Transparency

FOIFT’s Sept. 18 conference to address free speech, information rights

FOIFT2026-09-07T18:37:17-05:00

Public information, free speech rights go hand in hand FOI Foundation state conference Sept. 18 to explore these topics By Kelley Shannon It takes time and energy to keep a close watch on our government, but it’s our right as citizens. Really, it’s a duty. Transparency laws along with liberties granted by the U.S. Constitution help us do the job. Access to public information and free speech go hand in hand. We can’t effectively speak to and about our government without knowing the facts. Yet freedom of speech and one of the state’s main transparency laws, the Texas Public Information Act, [...]

FOIFT’s Sept. 18 conference to address free speech, information rightsFOIFT2026-09-07T18:37:17-05:00

FOI Foundation testifies at legislative hearing on Texas Public Information Act

FOIFT2026-08-27T18:34:59-05:00

The Texas House Select Committee on Governmental Oversight held an interim hearing Wednesday, Aug. 26, on the effectiveness of the Texas Public Information Act. Kelley Shannon, executive director of the FOI Foundation of Texas, testified on FOIFT's recommendations for the committee. FOI Foundation Vice President Yvonne Mintz, who also serves as president of the Texas Press Association, testified as well, along with other transparency advocates. See the recording of the hearing at the link below. The FOI Foundation's testimony begins at 6:10 (six hours and 10 minutes) into the committee recording. https://house.texas.gov/videos/22756

FOI Foundation testifies at legislative hearing on Texas Public Information ActFOIFT2026-08-27T18:34:59-05:00

Emails obtained through Public Information Act shine light on UT’s firing of KUT general manager Debbie Hiott

FOIFT2026-06-30T14:53:09-05:00

By Lily Kepner and Tony Plohetski Austin American-Statesman Originally published June 17, 2026 The University of Texas’ firing of a respected journalist and general manager of public radio station KUT reverberated from Austin to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, raising questions about the station’s increasingly fraught relationship with UT. University officials terminated Debbie Hiott on Monday (June 16) over her planning of the station’s inaugural community festival. Days before the festival was set to take place, UT leaders ordered KUT to scale back its plans over security concerns, prompting the station to move some events off campus. Some worried that the university was [...]

Emails obtained through Public Information Act shine light on UT’s firing of KUT general manager Debbie HiottFOIFT2026-06-30T14:53:09-05:00

Austin City Council has been voting in secret for years on publicly owned utility matters

FOIFT2026-06-30T12:34:31-05:00

By Mose Buchele and Nathan Bernier KUT Originally published June 26, 2026 Austin Energy says Austin City Council members have taken secret votes for years on matters involving the publicly owned utility, and that those votes don’t appear in any public record. The disclosure only came after KUT News reviewed more than 1,000 City Council meetings and challenged the utility’s claim that such votes “ARE indicated in council minutes.” Last month, the council took what appears to be its first documented secret vote on Austin Energy, approving the purchase of gas-powered electric generators estimated to cost more than $1 billion. The [...]

Austin City Council has been voting in secret for years on publicly owned utility mattersFOIFT2026-06-30T12:34:31-05:00

Transportation agency tries to keep public comments about highway expansion secret from the public

FOIFT2026-04-27T10:18:20-05:00

By Andrew Wheat and Shelby Ligon Austin Free Press Originally published April 24, 2026 Public comments on plans to widen Austin’s MoPac Expressway should not be publicly released, according to the local highway entity promoting that road expansion. The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority argues that, for now, the public comments are “confidential by law” and fall under protected, deliberative “interagency” communications — a stance that public information experts say pushes government secrecy to Orwellian extremes by keeping the public’s own input out of public view. -- Two Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas board members, John Bridges and Joe Larsen, [...]

Transportation agency tries to keep public comments about highway expansion secret from the publicFOIFT2026-04-27T10:18:20-05:00

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