The Attorney General does not count skeleton crew days observed by a governmental body as business days for the purposes of calculating that governmental body’s deadlines under the Texas Public Information Act (“PIA”).  Skeleton crew days are days where the agency remains open, but is not required to operate with a full staff.  Only enough employees to manage the public business of the agency are required to be on hand.

Due to the recent pandemic, we recommend including the following statement on your website if your governmental body begins operating with a skeleton crew:

“Due to the pandemic and the CDC’s ongoing recommendations, the [District/Entity] has determined only a skeleton crew will be working until [DATE]. The attorney general does not count skeleton crew days observed by a governmental body as business days for the purpose of calculating deadlines under the Texas Public Information Act. Therefore, any requests received while the [District/Entity] continues to operate with only a skeleton crew will be processed upon the [District’s/Entity’s] full staff returning to work. Please note, the dates requiring a skeleton crew may change or be altered as the information and decisions made related to the pandemic are constantly changing. We appreciate your understanding and patience at this time. If you have any questions, please contact [INSERT NAME].”

The purpose of the statement is to inform requestors that traditional timelines are not currently in effect since information gathering is likely impossible during this unprecedented health crisis. If you have additional questions regarding this issue, please contact Sadia Ahmed at Sahmed@abernathy-law.com or Becca Bradley at rbradley@abernathy-law.com.