Chesapeake Energy wants settlement with Fort Worth school district kept secret
By Max B. Baker Fort Worth Star-Telegram Originally published March 2, 2016 When the Fort Worth school district sued Chesapeake Energy two years ago, it accused the company of using sham arrangements and outright fraud to subtract an untold amount of money from its royalty payments. The lawsuit stressed that the missing cash was being taken from an entity that does its business in an “open, ethical and honorable manner” [...]
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 [...]
El Paso city spokeswoman’s records role ‘problematic’
By Cindy Ramirez El Paso Times Originally published Feb. 24, 2016 An outside investigator found it "problematic" that the city's public information officer determined which documents should have been released to the El Paso Times under an open records request the newspaper filed last year. The public information officer, Juli Lozano, withheld two documents that other city officials had said were responsive to a Times request for records related to projects that were requested [...]
Rangers report surfaces in Bland lawsuit; judge orders less redacted version, release of videos
By Gabrielle Banks Houston Chronicle Originally published Feb. 18, 2016 Before Sandra Bland's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit, they asked to see the complete Texas Rangers report detailing everything from the time of her traffic stop until she was found dead three days later in a Waller County Jail cell. Attorneys for the family have been requesting a copy of the document ever since Bland's death last July. The [...]
Texas AG rules city of Killeen must provide information
By Holden Wilen Killeen Daily Herald Originally published Feb. 17, 2016 The Texas Attorney General ruled the city of Killeen needs to release documents it had been withholding from the public related to a $247,000 contract for security upgrades at the Killeen Municipal Court. City spokeswoman Hilary Shine said Wednesday the city will comply with the Attorney General’s ruling. “The Attorney General agreed that the City could withhold critical information [...]
Texas AG’s office lets Baylor keep sexual assault investigations secret
By Bobby Blanchard The Dallas Morning News Originally published Feb. 12, 2016 AUSTIN — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office issued an opinion earlier this week allowing Baylor University to keep investigations into recent sexual assaults at Baylor University secret. Because the victims have came forward and identified themselves to ESPN, an assistant to the attorney general wrote in an opinion that releasing the information would violate common law privacy. [...]
Activist sues Austin over housing deal, claims Open Meetings Act violation
By Andra Lim Austin American-Statesman Originally published Feb. 10, 2016 A judge should void an affordable housing deal, in which several Austin City Council members said they unknowingly waived up to $106.3 million in city fees, because the lack of public notice violated the Texas Open Meetings Act, said a lawsuit filed Wednesday by civic activist Brian Rodgers. Rodgers started asking questions last month about the deal, which was approved [...]
Editorial: Investigation can determine whether mobility authority broke open meetings law
By Editorial Board Austin American-Statesman Originally published Feb. 6, 2016 The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority again has come under fire regarding concerns about whether it is doing the public’s business in secret. At this point, there are few options in getting answers from CTRMA officials, whose statements to Travis County commissioners last week triggered questions about whether they are violating the Texas Open Meetings Act. The CTRMA is an [...]
Concerns raised about accessibility of police body cam footage
By St. John-Barned Smith Houston Chronicle Originally published Feb. 7, 2016 Months after statewide body camera legislation took effect and the Houston Police Department outlined its policies regarding the devices, local criminal justice watchdogs worry that some video from high-profile incidents may never see the light of day. At issue, they say, are provisions in the law that could stymie requests for camera footage, privacy protections, and local departmental reluctance [...]
Austin Music Census data to remain private
By Kevin Curtin Austin Chronicle Originally published Feb. 1, 2016 A drawn-out open records dispute over results from last year’s Austin Music Census has come to a conclusion as Texas’ Attorney General ruled that Titan Music Group, who the city contracted to conduct the survey, isn’t required to turn over the raw data to parties making public information filings. Cindy Royal, a Texas State University professor, initially filed a public [...]
Commissioner says toll road agency appears to be violating Open Meetings Act
By Sean Collins Walsh Austin American-Statesman Originally published Feb. 2, 2016 Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea on Tuesday called for an investigation into whether the Austin area’s toll road agency is habitually violating the Open Meetings Act. Shea, a vocal critic of the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, said that Charles Heimsath, an agency board member, made statements last week that indicated the authority regularly violates the Open Meetings Act, [...]
Court: State can deny fund for ‘Machete’ movie producers
By Jamie Lovegrove The Texas Tribune Originally published Jan. 29, 2016 A Texas appeals court ruled Friday that the Texas Film Commission acted within its authority when it decided after the release of the film "Machete" to deny its producers state incentive funds because of the movie's negative portrayal of Texas. The 2010 Robert Rodriguez film starred Danny Trejo as a former Mexican Federale turned vigilante who accepts a hit [...]
Judge: County must pay newspaper’s legal expenses
By Wes Gardner Fort Bend Herald Originally published Jan. 26, 2016 Visiting Judge Larry Wagenbach denied a motion Monday that would have required the Fort Bend Herald to pay thousands of dollars in attorney’s fees for the release of information deemed to be public record. The decision means The Herald is eligible to receive attorney’s fees from Fort Bend County if county officials do not appeal the judge’s decision. For [...]
FOI Foundation annual state conference set for Sept. 8
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 [...]
Questions raised in sex assault case as Bexar sheriff refuses to release basic report
By Brian Chasnoff Metro Columnist San Antonio Express-News Originally published Jan. 18, 2016 Last month, Bexar County Sheriff Susan Pamerleau seemed to acknowledge the role the media can play in cases of potential officer misconduct. Previously, her office had refused to release to the media even a basic incident report of a fatal deputy-involved shooting. That day, after a grand jury declined to indict two deputies in the shooting of [...]
Paxton prosecutors sue Paxton’s agency to block records
By Chuck Lindell Austin American-Statesman Originally published Jan. 14, 2016 In an unusual and head-spinning twist, prosecutors in the criminal case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the attorney general’s office Thursday to block the release of sensitive case information that could hinder Paxton’s defense but that his own agency ordered to be turned over to a Texas newspaper. Go ahead, read that sentence again. The latest twist began [...]
U.S. House backs bill to update FOIA as report faults Obama administration
By Matthew Daly Associated Press via U.S. News and World Report Originally published Jan. 11, 2016 WASHINGTON (AP) — The House approved legislation Monday making it easier to obtain government records, as a new congressional report concluded that the freedom of information process under the Obama administration is broken and in need of serious change. The bill, approved by a voice vote, would require government agencies to make information available [...]
Judge tells two newspapers to preserve emails in capital murder case
By Claire Osborn Austin American-Statesman Originally published Jan. 7, 2015 GEORGETOWN — A Williamson County judge ordered the publishers of two newspapers Thursday to preserve any emails they had received this fall from District Attorney Jana Duty about the controversial Crispin Harmel murder case. There has been an order since April prohibiting lawyers involved in the case from talking to reporters about it. Duty has already served time in jail [...]
Journalist entries sought for 2016 Texas Gavel Awards
Entries sought for 2016 Texas Gavel Awards -Annual Awards Recognize Journalistic Excellence in Legal Reporting- AUSTIN — Submissions are sought for the 2016 Texas Gavel Awards, which honor outstanding journalism that fosters public understanding of the legal system. Entries published or broadcast during the 2015 calendar year will be accepted for print, broadcast, and online categories until 5 p.m. April 1. There is no entry fee. Awards will be presented [...]
Dallas attorney files brief in First Amendment case about hip-hop
By Texas Standard KUT-FM Originally published Jan. 5, 2016 What do three Atlanta-based rappers, a professor from the University of Richmond and a 50-year-old lawyer in Dallas have in common? No, this isn't the beginning of a bad joke – these men have all stepped up to protect the speech rights of Taylor Bell, a young man that was suspended from his high school for recording a song that alleged [...]