CHAPTER 2051. GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS, PUBLICATIONS, AND NOTICES
GOVERNMENT CODE
TITLE 10. GENERAL GOVERNMENT
SUBTITLE B. INFORMATION AND PLANNING
CHAPTER 2051. GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS, PUBLICATIONS, AND NOTICES
SUBCHAPTER A. OFFICIAL SEALS
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1993.
SUBCHAPTER B. PAPER SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1993.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1993.
SUBCHAPTER C. NOTICE BY PUBLICATION IN NEWSPAPER
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1993.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1993.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1993.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1993. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1130, Sec. 1, eff.
June 20, 2003.
Sec. 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, Sec. 2, eff. June 20,
2003.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1993.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1993.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1993.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1993.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1993.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1993.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1993.
Sec. 2051.052. CANCELLATION OF PUBLISHING CONTRACT. The
comptroller or a district or county official required to publish
a notice may cancel a contract executed by the comptroller or
official for the publication if the comptroller or official
determines that the newspaper charges a rate higher than the
legal rate.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1993.
Amended by:
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.
937, Sec. 1.64, eff. September 1, 2007.
Sec. 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, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1993.