foiftexas

About FOIFT

This author has not yet filled in any details.
So far FOIFT has created 768 blog entries.

Join fundraising spree supporting the FOI Foundation’s mission

2017-11-27T22:05:32-06:00

This week marks the kickoff of a major fundraising effort by the FOI Foundation of Texas to generate donations supporting our mission of preserving open government and protecting the First Amendment rights of free speech and free press. Most likely, you are interested in this mission if you are on our website, so please join in. You can make a contribution here on our site now, or any time. Or, if you go to the FOI Foundation of Texas page on Facebook and contribute on Tuesday, Nov. 28, using our donate button you'll be part of the "Giving Tuesday" campaign, when [...]

Join fundraising spree supporting the FOI Foundation’s mission2017-11-27T22:05:32-06:00

Judge voids Austin’s approval of development, citing Open Meetings Act violation

2017-11-22T16:25:11-06:00

By Elizabeth Findell Austin American-Statesman Originally published Nov. 21, 2019 Austin city leaders did not give the public a proper heads-up about their intentions before voting to waive environmental regulations for a controversial housing development, a judge ruled Tuesday. The ruling marks the second time in just over a year that the city of Austin has been found to have violated the Texas Open Meetings Act in approving a development plan. Both suits came from former Travis County Judge Bill Aleshire, an open government attorney. In yet another Open Meetings Act case, the American-Statesman is suing the city alleging violations during [...]

Judge voids Austin’s approval of development, citing Open Meetings Act violation2017-11-22T16:25:11-06:00

FOI Column: Boeing ruling stretched, twisted to keep government records secret

2022-03-31T17:08:33-05:00

By Kelley Shannon Executive Director FOI Foundation of Texas Every week, government officials across Texas and private companies receiving taxpayer dollars get increasingly creative in hiding public records. Their new tool is the Boeing ruling, a decision from the Texas Supreme Court that lowered the threshold for arguing competitive bidding as an exemption from disclosure under the Texas Public Information Act. It gives governments an easier path to claim that competitive bidding concerns should allow them to keep records secret. And, businesses can now make the claim, too. Those attempting to censor records under Boeing have sought approximately 1,500 rulings from [...]

FOI Column: Boeing ruling stretched, twisted to keep government records secret2022-03-31T17:08:33-05:00

Reversing course, Austin council to reveal city manager finalists

2017-11-10T15:19:09-06:00

By Elizabeth Findell Austin American-Statesman Originally published Nov. 9, 2017 Austin City Council members will reverse course on their secret search for a city manager and release up to five finalists’ names in the next few days, a week after the American-Statesman staked out candidate interviews and sued the city over refusing to release records on the search. Stephen Newton, a representative of search firm Russell Reynolds, told the council Thursday that he recommended making the finalists’ names public — a departure from his previous advice, and from a decision the council made in March to keep the process confidential until [...]

Reversing course, Austin council to reveal city manager finalists2017-11-10T15:19:09-06:00

Austin American-Statesman sues city of Austin over city manager secrecy

2017-11-01T02:33:58-05:00

By Philip Jankowski and Elizabeth Findell Austin American-Statesman Originally published Oct. 31, 2017 The American-Statesman has sued the city of Austin after officials denied requests under the Texas Public Information Act to disclose the identities of finalists for city manager. The Statesman filed the suit Tuesday in a Travis County district court as the Austin City Council began the first of two days of interviewing finalists. The lawsuit seeks disclosure of the city manager candidates’ names. The Statesman has independently confirmed the identities of four of the candidates. “The residents of Austin will be paying the salary for a new city manager, [...]

Austin American-Statesman sues city of Austin over city manager secrecy2017-11-01T02:33:58-05:00

CONTACT INFO

  • Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas
    Kelley Shannon, Executive Director
    3001 N. Lamar Blvd., Suite 302
    Austin, Texas 78705

  • (512) 377-1575

  • [email protected]

TEXAS FOI NEWS

QUICK LINKS

MENU

RESOURCES

© Copyright 2026 | The Freedom of Information Foundation | All Rights Reserved | by HelixSEO

Toggle Sliding Bar Area
Go to Top