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.
Submit your entries for 2019 Spirit of FOI Award
The FOI Foundation of Texas is pleased to announce 2019 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 submission of entries is Friday, May 31, 2019. Nominations must be for work published or broadcast in calendar year [...]
Open government bills moving forward at Texas Capitol
UPDATED April 11, 2019 Several proposals to strengthen Texas' open government laws are moving ahead in the Texas Legislature. The Texas Public Information Act contracting transparency bill by Sen. Kirk Watson won final passage in the state Senate on Wednesday, April 10. It closes loopholes created by Texas Supreme Court rulings and is another step toward Texas taxpayers regaining their right to know how their money is spent. Earlier this [...]
Texas Tribune Analysis: Some of the secrets of Texas government aren’t supposed to be secrets
By Ross RamseyThe Texas TribuneOriginally published March 25, 2019 The Texas Legislature, full of people who believe in open government and who also like to settle things quietly and outside of public view, is diving into open-government legislation. Read the full analysis here.
No right to know? Texas public records get harder and harder to acquire
By Jeremy BlackmanHouston ChronicleOriginally published March 14, 2019 In Texas, records that might have once been public are increasingly difficult to obtain, according to an analysis of 10 years worth of attorney general's decisions by ABC13 in collaboration with the Houston Chronicle. The review found that the number of appeals from state and local agencies to withhold information has nearly doubled in the past decade. The Houston Chronicle took an in-depth look [...]
Sunshine Week: Free speech, public’s right to know under attack in Texas, so let’s act now
By Kelley Shannon Executive Director FOI Foundation of Texas We Texans are fiercely independent and like to make our views known. On that, surely, we can agree. Using our First Amendment right to speak out goes hand in hand with access to public information that helps us understand how our government functions. Unfortunately, both basic American principles – free speech and the people’s right to know – are under attack [...]
Legislators hear testimony on closing police loophole in Texas Public Information Act
AUSTIN _ The parents of teens and young adults who died in police custody urged the House State Affairs Committee on Wednesday to close a loophole in the Public Information Act so they can access records about their loved ones' deaths. "Government transparency is government transparency, even when it's not pretty," said House Speaker Pro Tem Joe Moody, D-El Paso, as he explained the need for his House Bill 147. [...]
Texas’ highest criminal court strikes down a provision of Open Meetings Act as ‘constitutionally vague’
By Emma Platoff The Texas Tribune Originally published Feb. 27, 2019 In a major blow to the state’s government transparency laws, Texas’ highest criminal court has struck down a significant provision of the Texas Open Meetings Act, calling it “unconstitutionally vague.” That law, which imposes basic requirements providing for public access to and information about governmental meetings, makes it a crime for public officials to “knowingly [conspire] to circumvent this [...]
Lawmakers file bill to repair Texas Public Information Act, help citizens track spending
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Feb. 21, 2019 AUSTIN – Two Texas lawmakers filed bipartisan legislation Thursday to strengthen the state’s Public Information Act and give Texans the ability to once again track the spending of taxpayer money. Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, and Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, filed Senate Bill 943 and House Bill 2189, respectively. The identical pieces of legislation address citizens’ access to information contained in and surrounding state and [...]
Corpus Christi Caller-Times Editorial: What are SLAPP lawsuits and why do you need a law to protect you from them?
By Corpus Christi Caller-Times Editorial Board Originally published Feb. 15, 2019 Why would a law with the positive-sounding name Texas Citizens Participation Act be in danger? From whom? Should you be worried? The short answer to the last question is yes. You should be worried unless you are insanely rich and don't value the public good above your own. What does this law do? Before 2011, people, businesses and other [...]
Rep. Todd Hunter files two major transparency bills at Texas Capitol
By Kelley Shannon Executive Director FOI Foundation of Texas Feb. 13, 2019 Two major bills in the FOI Foundation and Texas Sunshine Coalition open government legislative agenda have been filed by Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi. House Bill 1655 would restore public access to dates of birth in many public documents, including criminal justice records and candidate applications. This helps to ensure accuracy in reporting and allows public vetting of politicians running for [...]
Commentary: Transparency, economic development regulations are dying in Texas
By Nathan M. Jensen and Calvin Thrall University of Texas Commentary in Austin American-Statesman Originally published Feb. 6, 2019 Amazon’s search for a second headquarters, the so called HQ2, should make Texans concerned about the lack of transparency of economic development. Many cities have not released their HQ2 bids to the public, even though the competition is now complete. In Texas, none of our cities including Austin, Dallas and Houston [...]