foiftexas

Two important open government measures won final approval Thursday in the Texas Senate, which concurred with House amendments on Senate Bill 943, the Public Information Act contracting transparency bill, and Senate Bill 1640, the update to the Open Meeting Act. Both pieces of legislation next head to Gov. Greg Abbott. These proposals were among the leading initiatives of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, and Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, worked together on the bipartisan contracting bill. It plugs holes in the Public Information Act created when the Texas Supreme Court issued rulings in 2015 blocking much [...]

Speaker Pro Tem Joe Moody succeeded in amending an open government bill Tuesday with his measure to close a Texas Public Information Act loophole that has allowed police to withhold records from the public when a suspect died in custody. Moody prevailed in a vote to amend SB 944 by Sen. Kirk Watson and Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, which ultimately won preliminary House passage. Numerous families have come to the Texas Capitol this session to tell of not being able to access records on how their loved ones died. They, along with news reporters and other citizens, have been denied records because [...]

By Brian CollisterInvestigative NetworkWFAA StaffOriginal published May 6, 2019 New cellphone footage from the now infamous traffic stop of Sandra Bland shows her perspective when a Texas state trooper points a Taser and yells, “I will light you up!”  Bland, 28, was found dead three days later in her Waller County jail cell near Houston. Her death was ruled a suicide. The new video -- released as part of a WFAA exclusive in partnership with the Investigative Network -- fuels the Bland family’s suspicions that Texas officials withheld evidence in her controversial arrest and, later, her death. See the full story here.

By Brian DavisAustin American-StatesmanOriginally published May 7, 2019 Because of a ruling by the Texas Supreme Court in 2015 allowing companies to keep government contract information hidden from the public, numerous University of Texas at Austin athletics contracts remain secret. Legislation by Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, and Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, attempts to plug that hole in the Texas Public Information Act. Read the full story here.