CONTACT:  Marlena Villers

214.977.6658

FOIFT to Co-Sponsor Open Government Symposium in Harlingen

The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, in collaboration with the Office of the Attorney General of Texas, will sponsor the first 2006 Open Government seminar on Tuesday, March 14, in Harlingen.  The seminar will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Room W-135 of the Rep. Irma Rangel Science and Technology Building at Texas State Technical College, 1902 North Loop 499.  Open Government 2006:  A Symposium on Access to Public Information and Open Meetings in Texas will include video presentations and in-depth discussions of the Texas Public Information Act and the Texas Open Meetings Act.

The seminar is divided into two sections:  videos in the morning; and discussion, hypothetical situations, and a question and answer period in the afternoon.  The morning portion (9:00–11:30 a.m.) is designed to fulfill the mandatory open government training requirement for public officials and is free of charge.

Scheduled presenters for the afternoon section (1:00–4:00 p.m.) include Rick Gilpin, deputy chief of the Opinions Committee of the Office of the Attorney General of Texas; Joseph R. Larsen, an attorney with the law office of Ogden, Gibson, White, Broocks & Longoria, L.L.P.; Hadassah Schloss, cost rules administrator for the Office of the Attorney General of Texas; and Thornton Wood, assistant attorney general and public education coordinator for the Open Records Division of the Office of the Attorney General of Texas.  The fee for the afternoon presentations is $20.

Advance registration is required for either portion due to limited space.  To register, contact the FOIFT office at 214.977.6658, or complete a registration form available on the FOIFT Web site at www.foift.org, and fax or mail to FOIFT at 214.977.6666, 400 S. Record St., Suite 240, Dallas, TX  75202.

Open Government 2006 is a traveling symposium designed to develop and enhance understanding of the changing landscape of an open government.  Sessions will address hot topics in public information and open meetings laws.  The symposium is directed toward the general public, government employees, public officials and representatives of the media.

Other Open Government 2006 seminars are being planned for El Paso, Amarillo, and Tyler.

The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, works to encourage, sponsor and facilitate a greater appreciation, knowledge and understanding of the First Amendment. The FOIFT strives to preserve the freedoms necessary in a democratic republic by educating media and legal professionals, educators, students, public and government officials and individual citizens about their rights and responsibilities as citizens.   For more information, call 214.977.6658, or visit our Web site, www.foift.org.

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