Watson, Capriglione bills close loopholes in open records law
Tuesday, January 3, 2017 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACTS: Kate Alexander, Office of Sen. Kirk Watson: (512) 463-0114 Courtney Roberts, Office of Rep. Giovanni Capriglione: (512) 463-0690 Watson, Capriglione bills close loopholes in open records law Texas Rep. Giovanni Capriglione and Sen. Kirk Watson filed two pieces of identical legislation on Tuesday to close loopholes in the Public Information Act that were created by recent Texas Supreme Court rulings. "Taxpayers have [...]
Open Government Champions: Hunter’s commitment to First Amendment, open government runs deep
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is one in an occasional series of opinion pieces on legislators and other Texans who are openly committed to sustaining government transparency and accountability. The articles are being prepared and distributed by the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas and the Texas Press Association. By Dave Montgomery After 15 years in the Texas Legislature, Rep. Todd Hunter of Corpus Christi has distinguished himself as a relentless defender [...]
Former Smith County judge to pay fine in Open Meetings Act violation
By Cody Lillich KLTV Originally published Dec. 12, 2016 Former East Texas County judge Joel Baker entered a no contest plea deal Monday on one of the three charges brought against him. Two of the other counts were dismissed per the deal. Baker must pay a $200 fine as a part of the agreement. The trial for the former Smith County judge ended before it even began Monday in a [...]
Support FOI Foundation’s free speech, open government mission in this week’s fundraiser
We're making an online push this week to increase support for the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas and its mission of promoting the First Amendment and open government. The public's right to know is crucial to our democracy. We cannot make decisions about how we are governed and who should lead us if we don't have information about our government. The FOI Foundation of Texas is a non-profit 501(c)(3) [...]
Texas Monthly: Texas has a transparency problem
By Leif Reigstad Texas Monthly Originally published Dec. 5, 2016 Texas received a grade of D- in the Center for Public Integrity‘s state rankings for accountability and transparency last November, including an F in the “public access to information” category. And the Lone Star State certainly didn’t do anything to improve its performance in 2016. This year state agencies have blocked public access to information regarding everything from small oddities to some of the most [...]
City of East Mountain faces lawsuit claiming Texas Public Information Act violation
By Christina Lane Longview News-Journal Originally published Dec. 2, 2016 A new lawsuit filed against the city of East Mountain claims it violated the Texas Public Information Act. The lawsuit was filed Thursday in the Upshur County Clerk's Office by Lester Glover, an East Mountain resident who has lived in the city since April 2012. In the lawsuit, Glover is seeking for a court to order the city to deliver [...]
Support FOI Foundation of Texas mission on Giving Tuesday
It's Giving Tuesday, a global day of giving to support the important work of non-profits. The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas is taking part and invites you to join our mission of advocating for open government and the First Amendment rights of free speech and press. Please consider a tax-deductible contribution today to our 501(c)(3) non-profit. We depend on donations from individuals, organizations and businesses. Contributions can be made [...]
Texas blows grant for funds to combat opioids, tries to keep records secret
By Edgard Walters and Isabelle Taft The Texas Tribune Originally published Nov. 20, 2016 Faced with a rising death toll from opioid abuse, Texas public health officials in May decided to apply for a $1 million federal grant to purchase Naloxone, a drug that, if administered during an overdose, can save the life of a person addicted to heroin or pain pills. The Texas Department of State Health Services hired an outside grant [...]
Katy ISD trustees: Freedom of speech restricted by school board
By Sebastian Herrera Houston Chronicle Originally published Nov. 13, 2016 Two trustees on the Katy school board believe their First Amendment rights are being infringed by a written board procedure that only allows the board president to speak to the media. The long-standing procedure suggests that elected officials should filter information to the public and act as a unified voice despite different opinions on district matters. It is scheduled to [...]
State Board of Ed member fields private email controversy
By Aliyya Swaby The Texas Tribune Originally published Nov. 4, 2016 State Board of Education member David Bradley, R-Beaumont, is under fire for allegedly not releasing board-related emails from his private server in response to an open records request. The Texas Freedom Network says Bradley did not hand over all of his emails in October when the organization filed a request under the state Public Information Act. Bradley said Texas Education Agency [...]
How many racing dogs failed drug tests? In Texas, that’s confidential
By Eric Dexheimer Austin American-Statesman Originally published Nov. 6, 2016 Why would a state agency voluntarily publish information for years – and then, when directly asked for the same material, suddenly decide it’s confidential? That’s what the Texas Racing Commission did last month, in what open records experts describe as the latest example of the erosion of laws the public depends on to pry essential information from the government. The [...]
Open Meetings Act trial for Montgomery County officials, consultant reset for March 27
Three Montgomery County elected officials and a political consultant facing charges of conspiring to circumvent the Texas Open Meetings Act will have to wait at least five more months to have their day in court. Judge Randy Clapp of Wharton County set March 27, 2017 as the new trial date for Montgomery County Judge Craig Doyal, County Commissioners Charlie Riley and Jim Clark and political consultant Marc Davenport. Clapp, a [...]
Montgomery County commissioner proposes digital message board allowed under Open Meetings Act
By Catherine Dominguez Houston Chronicle Originally published Oct. 24, 2016 Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack is proposing a digital public message board that would allow the commissioners to communicate publicly outside a called meeting. While County Judge Craig Doyal said he sees some benefits, he said he isn't sure all the commissioners would use a digital message board. The court was scheduled to discuss the item at Tuesday's meeting. For [...]
FOI Foundation offers Nov. 16 Open Government Seminar in Denton
AUSTIN _ The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas will host an Open Government Seminar in Denton in November featuring training in public meetings and public records laws. The non-profit FOI Foundation, in cooperation with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office and the Mayborn School of Journalism at UNT, will offer the one-day seminar on Wednesday, Nov. 16. It is designed for government employees, journalists, attorneys and members of the [...]
Attorneys: Public has right to know details of Bryan superintendent agreement
By Elizabeth Kamenicky The Eagle Originally published Oct. 9, 2016 Two attorneys serving on the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas board said Bryan school trustees are wrong to cite a confidentiality agreement with former Superintendent Tommy Wallis as their reason for not telling the public why the top administrator suddenly resigned. In the days following the release of a 16-page exit agreement between the board and Wallis, trustees remained [...]
Reasons for Texas’ surge in pregnancy-related deaths cloaked in secrecy, bad data
By J. David McSwane and Terri Langford The Dallas Morning News Originally published Sept. 28, 2016 The rate of pregnancy-related deaths among Texas women nearly doubled in recent years, a national study found this month, while a separate state-commissioned study found black women are especially vulnerable. Researchers can't say why maternal death rates are higher in Texas than any other state, and the reasons are likely to remain hidden. That's [...]
Victoria County pays $105,000 for open records advice
By Jessica Priest Victoria Advocate Originally published Sept. 24, 2016 Victoria County paid an outside law firm about $105,000 over four years to answer open records requests. In 2015 alone, after several sheriff's office employees were investigated for wrongdoing, the county paid more than $77,000. The county made the payments to the Austin-based Allison, Bass and Magee law firm even though the elected district attorney has offered to answer the [...]
Texas court mulls ‘magic words’ loophole for transparency law
By Jon Cassidy Watchdog.org Originally published Sept. 14, 2016 The Supreme Court of Texas heard arguments Wednesday on whether to write a loophole into state public records law that would allow government agencies to avoid public scrutiny and disregard basic public records procedures simply by invoking “magic words.” The court could also decide to eliminate a previous loophole it created, but most of its public records decisions in recent years have [...]
Headliners Foundation of Texas announces FOI grants program
Headliners Foundation of Texas Sept. 6, 2016 AUSTIN - The Headliners Foundation of Texas has embarked on a one-year pilot program of grants to reimburse small-market and community news organizations in Texas for extraordinary expenses charged by governmental bodies for Open Records searches. The grant application process will open September 6, 2016, and will continue until the 2016 Foundation funding for the grants is awarded. Click here for the Foundation’s media release [...]
Open government advocates call for fix in Texas public records act
AUSTIN, Texas — Open government advocates want lawmakers to fix what they call a loophole in the state’s Public Information Act. Time Warner Cable News reported on this issue at the Sept. 8 state conference of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas: http://www.twcnews.com/tx/austin/news/2016/09/8/open-government-advocates-call-for-fix-to-public-records-issue.html