Transparency

By Shelley Kofler Originally published by KERA on May 21, 2013 The Texas Senate and House have passed legislation that’s supposed to rein in judges who are abusing or misusing their authority. It’s a problem KERA looked at last year in a special series, Texas Judges: Out of Order. On the House floor last Friday it took less than five minutes to pass Senate Bill 209, legislation designed to make the State Commission on Judicial Conduct more effective. The Commission’s job is to ensure the state’s 3,900 judges comply with standards in the Texas constitution. The commission is responsible for investigating [...]

By Emily Ramshaw and Aman Batheja Originally published May 16, 2013 This is one in a series of occasional stories about ethics and transparency in the part-time Texas Legislature. All session long, freshman state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione has been clamoring for greater transparency, trying to force lawmakers and their relatives to disclose their contracts with government agencies and shine a light on closely held state pension benefits. When his first transparency bill got a committee hearing, his senior House colleagues effectively showed him the door. But when it came time this week to vote on Senate Bill 346, a measure that [...]

By Emily Ramshaw, Texas Tribune Originally published May 1, 2013 This is one in a series of occasional stories about ethics and transparency in the part-time Texas Legislature. Six months before the Texas Legislature kicked into gear, Gov. Rick Perry told reporters that candidates for public office should be as “transparent” as they can possibly be with their personal financial interests. It has remained the term du jour for state leaders this legislative session, used by everyone from House Speaker Joe Straus to Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst to endorse honesty in budgeting, improve grant-making in the state’s troubled cancer agency and [...]

By Tim Eaton Austin American-Statesman Staff Originally published February 9, 2013 Should Texans know how much the state pays lawmakers in retirement? Is it OK for private foundations to supplement the salaries of state workers? Would government work better if voters knew how much debt it had before they are asked to approve more? These and other questions about government transparency have been bouncing around the state Capitol in recent weeks, and lawmakers are beginning to take some steps to address them. Bills were filed last week in the Texas House and Senate to shed light on opaque portions of state [...]