News

FOIA improvement bill by Cornyn, Leahy clears Senate Judiciary Committee

FOIFT2014-11-20T17:52:56-06:00

By Kelley Shannon Executive Director FOI Foundation of Texas The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved a Freedom of Information Act improvement bill Thursday that makes several updates to the landmark federal right-to-know law. The next step for the measure by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, is a vote in the full Senate. Many of the bill's provisions were included in legislation that already unanimously passed the House. Open government groups across the country, including the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, are urging passage of the act so it will be sent to President Obama before the [...]

FOIA improvement bill by Cornyn, Leahy clears Senate Judiciary CommitteeFOIFT2014-11-20T17:52:56-06:00

Terrell Tribune: AG rules city violated Public Information Act

FOIFT2014-11-19T16:29:19-06:00

By Gary Lindsley The Terrell Tribune Originally published Nov. 18, 2014 Governmental bodies throughout the country, day in and day out, violate their respective state’s open meetings and open records laws. The city of Terrell is no different, and for that matter, may not be any worse. But any way you look at it, when community members or media representatives ask governmental bodies for information, those governmental bodies may not simply choose to ignore the requests. But Terrell officials have done that very thing, not once, but twice this year. And Bob Winchester has taken them to task for it. The [...]

Terrell Tribune: AG rules city violated Public Information ActFOIFT2014-11-19T16:29:19-06:00

Watler: Old-school investigative sports reporting still relevant after all these years

FOIFT2014-11-18T15:16:01-06:00

By Paul Watler Jackson Walker L.L.P. As a young lawyer in 1985, a case came my way that combined several passions: college football, newspaper journalism and the First Amendment. I was the associate attorney assigned to help apply legal muscle in support of our client, The Dallas Morning News. The newspaper's mission was to use open records law to pursue allegations that Southern Methodist University was illicitly paying football players – the pay-for-play scandal documented decades later by the ESPN 30-for-30 film, Pony Excess. Two local Dallas metro daily newspapers and a network affiliate television station intensely competed to break the story, including [...]

Watler: Old-school investigative sports reporting still relevant after all these yearsFOIFT2014-11-18T15:16:01-06:00

Senate Open Government Committee hears testimony on student records

FOIFT2022-03-31T17:08:43-05:00

By Kelley Shannon FOI Foundation of Texas Executive Director AUSTIN _While federal law prevents a student's record from public release once the student is in college, laws are not as clear for those who applied to but did not attend the school, witnesses told the Senate Open Government Committee on Wednesday. "There is definitely a gap there," said Carol Longoria, assistant deputy to the president of the University of Texas at Austin. However, she said, the university has successfully argued to the Attorney General's Office that applicants' records should be kept private, too. Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, chairman of the Senate [...]

Senate Open Government Committee hears testimony on student recordsFOIFT2022-03-31T17:08:43-05:00

Beaumont Enterprise Editorial: BISD superintendent search must be open, list all finalists

FOIFT2014-11-06T20:47:23-06:00

Editorial Staff Beaumont Enterprise Originally published Nov. 6, 2014 Many school districts in Texas will be looking for a new superintendent in the near future, and it goes without saying that all of these searches should be fully transparent. Nowhere, however, is that more important than in the Beaumont ISD. This is a school district that has undergone the ultimate act of state takeover. The new board of managers is putting it back together brick by brick, and the hiring of the next superintendent will be one of its most important tasks. The managers began the long search for a new leader with [...]

Beaumont Enterprise Editorial: BISD superintendent search must be open, list all finalistsFOIFT2014-11-06T20:47:23-06:00

CONTACT INFO

TEXAS FOI NEWS

QUICK LINKS

MENU

RESOURCES

Contact Info

Latest News