The Texas House Committee on State Affairs heard testimony Wednesday in support of legislation that would ensure requestors can obtain public information in spreadsheet format, if it’s stored that way.
House Bill 2493 by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, is one of several transparency bills the diverse Texas Sunshine Coalition is working to pass this legislative session.
A spreadsheet, or searchable-sortable format for large volumes of data, helps citizens better analyze information and keep a watch on government. Individual citizens, community groups, research organizations and journalists all benefit from the availability of searchable-sortable information.
Rod Bordelon of the Texas Public Policy Foundation and Dick Lavine of Every Texan, whose organizations are part of the Texas Sunshine Coalition, testified in support of the bill. Lavine provided an example of complex data he was able to analyze from the state comptroller’s office because it was provided in spreadsheet format. However, not all governments give requestors data in searchable-sortable form, and some convert the information into PDF format, which is more work for the government and not as useful for the requestor.
Last month, the State Affairs Committee held a hearing on another of the Sunshine Coalition’s legislative proposals, House Bill 2309 by Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi. It would ensure accuracy and fairness by allowing access to dates of birth in criminal justice records and political candidate records. The committee has already approved that measure, and its next step is a vote in the full House of Representatives.