Texas Legislature

The Texas House Committee on State Affairs heard testimony Wednesday in support of legislation that would ensure requestors can obtain public information in spreadsheet format, if it's stored that way. House Bill 2493 by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, is one of several transparency bills the diverse Texas Sunshine Coalition is working to pass this legislative session. A spreadsheet, or searchable-sortable format for large volumes of data, helps citizens better analyze information and keep a watch on government. Individual citizens, community groups, research organizations and journalists all benefit from the availability of searchable-sortable information. Rod Bordelon of the Texas Public Policy Foundation [...]

The Texas Sunshine Coalition is a diverse group of 18 organizations recognizing the need to strengthen state transparency laws. Access to government information allows us to hold government accountable. All Texans deserve to know how our leaders are conducting business and spending taxpayer dollars. Coalition members work with lawmakers of both political parties, encouraging a bipartisan approach to open government. The Texas Sunshine Coalition will support transparency measures in the 2023 Legislature centered on these initiatives: Contracting Transparency Although the Legislature passed Senate Bill 943 in 2019 to increase public access to government contracts after a troublesome Texas Supreme Court ruling [...]