Texas Legislature

Houston Chronicle Editorial: Texans need more information on wasteful ‘313’ corporate welfare program – not less

FOIFT2021-12-10T18:39:07-06:00

Houston Chronicle Editorial Originally published Dec. 10, 2021 There’s a reason Texas lawmakers, Republican and Democrat, got rid of the biggest corporate welfare program in Texas. ... Chapter 313, as it’s known, is a $10 billion boondoggle. The program let wealthy corporations keep a portion of their property values off school district tax rolls for a decade, when property values are often at their peak. It was rife with abuse — some companies claimed they needed tax incentives to lure them to Texas when in fact they’d already broken ground on their Texas projects. It was poorly regulated, with lax standards [...]

Houston Chronicle Editorial: Texans need more information on wasteful ‘313’ corporate welfare program – not lessFOIFT2021-12-10T18:39:07-06:00

Open records bill would have prevented Rio Grande City from exploiting loophole

FOIFT2021-11-30T16:12:39-06:00

By Valerie Gonzalez The Monitor Originally published Nov. 27, 2021 An open government advocate said this week that if Texas legislators are one day successful in closing a loophole in the state’s public information act, municipalities such as Rio Grande City would no longer be able to work around certain requirements — such as responding to requests. The handling of a recent request for public information from Rio Grande City became the latest example of such a loophole in the Texas Public Information Act. Read the full story here.

Open records bill would have prevented Rio Grande City from exploiting loopholeFOIFT2021-11-30T16:12:39-06:00

Texas open government advocates notch legislative wins but want more

FOIFT2021-11-12T15:49:42-06:00

By Daniel Van Oudenaren The Austin Bulldog Originally published Nov. 10, 2021 Advocates who pushed for changes to Texas’s public information laws at the legislature this year are celebrating a handful of wins but fell short on some of their agenda. Two new transparency laws took effect September 1st, the fruit of a bipartisan effort: Senate Bill 930 by state Senator Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo), which ensures that families of nursing home residents have access to information about outbreaks of communicable diseases within the facilities; and Senate Bill 1225 by Senator Joan Huffman (R-Houston), which tightens the catastrophe exception in Texas Public [...]

Texas open government advocates notch legislative wins but want moreFOIFT2021-11-12T15:49:42-06:00

Supplying information swiftly – not delaying it – is government’s duty

FOIFT2022-04-13T14:59:27-05:00

By Kelley Shannon If you work in government, here’s something to remember: You work for the people. It’s your job to ensure citizens can interact with their government and have the information they need to hold it accountable. That includes handing over public records when someone requests them. In Texas, government documents are presumed to be open to everyone and can only be withheld under specific confidentiality exemptions in the state’s Public Information Act. Many government employees understand this quite well. Some relish helping records requestors. Unfortunately, though, Texas is experiencing a wave of blocked or delayed access to public information. One [...]

Supplying information swiftly – not delaying it – is government’s dutyFOIFT2022-04-13T14:59:27-05:00

Yet another local government continues to dodge the Texas Public Information Act, citing ‘skeleton crew’

FOIFT2022-04-07T16:02:18-05:00

This is another example of a local government still claiming pandemic "skeleton crew" as a reason for not responding promptly to Texas Public Information Act requests. This time it's the city of El Paso. The Texas attorney general's office needs to update its guidance on skeleton crew and remote work to fit with the modern work world. Read the full story here: https://elpasomatters.org/2021/06/29/as-city-attorneys-office-continues-on-a-skeleton-crew-access-to-public-records-remains-a-challenge/

Yet another local government continues to dodge the Texas Public Information Act, citing ‘skeleton crew’FOIFT2022-04-07T16:02:18-05:00

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