By Kelley Shannon
Executive Director
Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas
Perhaps you’ve heard the saying that information is power. It’s a fundamental principle in the founding of our nation.
James Madison, pivotal in writing and ratifying the U.S. Constitution, spoke of the importance of information – of the knowledge people need to govern themselves. The “advancement and diffusion of knowledge” is the only true guardian of liberty, Madison warned.
Certainly, those words resonate today, and the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas is doing its part to help Texans obtain the knowledge necessary to watch over government and participate in our democracy. The Texas Public Information Act and the Texas Open Meetings Act assist citizens in exercising their right to know. The FOI Foundation is holding regional Open Government Seminars this month featuring training in these two state laws.
The seminars will be June 7 in San Antonio and June 13 in Edinburg in the Rio Grande Valley. They are free and open to everyone. The sessions satisfy state open government training requirements for public officials and are beneficial for journalists, attorneys and all citizens interested in government accountability.
Reservations are encouraged but not required. To register or for more information go to the FOI Foundation website or call 512-377-1575.
Whether you want to know more about your local school board or city council or want to pose questions to the state’s highest elected leaders, Texas open government laws are useful.
In the spirit of openness, two public entities – San Antonio College and Hidalgo County – are serving as site hosts for the June training sessions. The seminars, respectively, will be at the Victory Center on the San Antonio College campus and at in the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court Chamber.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office, which oversees state open government laws, is once again joining the FOI Foundation in conducting the training.
Texans are fortunate that nearly 50 years ago state lawmakers, rocked by scandal, approved strong transparency laws. To be sure, these statutes have been watered down in recent years, but the core of the Public Information Act and the Open Meetings Act remain intact. We should be mindful of that as we pledge to keep protecting and strengthening these laws and educating the public about them.
Let’s all stay informed about our government to ensure it’s doing right by the people.
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Kelley Shannon is executive director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. The foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to First Amendment rights and enhancing the public’s right to know about government. The FOI Foundation is located at 3001 N. Lamar Blvd., Suite 302, in Austin, Texas, 78705. The organization’s website is www.foift.org.