The State Bar of Texas Public Affairs Committee is pleased to announce the winners of the 2019 Texas Gavel Awards. The awards honor journalism that deepens public understanding of the legal system. Click here to see the list of winners. Gavel Award winners will be honored at the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas state conference luncheon on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019.
The FOI Foundation of Texas will hold its state conference on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, in Austin. Join FOI leaders and experts as we explore the latest developments in these areas and look to the future. The one-day conference will take place at the Hyatt Regency, 208 Barton Springs Blvd. Early bird tickets are $115 and will be available until Sept. 6. Tickets include all conference sessions and attendance at our John Henry Faulk Awards Luncheon, where the James Madison Award recipient and State Bar of Texas Gavel Award winners will be honored. After Sept. 6, individual ticket prices increase to [...]
By Taylor GoldsteinHouston ChronicleOriginally published June 12, 2019 Gov. Greg Abbott has given his stamp of approval to a series of bills that will restore open government protections stripped away by recent Texas court decisions. The new laws will allow the public more access to records about government contracts and tamp down on secret meetings by elected officials. Senate Bill 943, which Abbott signed Monday, re-establishes in the law that information about contracts that governments make with businesses must be public, with some exceptions. Read the full story here.
AUSTIN – The Texas Legislature approved measures this session to repair holes in the state’s Public Information Act and shore up the Open Meetings Act in the wake of detrimental court rulings. The bipartisan initiatives won final approval in the days and hours before lawmakers adjourned Monday. They address openness in government contracting; the ability to access public records stored in private electronic accounts; and the ban on government officials meeting secretly in “walking quorums.” These and several other transparency bills now head to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. “The Freedom of Information Foundation was pleased to work with broad-based bipartisan organizations [...]
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 [...]
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