Texas AG Ken Paxton must turn over Trump rally records or face lawsuit, Travis County DA says
By Lauren McGaughy, John Tedesco and Jay Root The Dallas Morning News and Houston Chronicle Originally published Jan. 13, 2022 The Travis County district attorney has determined that Attorney General Ken Paxton violated Texas' open records law by not turning over his communications from January 2021, when he appeared at the pro-Trump rally that preceded the attack on the U.S. Capitol. The district attorney gave Paxton four days to remedy the [...]
Threats from Gov. Abbott among reasons why a Texas school district keeps book challenges secretive
By Talia Richman The Dallas Morning News Originally published Jan. 10, 2022 Fear of retribution from Gov. Greg Abbott contributes to Keller school officials’ push to keep deliberations about which books to ban from libraries private. ... Joe Larsen, an attorney on the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas board of directors, reviewed Keller ISD’s arguments. But despite the district’s concerns, he said, book challenge committee meetings should be open [...]
Texas AG rules government expenditures to Home Depot subsidiary can be withheld from public
By John Tedesco Houston Chronicle Originally published Dec. 17, 2021 The Houston Chronicle reports on lack of transparency in New Braunfels' taxpayer-funded expenditures on a private corporation. Read the full story here.
Houston Chronicle Editorial: Texans need more information on wasteful ‘313’ corporate welfare program – not less
Houston Chronicle Editorial Originally published Dec. 10, 2021 There’s a reason Texas lawmakers, Republican and Democrat, got rid of the biggest corporate welfare program in Texas. ... Chapter 313, as it’s known, is a $10 billion boondoggle. The program let wealthy corporations keep a portion of their property values off school district tax rolls for a decade, when property values are often at their peak. It was rife with abuse [...]
Open records bill would have prevented Rio Grande City from exploiting loophole
By Valerie Gonzalez The Monitor Originally published Nov. 27, 2021 An open government advocate said this week that if Texas legislators are one day successful in closing a loophole in the state’s public information act, municipalities such as Rio Grande City would no longer be able to work around certain requirements — such as responding to requests. The handling of a recent request for public information from Rio Grande City [...]
FOIFT remembers dedicated service of former president Ralph Langer
The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas is forever grateful for the dedicated service of former organization president Ralph Langer, who passed away in August at age 84. FOIFT honored Langer at our Sept. 24, 2021, state conference with the following remembrance delivered by current board president Arif Panju: In Memoriam, Ralph Langer Ralph Langer was the former long-time president of the Freedom of Information Foundation and the guiding light [...]
Texas open government advocates notch legislative wins but want more
By Daniel Van Oudenaren The Austin Bulldog Originally published Nov. 10, 2021 Advocates who pushed for changes to Texas’s public information laws at the legislature this year are celebrating a handful of wins but fell short on some of their agenda. Two new transparency laws took effect September 1st, the fruit of a bipartisan effort: Senate Bill 930 by state Senator Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo), which ensures that families of nursing [...]
IDEA Public Schools sues attorney general to keep hotel purchase records secret
By Dave HendricksProgress TimesOriginally published Oct. 29, 2021 IDEA Public Schools filed a lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in mid-October, attempting to block the release of records that may explain why the charter school system purchased a hotel in Cameron County. IDEA purchased the Inn at Chachalaca Bend, a boutique hotel in Los Fresnos, during October 2019. Less than a year later, Chief Financial Officer Wyatt Truscheit abruptly [...]
Researchers examine Texas, other state laws on public records response requirements, times
Five research papers were accepted to the third annual National Freedom of Information Coalition FOI research competition, which was presented online Sept. 28, 2021, at the national FOI Summit. In all, seven one-page proposals were entered and five selected through double-blind peer review for final consideration. Then, a team of eight expert judges rated the full manuscripts based on importance, relevance to practitioners, and strength of methodology. Three of the [...]
2021 State Conference Videos
Video recordings from the FOI Foundation's Sept. 24, 2021, state conference in Austin: Panel: Law enforcement transparency - Where do we stand?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlmmT9QWtmY Panel: Texas Legislature - Looking Aheadhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8wolQGfpTk Panel: Pro tips - Managing information roadblockshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ4MIPpyV2s Spirit of FOI Awards Presentationhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EtVXDkxE28James Madison Award presentation honoring Patrick Cantyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP2iXFBaDmo Luncheon Keynote: Interview of Texas Land Commissioner and AG candidate George P. Bush, by Bob Garrett of the Dallas Morning News; preceded by FOIFT [...]
Odessa American, KXAN win Spirit of FOI Awards
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESept. 24, 2021 AUSTIN – Two Texas news organizations that shined a spotlight on lack of public access to police records have won this year’s Spirit of FOI Awards presented by the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. The Odessa American and KXAN in Austin, the award winners, were honored Friday at the FOI Foundation’s state conference in Austin. The Nancy Monson Spirit of FOI Award highlights journalism [...]
New transparency laws effective Sept. 1
Two new Texas transparency laws passed in the spring legislative session took effect Sept. 1, addressing public records problems that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic. Senate Bill 930 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, and Rep. Mayes Middleton, R-Wallisville, ensures that governmental entities must release information on COVID-19 and other communicable disease outbreaks in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The names and locations of the facilities must be made available [...]
Odessa American publisher, veteran journalist Patrick Canty to receive James Madison Award
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEAug. 26, 2021 AUSTIN – Odessa American publisher Patrick Canty, whose newspaper has waged a lengthy legal battle for access to local public records, will be honored with the prestigious James Madison Award. The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas bestows the award on those who demonstrate outstanding commitment to the principles of the First Amendment and open government. It will be presented at the foundation’s state conference [...]
Time to register: FOI Foundation state conference coming up Sept. 24
Mark your calendars and register today for the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas state conference, to be held in person on Friday, Sept. 24, at the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center on the University of Texas campus. Registration is also available for live virtual attendance for those who cannot make it in person. COVID-19 safety precautions, such as social distancing and other measures, will be in place. Among the [...]
Supplying information swiftly – not delaying it – is government’s duty
By Kelley Shannon If you work in government, here’s something to remember: You work for the people. It’s your job to ensure citizens can interact with their government and have the information they need to hold it accountable. That includes handing over public records when someone requests them. In Texas, government documents are presumed to be open to everyone and can only be withheld under specific confidentiality exemptions in the [...]
Austin police will now release video footage of critical incidents within 10 days
By Kelsey BradshawAustin American-StatesmanOriginally published July 23, 2021 Austin police will now release video footage from critical incidents, like shootings that involve officers, within 10 business days of the event, the department announced Friday. Critical incidents include: Shootings in which an office discharges a gun, including incidents where no one is shot or if no allegation of misconduct is made.A use of force incident that results in death or serious [...]
Update on COVID-19 Texas Open Meetings Act suspensions
Gov. Greg Abbott has announced that his March 2020 suspension of sections of the Texas Open Meetings Act amid the COVID-19 pandemic will be lifted as of Sept. 1, 2021. Abbott suspended parts of the law requiring a quorum to be in one physical place for a virtual meeting and requiring a physical meeting place for the public to observe the meeting. The order required certain notice provisions to enable [...]
2021 Texas Gavel Award winners announced
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJuly 6, 2021Contact: Amy StarnesPublic Information Director, State Bar of Texas800-204-2222, ext. 1706, or 512-427-1706 [email protected] AUSTIN—Stories that critically examined the Texas criminal justice system’s treatment of the mentally ill and inmates regarded as innocent are among the winners of the 2021 Texas Gavel Awards. Journalists representing Texas Monthly, The Texas Tribune, San Antonio Express-News, and Austin’s KXAN-TV were selected as winners of the 2021 awards. The Texas Gavel [...]
Yet another local government continues to dodge the Texas Public Information Act, citing ‘skeleton crew’
This is another example of a local government still claiming pandemic "skeleton crew" as a reason for not responding promptly to Texas Public Information Act requests. This time it's the city of El Paso. The Texas attorney general's office needs to update its guidance on skeleton crew and remote work to fit with the modern work world. Read the full story here: https://elpasomatters.org/2021/06/29/as-city-attorneys-office-continues-on-a-skeleton-crew-access-to-public-records-remains-a-challenge/
Another example of a Texas public entity avoiding the Public Information Act by claiming ‘skeleton crew’
This tweet by reporter Dave Hendricks about IDEA Public Schools is yet another example of abuse of the Texas Public Information Act and the Texas attorney general's "skeleton crew" guidance. The school system should have responded to records requests even though they were working remotely during COVID-19 over the past year. Most records are available electronically these days. Additionally, the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas has urged the AG's [...]