) A state agency may not purchase:
		(1)  forms, bond paper, stationery, pads, or similar 
paper supplies that exceed 8-1/2 inches by 11 inches in size;  or
		(2)  a filing cabinet designed to store completed 
documents that exceed 8-1/2 inches by 11 inches in size.
	(b)  This section does not prohibit the purchase or use of:                    
		(1)  paper supplies that are perforated or otherwise 
designed to produce completed documents of 8-1/2 inches by 11 
inches in size or smaller;
		(2)  fanfold paper designed for use in a computer 
peripheral device;  or    
		(3)  forms or paper supplies used for:                                        
			(A)  a document prepared on a form developed by a 
national organization for use by a state or a form designed to be 
compatible with that document;
			(B)  preparation of a document required by the 
federal government;         
			(C)  maintenance of an accounting or bookkeeping 
record;                   
			(D)  preparation of a financial report;                                      
			(E)  a budget document;                                                      
			(F)  a nontextual computer report or document;                               
			(G)  a chart, graph, table, or map;                                          
			(H)  artwork;                                                                
			(I)  an architectural or engineering draft or 
document;                    
			(J)  a diploma;                                                              
			(K)  an enlargement of small print materials for a 
person with a visual impairment;
			(L)  a resale purpose;  or                                                   
			(M)  protection or preservation of a historically 
valuable document.       
	(c)  In this section, "state agency" means a board, 
commission, department, office, institution, including an 
institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003, 
Education Code, or other agency of the state government.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.           


	§ 2051.022. STATE AGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER REQUIRED ON 
STATIONERY.  (a) A state agency shall print a telephone number for 
the agency on the letterhead of its official stationery.
	(b)  In this section, "state agency" means:                                    
		(1)  a board, commission, department, office, or other 
agency in the executive branch of state government that was created 
by the constitution or a statute of the state, including an 
institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003, 
Education Code;
		(2)  the legislature or a legislative agency;                                 
		(3)  the supreme court, the court of criminal appeals, 
a court of appeals, or a state judicial agency;  or
		(4)  a river authority.                                                       

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.           

SUBCHAPTER C. NOTICE BY PUBLICATION IN NEWSPAPER


	§ 2051.041. DEFINITIONS.  In this subchapter:                               
		(1)  "Governmental entity" means an institution, 
board, commission, or department of:
			(A)  the state or a subdivision of the state;  or                            
			(B)  a political subdivision of the state, 
including a municipality, a county, or any kind of district.
		(2)  "Governmental representative" includes an 
officer, employee, or agent of a governmental entity.
		(3)  "Notice" means any matter, including a 
proclamation or advertisement, required or authorized by law to be 
published in a newspaper by a governmental entity or 
representative.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.           


	§ 2051.042. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER.  (a) This 
subchapter applies only to the extent that the general or special 
law requiring or authorizing the publication of a notice in a 
newspaper by a governmental entity or representative does not 
specify the manner of the publication, including the number of 
times that the notice is required to be published and the period 
during which the notice is required to be published.
	(b)  This subchapter does not apply to the publication of a 
citation that relates to a civil suit and to which the Texas Rules 
of Civil Procedure apply.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.           


	§ 2051.043. PUBLICATION IN AT LEAST ONE ISSUE 
REQUIRED.  Except as provided by Section 2051.046(b) or 
2051.048(d), a notice shall be published in at least one issue of a 
newspaper.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.           


	§ 2051.044. TYPE OF NEWSPAPER REQUIRED.  (a) The 
newspaper in which a notice is published must:
		(1)  devote not less than 25 percent of its total column 
lineage to general interest items;
		(2)  be published at least once each week;                                    
		(3)  be entered as second-class postal matter in the 
county where published;  and
		(4)  have been published regularly and continuously for 
at least 12 months before the governmental entity or representative 
publishes notice.
	(b)  A weekly newspaper has been published regularly and 
continuously under Subsection (a) if the newspaper omits not more 
than two issues in the 12-month period.
	(c)  This section does not apply to the publication of a 
notice to which Section 2051.0441 applies.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.  
Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1130, § 1, eff. June 20, 
2003.


	§ 2051.0441. TYPE OF NEWSPAPER REQUIRED FOR PUBLICATION 
IN CERTAIN COUNTIES.  (a) This section applies only to a notice 
published in a county with a population of at least 30,000 and not 
more than 36,000 that borders the Red River by a governmental entity 
or representative.
	(b)  The newspaper in which a notice is published under this 
section must:   
		(1)  devote not less than 20 percent of its total column 
lineage to general interest items;
		(2)  be published at least once each week;                                    
		(3)  be entered as second-class postal matter in the 
county where published or have a mailed or delivered circulation of 
at least 51 percent of the residences in the county where published;  
and
		(4)  have been published regularly and continuously for 
at least 12 months before the governmental entity or representative 
publishes notice.
	(c)  A weekly newspaper has been published regularly and 
continuously under Subsection (b) if the newspaper omits not more 
than two issues in the 12-month period.

Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1130, § 2, eff. June 20, 2003.          


	§ 2051.045. LEGAL RATE CHARGED FOR PUBLICATION.  The 
legal rate for publication of a notice in a newspaper is the 
newspaper's lowest published rate for classified advertising.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.           


	§ 2051.046. NOTICE OF COUNTY.  (a) A notice of a county 
shall be published in a newspaper published in the county that will 
publish the notice at or below the legal rate.
	(b)  If no newspaper that will publish the notice at or below 
the legal rate is published in the county, the notice shall be 
posted at the door of the county courthouse.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.           


	§ 2051.047. NOTICE OF CERTAIN CONSERVATION AND 
RECLAMATION DISTRICTS.  A conservation and reclamation district, 
other than a river authority, created under Article XVI, Section 
59, of the Texas Constitution that furnishes water and sewer 
services to household users satisfies a requirement of general, 
special, or local law to publish notice in a newspaper of general 
circulation in the county in which the district is located by 
publishing the notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the 
district.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.           


	§ 2051.048. NOTICE OF OTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISION.  (a) 
This section applies only to a political subdivision other than a 
county or a conservation and reclamation district under Section 
2051.047.
	(b)  A notice of a political subdivision shall be published 
in a newspaper that is published in the political subdivision and 
that will publish the notice at or below the legal rate.
	(c)  If no newspaper published in the political subdivision 
will publish the notice at or below the legal rate, the political 
subdivision shall publish the notice in a newspaper that:
		(1)  is published in the county in which the political 
subdivision is located;  and
		(2)  will charge the legal rate or a lower rate.                              
	(d)  If no newspaper published in the county in which the 
political subdivision is located will publish the notice at or 
below the legal rate, the political subdivision shall post the 
notice at the door of the county courthouse of the county in which 
the political subdivision is located.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.           


	§ 2051.049. SELECTION OF NEWSPAPER.  The governmental 
entity or representative required to publish a notice in a 
newspaper shall select, in accordance with this subchapter, one or 
more newspapers to publish the notice.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.           


	§ 2051.050. TIME OF PUBLICATION.  A notice must be 
published in a newspaper issued at least one day before the 
occurrence of the event to which the notice refers.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.           


	§ 2051.051. BILL FOR PUBLICATION.  A newspaper that 
publishes a notice shall submit a bill for the publication with a 
clipping of the published notice and a verified statement of the 
publisher that:
		(1)  states the rate charged;                                                 
		(2)  certifies that the rate charged is the newspaper's 
lowest published rate for classified advertising;  and
		(3)  certifies the number and dates of the publication.                       

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.           


	§ 2051.052. CANCELLATION OF PUBLISHING CONTRACT.  The 
General Services Commission or a district or county official 
required to publish a notice may cancel a contract executed by the 
commission or official for the publication if the commission or 
official determines that the newspaper charges a rate higher than 
the legal rate.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.           


	§ 2051.053. REFUSAL OF NEWSPAPER TO PUBLISH NOTICE OR 
CITATION.  (a) The refusal of a newspaper to publish, without 
receiving advance payment for making the publication, a notice or 
citation in a state court proceeding in which the state or a 
political subdivision of the state is a party and in which the cost 
of the publication is to be charged as fees or costs of the 
proceeding is considered an unqualified refusal to publish the 
notice or citation.
	(b)  The sworn statement of the newspaper's publisher or the 
person offering to insert the notice or citation in the newspaper is 
subject to record as proof of the refusal.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.