By Kelley Shannon
FOI Foundation Executive Director
The Texas Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed House Bill 4219 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini and Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, which requires governments to respond to public information requestors or face consequences.
HB 4219 – already approved by the House – has now been sent to Gov. Greg Abbott.
Unfortunately, some government officials currently do not respond to every Texas Public Information Act request. Some ignore information requests. Some don’t respond if there are no responsive records or if they have a previous attorney general ruling allowing the specific records to be withheld. HB 4219 would require a response. If a government is found to have not adhered to the law its employees could have to complete additional open government training, among other outcomes.
This legislation is part of the agenda of the Texas Sunshine Coalition, a diverse group of 16 organizations, including the FOI Foundation of Texas, that are united in advocating for transparency and the public’s right to know.