Texas Legislature

After backlash, Texas comptroller abandons plan to hide details of controversial tax break program

FOIFT2022-01-31T15:42:53-06:00

By Mike Morris, John Tedesco Houston Chronicle Originally published Jan. 28, 2022 Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar is backing away from a proposal to reduce the information his office collects on the state’s largest corporate incentive program amid an avalanche of criticism from Texans concerned about the future cost to the state. Hundreds of residents and some lawmakers submitted comments on the proposal after Hegar’s office made it public in November - and nearly all of them opposed the idea. “I’m not going to adopt it as proposed,” Hegar said Friday. “The data that people are concerned about or want is still [...]

After backlash, Texas comptroller abandons plan to hide details of controversial tax break programFOIFT2022-01-31T15:42:53-06:00

Threats from Gov. Abbott among reasons why a Texas school district keeps book challenges secretive

FOIFT2022-01-10T17:02:41-06:00

By Talia Richman The Dallas Morning News Originally published Jan. 10, 2022 Fear of retribution from Gov. Greg Abbott contributes to Keller school officials’ push to keep deliberations about which books to ban from libraries private. ... Joe Larsen, an attorney on the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas board of directors, reviewed Keller ISD’s arguments. But despite the district’s concerns, he said, book challenge committee meetings should be open to the public because of the decisions members are empowered to make. “What we’re able to read is the basis of a free society,” Larsen said. “There are obviously going to [...]

Threats from Gov. Abbott among reasons why a Texas school district keeps book challenges secretiveFOIFT2022-01-10T17:02:41-06:00

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

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