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

FOIFT2022-03-31T17:08:33-05:00

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 secretFOIFT2022-03-31T17:08:33-05:00

Austin vs. Watauga? City claims competition to keep city manager candidates secret

FOIFT2017-10-30T16:34:04-05:00

By Elizabeth Findell Austin American-Statesman Originally published Oct. 27, 2017 Austin can’t allow the public to know who might become its next city manager because it’s in competition with Watauga, Sachse and other small Texas cities for the best candidates, an assistant city attorney argues in a letter to the Texas attorney general. Austin begins interviews Tuesday in its nationwide search to replace former City Manager Marc Ott, who resigned more than a year ago. In March, City Council members voted unanimously to try to keep candidates for the job — even finalists — secret until they make a final decision. The council [...]

Austin vs. Watauga? City claims competition to keep city manager candidates secretFOIFT2017-10-30T16:34:04-05:00

State Fair of Texas at center of public records battle

FOIFT2017-12-04T21:00:39-06:00

By Dave Montgomery For 24 days every autumn, throngs of visitors stream into the State Fair of Texas in Dallas for shows, music, exhibits, livestock judging, carnival rides and gastronomic delights such as corny dogs and fried butter. Millions worldwide know it as the home of Big Tex, the fair’s 55-foot animatronic cowboy. But for more than two years, the 131-year-old Dallas institution has attracted attention for another reason. It has been at the center of a meandering legal battle involving the Texas Public Information Act, long regarded as a national gold standard for giving citizens access to the inner-workings of [...]

State Fair of Texas at center of public records battleFOIFT2017-12-04T21:00:39-06:00

San Antonio Express-News: Form special committee on public records

FOIFT2017-10-23T14:32:20-05:00

Editorial Board San Antonio Express-News Originally published Oct. 22, 2017 There are several glaring and troubling loopholes in Texas’ public records law. The most troubling example comes courtesy of a 2015 Texas Supreme Court ruling that allows businesses contracting with public entities to keep those contracts and other key details secret. For years, such information was public record, the idea being the public should know how its money is being spent. But thanks to that 2015 ruling, all kinds of formerly routine information has been kept secret under the guise that its release would place private companies at “competitive disadvantages.” For [...]

San Antonio Express-News: Form special committee on public recordsFOIFT2017-10-23T14:32:20-05:00

Parks and Wildlife Department keeping report on three Scouts’ deaths secret

FOIFT2017-10-17T14:00:26-05:00

By Jo Lee Ferguson Longview News-Journal Originally published Oct. 17, 2017 The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department wants to keep secret a report on the deaths this summer of three Boy Scouts who were electrocuted while sailboating on Lake O' the Pines. The News-Journal had requested a copy of the report once it was completed, but an attorney for the agency said Monday that Texas Parks and Wildlife "believes the requested records may be confidential" because the accident involved "two children." One of the three boys was 17. The accident occurred Aug. 5, when the mast of a sailboat struck a [...]

Parks and Wildlife Department keeping report on three Scouts’ deaths secretFOIFT2017-10-17T14:00:26-05:00

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