When seeking public records, know your rights, responsibilities
FOIFT2022-03-31T17:08:40-05:00By Kelley Shannon Executive Director Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas If you’ve seen news reports on suspicious state contracts or chemical waste pits or officials’ text messages in the Waco biker shootout, you may notice a recurring theme: Government records obtained through the Texas Public Information Act. Fortunately, our state’s public information law, created in the early 1970s, presumes government records are open unless a specific exemption in the law keeps the documents off limits. The public has a right to know. That means all citizens - not only journalists - can access government records. “It’s very easy,” said award-winning [...]