Some public officials confused over new law allowing public comment at meetings
By Steve MillerThe Texas MonitorOriginally published Nov. 7, 2019 The Amarillo City Council once tried to ban clapping at its meetings, then decided to start meeting at 7 a.m., a move some local critics claimed was done to reduce public input. Finally, last year, the council moved all public comments to a work session an hour before the regular meeting. In South Texas, Hidalgo County commissioners and the city councils of [...]
New SMU law clinic to focus on First Amendment
DALLAS – The SMU Dedman School of Law will launch a First Amendment Clinic in Fall 2020, thanks to a generous gift of $900,000 from the Stanton Foundation. The clinic will focus on First Amendment issues including free speech, freedom of the press and freedom of assembly and petition. First Amendment attorney Tom Leatherbury, a partner at Vinson & Elkins LLP, will serve as an adjunct professor and direct the clinic. [...]
Texas Tribune suing to see receipts for $5.3 million Texas inauguration
By Jay Root and Shannon NajmabadiThe Texas TribuneOriginally published Oct. 9, 2019 The Texas Tribune is suing to discover what happened to millions raised mostly from top lobbying firms, corporations, wealthy businesspeople and trade groups for the inauguration of Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Read the full story here.
Federal lawsuit challenges Texas drone law, arguing it unconstitutionally restricts visual journalists
Issued by NPPAFor Immediate ReleaseSept. 26, 2019 Austin, Tx. – The National Press Photographers Association, the Texas Press Association and an independent journalist filed a lawsuit today in Austin federal court challenging a Texas law— Texas Government Code Chapter 423—that makes it a crime for visual journalists and others to use drones for newsgathering and other similar activities. Texas’s drone law is among the most restrictive in the country. Chapter 423 makes [...]
FOI Foundation of Texas urges media, public access at immigration court proceedings
For Immediate Release Sept. 24, 2019 AUSTIN _ The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas today expressed deep concern regarding the lack of media and public access to judicial proceedings being held in makeshift immigration courts on the Texas-Mexico border. Public and media access to immigration-related judicial proceedings should be unfettered; both the U.S. Constitution and this country’s long and proud tradition of open courts mandate full transparency. Allowing public [...]
Sen. Kirk Watson: Redistricting is difficult and needs sunshine
Sen. Kirk Watson, delivering the keynote address at the FOI Foundation of Texas conference, warned Friday of efforts by some lawmakers to block access to redistricting information and urged Texans to demand more transparency. Watson, D-Austin, noted that House Bill 4181 makes more government records subject to legislative privilege, thus shielding them from public access. He said the bill "blew through the House without a hearing" in May and ended [...]
Victoria Advocate, KXAN win Spirit of FOI Awards for open government reporting
For Immediate Release Sept. 20, 2019 AUSTIN - Two Texas news organizations have won the Spirit of FOI Award for reports exposing suspected corruption within the Calhoun Port Authority and the lack of access to information following the deaths of suspects in police custody. The Nancy Monson Spirit of FOI Award, presented by the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, highlights journalism that upholds First Amendment principles and promotes or [...]
Capitol staffers Erickson, Aldredge to receive James Madison Award for transparency work
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sept. 10, 2019 AUSTIN – Two legislative aides who worked relentlessly to strengthen the Texas Public Information Act are recipients of this year’s James Madison Award presented by the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. Kelsey Erickson, general counsel to Sen. Kirk Watson, and Katy Aldredge, capitol director for Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, will receive the honor for their efforts in passing legislation that makes important repairs and [...]
Taxpayer-funded TRS won’t say how much it’s spending on office space
By Bob SechlerAustin American-StatesmanOriginally published Sept. 6, 2019 When construction of what will be the tallest office tower in downtown Austin is finished in 2021, the taxpayer-funded state agency charged with overseeing retirement benefits for about 1.6 million Texas teachers and school employees will be among the first tenants moving in. But the cost to taxpayers for the high-profile office space isn’t publicly known, because the Teacher Retirement System of [...]
TEA investigative report of Houston ISD cites misconduct, including alleged Open Meetings Act violations
By Jacob CarpenterHouston ChronicleOriginally published Aug. 6, 2019 Texas Education Agency officials have recommended that a state-appointed governing team replace Houston ISD’s locally elected school board after a six-month investigation found several instances of alleged misconduct by some trustees, including violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act, inappropriate influencing of vendor contracts and making false statements to investigators. Read the full story here.
House State Affairs Chairman Dade Phelan to address FOI Foundation conference Sept. 20
Rep. Dade Phelan, leader of the Texas House State Affairs Committee, will be the keynote speaker at the FOI Foundation of Texas state conference Sept. 20. A prominent Texas journalist will interview Phelan during the conference luncheon. Panel discussions throughout the day will focus on open government outcomes in the 2019 Texas Legislature; public access to police records; and best practices for news reporters and others in seeking government information [...]
Documents withheld surrounding officer-involved shooting
By Marshall ReidDenton Record-ChronicleOriginally published July 14, 2019 Disclosure of certain law enforcement records rests in the hands of Attorney General Ken Paxton. In an attempt to learn more about a June 29 officer-involved shooting, the Denton Record-Chronicle filed a request for information under the Texas Public Information Act on July 2. The newspaper requested body camera video, the offense report, 911 call audio, dash camera video, audio of calls for service [...]
State Bar announces Texas Gavel Award winners for 2019
The State Bar of Texas Public Affairs Committee is pleased to announce the winners of the 2019 Texas Gavel Awards. The awards honor journalism that deepens public understanding of the legal system. Click here to see the list of winners. Gavel Award winners will be honored at the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas state conference luncheon on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019.
Registration is open for FOIFT State Conference Sept. 20
The FOI Foundation of Texas will hold its state conference on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, in Austin. Join FOI leaders and experts as we explore the latest developments in these areas and look to the future. The one-day conference will take place at the Hyatt Regency, 208 Barton Springs Blvd. Early bird tickets are $115 and will be available until Sept. 6. Tickets include all conference sessions and attendance at [...]
Gov. Abbott signs bills restoring government transparency
By Taylor GoldsteinHouston ChronicleOriginally published June 12, 2019 Gov. Greg Abbott has given his stamp of approval to a series of bills that will restore open government protections stripped away by recent Texas court decisions. The new laws will allow the public more access to records about government contracts and tamp down on secret meetings by elected officials. Senate Bill 943, which Abbott signed Monday, re-establishes in the law that information [...]
Legislative Update: 2019 session
AUSTIN – The Texas Legislature approved measures this session to repair holes in the state’s Public Information Act and shore up the Open Meetings Act in the wake of detrimental court rulings. The bipartisan initiatives won final approval in the days and hours before lawmakers adjourned Monday. They address openness in government contracting; the ability to access public records stored in private electronic accounts; and the ban on government officials [...]
Two major open government bills win final legislative passage, now head to governor
Two important open government measures won final approval Thursday in the Texas Senate, which concurred with House amendments on Senate Bill 943, the Public Information Act contracting transparency bill, and Senate Bill 1640, the update to the Open Meeting Act. Both pieces of legislation next head to Gov. Greg Abbott. These proposals were among the leading initiatives of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, and [...]
Moody amends Texas Public Information Act bill to include important deceased suspects records measure
Speaker Pro Tem Joe Moody succeeded in amending an open government bill Tuesday with his measure to close a Texas Public Information Act loophole that has allowed police to withhold records from the public when a suspect died in custody. Moody prevailed in a vote to amend SB 944 by Sen. Kirk Watson and Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, which ultimately won preliminary House passage. Numerous families have come to the Texas [...]
Report reveals Sandra Bland recorded her own arrest in 2015 traffic stop
By Brian CollisterInvestigative NetworkWFAA StaffOriginal published May 6, 2019 New cellphone footage from the now infamous traffic stop of Sandra Bland shows her perspective when a Texas state trooper points a Taser and yells, “I will light you up!” Bland, 28, was found dead three days later in her Waller County jail cell near Houston. Her death was ruled a suicide. The new video -- released as part of a WFAA [...]
Companies using hole in Texas open records law to keep University of Texas athletics contracts secret
By Brian DavisAustin American-StatesmanOriginally published May 7, 2019 Because of a ruling by the Texas Supreme Court in 2015 allowing companies to keep government contract information hidden from the public, numerous University of Texas at Austin athletics contracts remain secret. Legislation by Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, and Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, attempts to plug that hole in the Texas Public Information Act. Read the full story here.