New Texas laws protect public’s right to know
AUSTIN – Texans will gain access to private university police records and more easily observe public meetings because of action this legislative session, while journalists can continue robust reporting on allegations of wrongdoing. The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas pressed for these and other transparency measures in the 84th Legislature, which concluded Monday. One highlight was passage of Senate Bill 627, allowing journalists to accurately report on wrongdoing accusations [...]
Gov. Abbott signs legislation providing press freedom to report wrongdoing allegations
AUSTIN - Gov. Greg Abbott has signed Senate Bill 627, making it clear that journalists can report on allegations of wrongdoing and receive protections under state law. Abbott signed the bill late Thursday night. The legislation was authored by Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, and sponsored by Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi. The measure codifies a defense for accurately reporting on third-party allegations. That defense had been part of common law [...]
House expected to remove ban on media access to accident reports
AUSTIN - A Senate amendment to House Bill 2633 that would ban news media access to detailed traffic accident reports is expected to be stripped out of the bill in a conference committee. House sponsors of the legislation have said the bill by Rep. Ana Hernandez, D-Houston, is expected to return to its House version with removal of the Senate language that was added Sunday night by Sen. Charles Perry, [...]
Open government advocates optimistic about Texas legislative session
By Eva-Marie Ayala The Dallas Morning News Originally published May 20, 2015 AUSTIN — Texans are likely to get greater access to campus police records and public meetings online. But after a group secretly taped lawmakers in Austin, some are wary of legislation that could make it harder to record audio without the consent of all recorded. A variety of bills still in play in the final days of the [...]
Lawmakers pass bill making college police records public
AUSTIN - The Texas House today passed legislation making private university police records subject to the Texas Public Information Act. Senate Bill 308 by Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, had already passed the Senate and was sponsored in the House by Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston. The open government bill passed on the House Local and Consent Calendar. It now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott.
Legislature approves bill giving journalists ability to report wrongdoing allegations
AUSTIN - The Texas House today approved legislation that allows journalists to continue accurately reporting on allegations of wrongdoing in matters of public importance. The legislation by Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, and Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, clarifies a recent Texas Supreme Court decision. The measure provides protection under libel law for reporting on third party allegations that shine light on matters such as contracting malfeasance, youth commission abuse and [...]
AG Ken Paxton sides with UT regent Wallace Hall on access to records
By Ralph K.M. Haurwitz Austin American-Statesman Originally published May 12, 2015 Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an opinion Tuesday siding with a University of Texas System regent seeking access to records from an investigation into admissions at the Austin campus. The UT System cannot bar a regent’s access to records unless a state or federal law requires otherwise, Paxton said. Even the federal student privacy law does not allow a [...]
Texas Senate panel considers bill banning one-party consent for recording
AUSTIN - Texas would join a small number of states banning one-party consent for electronic recordings of conversations under a bill the Texas Senate Criminal Justice Committee considered Tuesday. Senate Bill 1223 by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, would require all parties that are in a conversation to give their consent to a recording. Only 12 states have such a law. Most states and the federal government do not. There are [...]
FOI Foundation files court brief arguing Greater Houston Partnership is governmental body
AUSTIN - The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas has filed a brief with the Texas Supreme Court arguing that the Greater Houston Partnership is a governmental entity and subject to the state open records law. The FOI Foundation amicus brief was filed Monday in an appeal brought by the Greater Houston Partnership against the attorney general's office. The FOI Foundation contends the partnership is a "governmental body" under the [...]
UT regents ask AG to ignore Hall’s request for information
By Matthew Watkins The Texas Tribune Originally published May 4, 2015 In the latest bit of infighting among the governing board of the University of Texas System, the Board of Regents on Monday asked the state attorney general to ignore one of its member's request for help accessing confidential student information. The board approved a letter saying the regent, Wallace Hall, doesn't have a right to "unfettered" information from the [...]
Deadline for entering Spirit of FOI Award contest is Friday
Texas journalists have until Friday to enter the 2015 Spirit of FOI Award contest, which recognizes outstanding efforts to promote open government and the First Amendment. This year's contest is open to newspaper, radio and television stations and online news organizations. Entries must have been published or broadcast in 2014. Winners will be honored at the FOI Foundation of Texas annual conference Sept. 17 in Austin. Click here for contest [...]
Private college police bill among open government proposals this week at Texas Capitol
The Texas House Higher Education Committee heard testimony this week on Senate Bill 308, which would make private college campus police records accessible to the public. Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, sponsored the measure in the House. The bill originated with Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, following a videotaped beating of a man by Rice University police. The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas and other open government advocates are supporting the [...]
Open government bills moving forward, getting hearings at Texas Capitol
This week Texas legislators were busy hearing bills both good and bad for open government and freedom of information as end-of-session legislative deadlines loom. The House Judiciary and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee approved HB 1766 by Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, that allows for continued reporting by the news media on third party allegations of wrongdoing. The Senate, meanwhile, passed its version of the bill, SB 627 by Sen. Joan Huffman, [...]
Texas Senate approves third party allegation reporting bill
The Texas Senate approved legislation Wednesday that allows journalists to accurately report on third party allegations on matters of public importance. Senate Bill 627 by Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, was agreed upon by the Texas Press Association, Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and others. It clarifies a recent Texas Supreme Court decision and allows reporting on allegations that shine light on such matters as [...]
Legislators consider bill allowing for reporting on wrongdoing allegations
Legislation by Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, that would allow continued accurate news reporting on wrongdoing allegations went before the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee on Tuesday. News organizations, trial lawyers and other groups have agreed on updates to House Bill 1766. The bill clarifies a recent Texas Supreme Court decision and codifies what has been common law for more than two decades. First Amendment attorney Laura Prather, a [...]
UT regent asks attorney general for access to confidential information
By Matthew Watkins The Texas Tribune Originally published April 20, 2015 When he abstained from voting to appoint Gregory Fenves as the new president of the University of Texas at Austin on Monday, UT System Regent Wallace Hall said he still had some "lingering, unresolved questions" about the admissions process at the flagship school. Hours later, Hall's lawyer requested help from the state attorney general to find some answers. In [...]
Texas lawmakers consider shielding information on suppliers of execution drugs
By Paul Weber Associated Press via Laredo Morning Times Originally published April 15, 2015 AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Saying that executions in Texas are becoming "increasingly difficult to carry out," state officials Wednesday urged lawmakers to send Republican Gov. Greg Abbott a bill that would prevent even death row inmates from knowing the identity of lethal injection drug suppliers. The debate in the Legislature took place just hours before the [...]
UPDATE: Many bills before legislative committees this week open, close access to government
Texas House and Senate committees are considering more than 20 bills this week that would open - and close - public access to state and local government. The House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee is holding a hearing Tuesday on House Bill 2633 by Rep. Ana Hernandez, D-Houston, that would close off public access to key information in traffic accident reports. Meanwhile, the House Business and Industry Committee is considering [...]
Hacker group Anonymous demands release of video in Grapevine police shooting
By Dianne Solis The Dallas Morning News Originally published April 13, 2015 Anonymous, the collective of activist hackers, is urging North Texas officials to release a Grapevine police video of a traffic stop that led to the fatal shooting of Rubén García Villalpando, a 31-year-old mechanic who was not armed. García Villalpando, a Mexican immigrant, was shot Feb. 20 after he was chased into Euless by Grapevine Officer Robert Clark. [...]
Legislative Update: 2015 session
As the 2015 Texas legislative session came to a close, significant strides were made in the free speech and transparency areas. The most important legislative victory for journalists was passage of Senate Bill 627, which codifies a defense for the news media's accurate reporting of third-party allegations. Accurate reporting on such allegations had been protected under Texas common law for 25 years but was called into question in a Texas [...]