AG: Dallas County booking records can be kept secret
By Terri Langford The Texas Tribune Originally published Nov. 16, 2015 A ruling from the Texas Attorney General's office has just made it more difficult to access information about the kinds of crimes undocumented immigrants have committed in Dallas County — and whether local officials turned those offenders over to federal authorities. In a Nov. 13 ruling, the AG's office determined that because the Dallas County Sheriff's Office booking system [...]
When seeking public records, know your rights, responsibilities
By Kelley Shannon Executive Director Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas If you’ve seen news reports on suspicious state contracts or chemical waste pits or officials’ text messages in the Waco biker shootout, you may notice a recurring theme: Government records obtained through the Texas Public Information Act. Fortunately, our state’s public information law, created in the early 1970s, presumes government records are open unless a specific exemption in the [...]
Depositions expose Austin public information flaws
By Ken Martin The Austin Bulldog Originally published Nov. 9, 2015 “The City of Austin is committed to an open and transparent government. I believe this is an integral part of maintaining a vital and robust democracy.” — City Manager Marc Ott Marc OttOtt published this oft-repeated pledge in an April 8, 2015, memo titled “City of Austin Open Data Initiative 2.0.” Yet, the City has failed to consistently live [...]
State Integrity Investigation gives Texas an F in public information access
The latest State Integrity Investigation conducted by the non-profit Center for Public Integrity gives Texas a D- overall and an F in public access to information. Veteran Texas journalist David Montgomery conducted the study for our state. Read the news story and see the rankings on the CPI or Texas Tribune websites.
Speaker Straus’ interim charges address transparency, access to information
AUSTIN - Texas House Speaker Joe Straus issued interim charges Wednesday for issues lawmakers will study before the 2017 legislative session, and several address government transparency and public information. Legislators will examine the transparency of state purchasing; public information held outside of control of a governmental body; repetitious requests made under the Texas Public Information Act; and dissemination of criminal records containing inaccurate or incomplete information. Among other items related [...]
City commission: State law on body cameras raises privacy questions
By Nicole Chavez Austin American-Statesman Originally published Nov. 3, 2015 As the Austin Police Department continues to prepare the launch of its body-worn camera program, the city’s Public Safety Commission is worried state law may not provide enough guidance on how to protect victims’ privacy. The law, which was discussed during the commission’s meeting Monday, includes several rules addressing the release of any recordings to the public: It says that [...]
Activist, city of Austin settle open records lawsuit
By Andra Lim Austin American-Statesman Originally published Nov. 2, 2015 Civic activist Brian Rodgers will receive $5,000 from the city as part of an agreement to settle the lawsuit he filed in June accusing Austin of violating state open records law. The lawsuit said the city failed to respond fully, or even at all, to records requests Rodgers filed on three controversial topics: the Downtown Austin Alliance’s support for last [...]
UT System board rebukes regent Wallace Hall over recent public comments
By Matthew Watkins The Texas Tribune Originally published Oct. 30, 2015 Frustrated with his recent public comments, the University of Texas System Board of Regents has again rebuked outspoken member Wallace Hall. In a special meeting Friday, the board voted to "express disagreement and disapproval" of recent statements by Hall, saying Hall doesn't speak for the board and that the continued public fighting needs to stop. "I cannot remain silent [...]
AG says DA’s office violated Public Information Act on Twin Peaks request
By Tommy Witherspoon Waco Tribune-Herald Originally published Oct. 24, 2015 The Texas Attorney General’s Office notified McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna this month that his office violated the Texas Public Information Act when it failed to provide text messages related to the DA’s response to the May 17 Twin Peaks shootout. A former sheriff’s deputy says Reyna’s office has violated the act at least three times on requests he [...]
Denton council fails to agree on speech ordinance
By Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe Denton Record-Chronicle Originally published Oct. 20, 2015 The Denton City Council kicked a questionable 10-year-old ordinance to its ethics committee Tuesday, after failing to agree to repeal it or even on how to modify it. The ordinance criminalizes speech for council members who talk about city business deemed “confidential.” The Texas Freedom of Information Foundation wrote the city a letter in August saying the ordinance is likely [...]
DA sues Texas to fight release of controversial contract
By Tony Plohetski Austin American-Statesman and Jay Root The Texas Tribune Originally published Oct. 13, 2015 Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg is suing to block the release of records about a controversial agreement that allows a giant insurance company to pay her office more than $400,000 a year to investigate the insurer’s fraud cases. The American-Statesman and the Texas Tribune requested the records under the Texas Public Information Act [...]
FOI Foundation to co-sponsor free libel seminar for Texas journalists
The Freedom of Information Foundation is co-hosting a free libel seminar for Texas journalists on Thursday, Oct. 29, featuring a presentation by FOI Foundation board member and First Amendment attorney Laura Prather. The seminar takes place at the Austin American-Statesman from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Other co-sponsors are the American-Statesman, the Texas Press Association and the law firm Haynes and Boone. Click here for more information and to RSVP to [...]
Appeals court throws out Texas flag desecration law, saying it violates free speech
By Chuck Lindell Austin American-Statesman Originally published Oct. 7, 2015 A Texas law banning desecration of the flag is unconstitutional, the state’s highest criminal court ruled Wednesday. In a 6-3 ruling, the Court of Criminal Appeals tossed out the law, saying it was too broadly written and criminalized an act that is protected by the First Amendment’s right to free speech. Apparently rarely used, the 26-year-old law threatens one year [...]
Open records squabble blooms over Austin Music Census data
By Lilly Rockwell Austin American-Statesman Originally published Oct. 5, 2015 For Texas State University professor Cindy Royal, the Austin Music Census data was like Christmas came early. A city-hired consultant had collected surveys from nearly 4,000 people in Austin’s music industry, with data ranging from musicians’ revenue sources to answers on broader questions about the challenges facing the local music scene. Royal, who teaches a class in the journalism program [...]
Corpus Christi Caller-Times: Texas’ top court downsized the right to know
Corpus Christi Caller-Times Editorial Originally published Oct. 4, 2015 Among the most basic of the reasons for We the People to have a right to know is so we can review how our government is spending our money. The Texas Public Information Act protects this right, with careful exceptions meant to protect commerce without infringing on this basic right. An example is the right of a private company that contracts [...]
E-filing court system goes statewide; public access still to be addressed
By Chuck Lindell Austin American-Statesman Originally published Sept. 30, 2015 Saving an estimated 30 million pieces of paper a year, every major civil court in Texas has begun requiring lawyers and litigants to file documents electronically, providing 24-hour access to the courthouse for anybody with a computer and an Internet connection. The electronic filing system is now available in all 254 Texas counties, and the milestone — reached nine months [...]
Texas Supreme Court ruling shields contract details
By Aman Batheja The Texas Tribune Originally published Sept. 25, 2015 Over the objections of Attorney General Ken Paxton's office, the Texas Supreme Court issued a ruling in June making it easier for private companies to keep secret details of their contracts with the state of Texas and local governments, a move that public information advocates warn is ripe for abuse. In a 7-1 opinion, the justices ordered Paxton's office [...]
Dallas Morning News, KXAS, Temple Daily Telegram receive Spirit of FOI Awards
For Immediate Release Sept. 17, 201 AUSTIN _ Three Texas news organizations have won the Spirit of FOI Award for their investigations that made use of state and federal open records laws and resulted in revealing, impactful stories. The Nancy Monson Spirit of FOI Award, presented Thursday by the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, was given to The Dallas Morning News and NBC affiliate KXAS in the Class AA [...]
Citing shift to openness, CIA declassifies Kennedy, Johnson documents
By Jordan Rudner The Texas Tribune Originally published Sept. 16, 2015 In a massive declassification, the Central Intelligence Agency on Wednesday unveiled roughly eight years of presidential daily briefings from the administrations of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson — the largest-ever release of such material. The briefings, which touch on everything from the construction of the Berlin Wall to the space race, are "among the most highly classified [...]
Commentary: Governance by “We the People”
By Allan K. DuBois President, State Bar of Texas Published in Lufkin Daily News, Sept. 14, 2015 Celebrate Freedom Week is Sept. 13 through 19, 2015. During this week, Texas public schools are encouraged to focus student attention on the importance of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, in their historical contexts. Constitution Day is on Sept. 17. On this day we commemorate [...]