AUSTIN - The Texas House today passed legislation making private university police records subject to the Texas Public Information Act. Senate Bill 308 by Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, had already passed the Senate and was sponsored in the House by Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston. The open government bill passed on the House Local and Consent Calendar. It now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott.
AUSTIN - The Texas House today approved legislation that allows journalists to continue accurately reporting on allegations of wrongdoing in matters of public importance. The legislation by Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, and Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, clarifies a recent Texas Supreme Court decision. The measure provides protection under libel law for reporting on third party allegations that shine light on matters such as contracting malfeasance, youth commission abuse and mistreatment of special education students. The bill already won Senate approval. It now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature. The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, Texas Press Association, [...]
By Ralph K.M. Haurwitz Austin American-Statesman Originally published May 12, 2015 Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an opinion Tuesday siding with a University of Texas System regent seeking access to records from an investigation into admissions at the Austin campus. The UT System cannot bar a regent’s access to records unless a state or federal law requires otherwise, Paxton said. Even the federal student privacy law does not allow a university to withhold student records deemed necessary for evaluating a state-supported education program, he said. Regent Wallace L. Hall Jr. sought the opinion after the system’s chancellor, Bill McRaven, refused to [...]
AUSTIN - Texas would join a small number of states banning one-party consent for electronic recordings of conversations under a bill the Texas Senate Criminal Justice Committee considered Tuesday. Senate Bill 1223 by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, would require all parties that are in a conversation to give their consent to a recording. Only 12 states have such a law. Most states and the federal government do not. There are numerous reasons why Texans might need to record their own conversation without seeking the other party's consent, and Texas would become an "outlier state" if the measure passes, said attorney Stacy [...]
By Matthew Watkins The Texas Tribune Originally published May 4, 2015 In the latest bit of infighting among the governing board of the University of Texas System, the Board of Regents on Monday asked the state attorney general to ignore one of its member's request for help accessing confidential student information. The board approved a letter saying the regent, Wallace Hall, doesn't have a right to "unfettered" information from the system. The letter also says that Hall doesn't have a right to ask Attorney General Ken Paxton to weigh in on the issue. The regents voted 8-0 to send the letter [...]
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