June 27, 2016
Board member Laura Prather testified before the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice of the House Judiciary Committee about the need for a federal anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) law.
June 6, 2016
Executive Director Kelley Shannon told Watchdog.org that an overseas trade mission made by members of the San Antonio City Council may have skirted Texas’ open-meeting law.
June 1, 2016
Board member Joe Larsen criticized Houston’s mayor in the Houston Chronicle for using a private search firm to keep police chief candidates from public view.
May 4, 2016
Kelley Shannon, executive director of the FOIFT, spoke to the Houston Chronicle about the Texas Supreme Court’s ruling that allows businesses to withhold information from the public that could give their competitors an advantage.
April 25, 2016
Board member Jim Hemphill spoke to the Waco Tribune-Herald about McLennan County’s attorney wishing to limit access to information without compensation.
April 18, 2016
Board member Jim Hemphill spoke to The Eagle about a $1,000 open records charge in Bryan.
April 12, 2016
FOIFT Executive Director Kelley Shannon praised the attorney general’s decision to release documents regarding the Fort Worth school district and Chesapeake Energy over natural gas royalties.
April 11, 2016
Executive director Kelley Shannon spoke to the Austin American-Statesman about how Austin officials cannot shield their personal emails that they use for public business.
March 23, 2016
FOIFT attorneys Joe Larsen and Bill Aleshire spoke to Watchdog.org about the Texas Education Agency and attorney general blocking the website from obtaining an audio recording of a teleconference during which a school board member told the TEA commissioner to “burn in hell.”
March 6, 2016
Kelley Shannon, executive director of FOIFT, spoke to the El Paso Times about the city council’s discussion about limiting people convicted of felonies or misdemeanors from accessing open records.
March 4, 2016
FOIFT Executive Director Kelley Shannon and Austin attorney Bill Aleshire spoke to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about Chesapeake Energy trying to keep their settlement with a Fort Worth school district a secret.
February 17, 2016
Houston attorney and FOIFT board member Joe Larsen spoke to The Dallas Morning News after the Texas attorney general’s office issued an opinion allowing Baylor University to keep investigations into recent sexual assaults secret.
February 7, 2016
FOIFT Executive Director Kelley Shannon spoke to the Houston Chronicle about the accessibility of police body camera footage.
January 19, 2016
Houston lawyer and FOIFT board member Joe Larsen spoke to the San Antonio Express-News about the Bexar County sheriff refusing to release an offense report regarding a sex assault case.
January 7, 2016
Austin attorney and FOIFT board member Jim Hemphill spoke to the Austin American-Statesman about a judge that told two newspapers to preserve emails in a capital murder case. Hemphill said judges have to hold a hearing before they’re allowed to ask journalists to preserve relevant evidence in a case.