The Texas Sunshine Coalition is a diverse group of 18 organizations recognizing the need to strengthen state transparency laws. Access to government information allows us to hold government accountable. All Texans deserve to know how our leaders are conducting business and spending taxpayer dollars. Coalition members work with lawmakers of both political parties, encouraging a bipartisan approach to open government. The Texas Sunshine Coalition will support transparency measures in the 2023 Legislature centered on these initiatives:

Contracting Transparency
Although the Legislature passed Senate Bill 943 in 2019 to increase public access to government contracts after a troublesome Texas Supreme Court ruling known as Boeing, some governments still withhold information, including “super public” information such as contract prices and descriptions of goods and services. They often defer to private companies or seek attorney general rulings to withhold and delay release. Some even continue to cite Boeing. The coalition aims to close these loopholes in the Texas Public Information Act.

TPIA Business Days, Administrative Issues
During the pandemic, many governmental entities stated they were closed for business when it came to Texas Public Information Act requests, even though they continued to operate with a full staff of employees working remotely and many records were available electronically. Some governments stated they were operating on a “skeleton crew” and ignored TPIA requests for months on end. The TPIA doesn’t have a definition of “business days,” and the coalition seeks to correct that. The coalition also wants to ensure that governments must respond to requestors.

Searchable-sortable Records
Spreadsheets are the most usable format for certain data, yet many governmental entities, instead of producing documents in the spreadsheet form in which they are kept, convert them to PDF images. That makes it difficult to search and sort information. The Texas Attorney General’s Office has said information should be provided in the format requested if it’s available that way. The coalition wants to codify that guidance into law.

Dates of Birth Access
Access to dates of birth in some public records, such as criminal justice documents, promotes accuracy in news reporting, especially when common names are involved. DOBs also help ensure that background check companies other businesses are obtaining accurate information when searching criminal justice records. Dates of birth in applications by candidates for public office help the public vet candidates and better understand who is on the ballot. Restoring access to dates of birth in criminal justice and candidate public records makes sense.

Attorney’s Fees
A series of appellate court decisions have made it extremely difficult for requestors to recover attorney’s fees under the TPIA. This precedent allows governmental bodies to hand over documents at the last minute—even after months of litigation—and avoid paying any fees. Governments can ignore requestors, or delay releasing public information, knowing requestors may be unable or unwilling to incur the costs necessary to enforce the TPIA. The Coalition seeks to end this “tax” on requestors by bringing the TPIA in line with federal law.

Our Coalition:
Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas; Texas Association of Broadcasters; Texas Press Association; Texas Public Policy Foundation; Institute for Justice; ACLU of Texas; Every Texan; Common Cause; Grassroots America; Americans for Prosperity; League of Women Voters of Texas; SMU School of Law First Amendment Clinic; FIRE; Texas Appleseed; Texas Association of Licensed Investigators; Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom; Public Citizen; and PublicData.com.