Open Government Seminar set for McAllen on June 9
AUSTIN _ The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas will host an Open Government Seminar in McAllen on Thursday, June 9, featuring training in the state’s public meetings and public records laws. The non-profit FOI Foundation will partner with the Texas Attorney General's Office in offering the one-day seminar. It is designed for government employees, journalists, attorneys and members of the general public who want to learn more about the [...]
Waco Editorial: Baylor legal moves in sexual assault saga raise questions about Texas AG’s opinion
By Waco Tribune-Herald Originally published May 22, 2016 Bowing to the cherished principle that transparency makes for better government, better institutions and better communities, state lawmakers last year overwhelmingly passed a law requiring private university and college police departments to release upon request information such as crime reports, just as city police departments must do. We saw this as a triumph for public safety. One idea behind this warmly welcomed [...]
FOI Foundation board member Laura Prather honored by SPJ for exceptional service to journalism
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 10, 2016 INDIANAPOLIS – The Society of Professional Journalists is pleased to honor Jerry Ceppos, Laura Prather and Don Van Natta, Jr., as Fellows of the Society. This is the highest professional honor given by the Society and is awarded for extraordinary contribution to the profession. Jerry Ceppos is currently Dean and William B. Dickinson Distinguished Professor at the Manship School of Mass Communication, Louisiana State [...]
State, Lawyers Debate Identifying Execution Drug Supplier
By Johnathan Silver The Texas Tribune Originally published May 11, 2016 Revealing Texas' supplier of execution drugs could have a harmful effect on the provider and as a result leave the state empty-handed, a lawyer for the state suggested Wednesday during an appeals court hearing. State Deputy Solicitor General Matthew Frederick told a three-judge panel on the Austin-based Third Court of Appeals that a "substantial risk" comes with naming the [...]
Texas Supreme Court ruling helps bar the door to public release of company records
By Dug Begley Houston Chronicle Originally published May 3, 2016 A Texas Supreme Court decision last year that one open records advocate said "blew a hole in the Texas Public Information Act" has been used in the past few months to shield records ranging from Uber's driver information in Houston to how much singer Enrique Iglesias was paid for a McAllen Christmas concert. The 7-1 decision, in the Boeing v. [...]
Open Government Seminar to be held May 3 in Conroe
The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas will host an Open Government Seminar in Conroe, north of Houston, on Tuesday, May 3, featuring training in the state’s public meetings and public records laws. The non-profit FOI Foundation, partnering with the Texas Attorney General’s Office, will offer the one-day seminar designed for government employees, journalists, attorneys and members of the general public who want to learn more about the Texas Public [...]
County’s attorney wants limit on access to information without compensation
By Cassie L. Smith Waco Tribune-Herald Originally published April 23, 2016 McLennan County’s attorney hopes leaders adopt a policy aimed at deterring “intentionally abusive” open records requests, while others say the move could be construed as having a chilling effect on access to public information. Attorney Mike Dixon, who represents McLennan County and its officeholders, said county staff is trying to process burdensome active requests before looking into a provision [...]
Travis County public records fight will head to court after phone plea, banquet invite fail
By Elizabeth Findell Austin American-Statesman Originally published April 19, 2016 Travis County will file a lawsuit to fight the release of information concerning its Workforce Development Re-Entry program after a phone call from County Judge Sarah Eckhardt failed to persuade a local activist to withdraw a public information request. Zenobia Joseph, a former teacher, sent the county a request in December seeking information on the county program, which helps find [...]
Bryan councilman files complaint with AG over nearly $1,000 open records charge
By CAITLIN CLARK The Eagle Originally published April 17, 2016 In his ongoing effort to learn how much the Traditions Club development has cost the city, Bryan city councilman Mike Southerland filed an open records request earlier this month asking for a spreadsheet of expenditures and revenues from multiple fund accounts related to the project. For staff to fill such a request, the city said, it would cost him $998. [...]
AG orders records released; Fort Worth school district settled with Chesapeake for $1million
By Max Baker Fort Worth Star-Telegram Originally published April 11, 2016 FORT WORTH - The Fort Worth school district settled its lawsuit with Chesapeake Energy over natural gas royalties for $1 million, according to documents released Monday after the Texas attorney general decided that the information is public. The attorney general’s office ordered the district to release details of the out-of-court settlement despite efforts by Chesapeake to keep it private [...]
Court: Austin must ID private email addresses used for public business
By Nolan Hicks Austin American-Statesman Originally published April 8, 2016 Public officials won’t be able to shield their personal email addresses from the public if they use the accounts for government business, a state appellate court ruled Friday. Government watchdogs hailed the decision as a win for government transparency and the state’s public records laws. The litigation stems from the “walking quorum” controversy that roiled Austin City Hall five years [...]
Miller’s office withheld emails about ‘Jesus Shot’ trip
By Brian M. Rosenthal Houston Chronicle Originally published April 1, 2016 Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller's office withheld public records that suggest he obtained a medical procedure known as "The Jesus Shot" on a taxpayer-funded trip to Oklahoma, the Houston Chronicle has learned. In response to a February public records request, Miller's office had said that no email messages about the trip existed, even though it had more than a [...]
FOI Foundation of Texas hosting upcoming Open Government Seminars
AUSTIN _ The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas will host Open Government Seminars in the north Houston area, El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley in May and June featuring training in the state’s public meetings and public records laws. The non-profit FOI Foundation, partnering with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office, will offer one-day seminars designed for government employees, journalists, attorneys and members of the general public who [...]
City of McAllen continues to withhold parade information
By Mitchell Ferman The Monitor Originally published March 22, 2016 The City of McAllen called The Monitor’s open records request for issued checks, documents and emails between city officials relating to the Enrique Iglesias concert in December 2015 a “backdoor” attempt to “circumvent” a previous ruling from the Texas Attorney General’s Office. The city complied with a portion of the request while deferring the rest of the request to an [...]
Texas AG blocks release of ‘burn in hell’ audio
By Kenric Ward Watchdog.org Originally published March 23, 2016 The Texas Education Agency and state Attorney General Ken Paxton are blocking Watchdog.org from obtaining an audio recording of a teleconference during which a school board member told the TEA commissioner to “burn in hell.” Watchdog independently confirmed that an unidentified school board trustee told then-Commissioner Michael Williams that Williams should “die and burn in hell.” The remark was made as [...]
Public’s right to know highlighted by case of handcuffed 8-year-old
By Deborah McKeon Temple Daily Telegram Originally published March 14, 2016 The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas works hard to make sure that public business is conducted in public and that the liberties guaranteed by the First Amendment are protected. The public has a right to know what its government is doing and to receive straight talk, and that is what Sunshine Week highlights — the importance of efforts [...]
Call for entries: 2016 Spirit of FOI Award
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 [...]
Celebrate ‘Sunshine Week,’ cherish Texas transparency
By Kelley Shannon FOI Foundation of Texas March 14, 2016 We Texans have a history of straight talk and openness, and our state’s public information laws reflect it. Shining light on our government allows democracy to flourish. As we celebrate that light during national Sunshine Week from March 13-19, let’s be thankful that Texas laws value the public’s right to know through broad access to records and meetings. But we [...]
El Paso City Council deletes proposed open records restriction
By Elida S. Perez El Paso Times Originally published March 8, 2016 The El Paso City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to delete a controversial item that would have restricted an entire class of people from requesting city documents through the Texas Public Information Act. City Rep. Emma Acosta, who placed the open records item on the agenda, initially asked City Council to approve an item that called for "discussion and [...]
El Paso council item to limit open records access criticized
By Elida S. Perez El Paso Times Originally published March 5, 2016 The City Council will have what an expert said is a pointless discussion about trying to restrict a class of individuals from requesting city records through the Texas Public Information Act. “They can’t just take it upon themselves to cut off whole classes of people from requesting records,” said Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas Executive Director Kelley Shannon. [...]