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Call for entries: 2016 Spirit of FOI Award

FOIFT2016-03-15T15:35:04-05:00

The FOI Foundation of Texas is pleased to announce 2016 guidelines for the Nancy Monson Spirit of FOI Award contest. The contest is open to newspaper, broadcast and online media. The Spirit of FOI Award recognizes outstanding work in promoting open government and the public’s right to know. The deadline for electronic submission of entries is Friday, May 6. Nominations must be for work published or broadcast in calendar year 2015. A nomination can be a single news story or series; an editorial or series of editorials; columns; editorial cartoons; or a community FOI project. There is a limit of one [...]

Call for entries: 2016 Spirit of FOI AwardFOIFT2016-03-15T15:35:04-05:00

FOI Foundation annual state conference set for Sept. 8

FOIFT2016-01-26T15:29:15-06:00

The FOI Foundation of Texas will hold its 2016 state conference Thursday, Sept. 8, at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center at the University of Texas at Austin. The annual event brings together journalists, citizen activists, attorneys and government employees to share ideas and examine the latest trends in open government and the First Amendment rights of free speech and press. The conference also features presentation of the James Madison Award to an open government advocate and the State Bar of Texas Gavel Awards to outstanding journalists. More conference details are coming soon. In the meantime, hotel rooms are available [...]

FOI Foundation annual state conference set for Sept. 8FOIFT2016-01-26T15:29:15-06:00

Texas Supreme Court ruling shields contract details

FOIFT2015-09-25T14:09:47-05:00

By Aman Batheja The Texas Tribune Originally published Sept. 25, 2015 Over the objections of Attorney General Ken Paxton's office, the Texas Supreme Court issued a ruling in June making it easier for private companies to keep secret details of their contracts with the state of Texas and local governments, a move that public information advocates warn is ripe for abuse. In a 7-1 opinion, the justices ordered Paxton's office to block the release of some information contained in a lease between Boeing and the Port Authority of San Antonio because the aerospace manufacturer said making the details public could prove [...]

Texas Supreme Court ruling shields contract detailsFOIFT2015-09-25T14:09:47-05:00

Rep. Todd Hunter, FOIFT leaders talk open government with journalists at Sunshine Week briefing

FOIFT2015-03-18T22:37:29-05:00

Journalists met with leaders of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas and Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, for a Sunshine Week briefing Wednesday on open government legislation pending at the state Capitol. "There's nothing wrong with providing public information," Hunter said, urging news reporters to educate their audience on "the positiveness and the common sense of these laws." Also speaking at the briefing at the Austin American-Statesman were FOI Foundation of Texas legislative co-chairs Laura Prather and Arif Panju. The foundation is tracking scores of bills this session that would improve public access to government information or, in some cases, [...]

Rep. Todd Hunter, FOIFT leaders talk open government with journalists at Sunshine Week briefingFOIFT2015-03-18T22:37:29-05:00

Senate panel votes to classify private university police records as public

FOIFT2015-03-17T20:40:09-05:00

Following violent incidents involving private university police officers, the Senate Criminal Justice Committee on Tuesday approved legislation that would classify those campus police records as public information. The committee voted 5-0 in favor of sending Senate Bill 308 by Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, to the full Senate. Robert Arnold, a reporter for KPRC-TV in Houston who reported on a videotaped beating of a man by Rice University police, testified on the bill. The 2013 beating was captured on a dash camera that Rice police refused to fully release to the public. The proposed legislation would make such records obtainable under the [...]

Senate panel votes to classify private university police records as publicFOIFT2015-03-17T20:40:09-05:00

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