At the state Capitol, the FOI Foundation of Texas supports bills promoting transparency in government and protecting the rights of free speech and free press. The foundation’s staff and volunteers advocate for legislation that strengthens the Texas Public Information Act, the Texas Open Meetings Act and other state laws. Here are updates about transparency efforts in recent Texas legislative sessions.
Taxpayers needs to know how money is spent, say advocates for closing hole in Texas open records law
By Robert T. GarrettThe Dallas Morning NewsOriginally published Dec. 27, 2018 AUSTIN — Open government advocates in Texas say a 3½-year-old court decision, probably unintentionally, has blown a growing hole in the state's transparency about how taxpayers' money is spent. Conservative and liberal think tanks, government watchdogs, consumer groups and industries that depend on robust access to public records, such as newspapers and broadcasters, have [...]
TribTalk: R.I.P, the Texas Public Information Act
By Joe Larsen Attorney Gregor Cassidy, PLLC Board Member, FOI Foundation of Texas Originally published Dec. 7, 2018, in the Texas Tribune The once-robust Texas Public Information Act lies bleeding. The Texas Supreme Court’s decision this year to deny a newspaper’s petition for review of the opinion of the 1st Court of Appeals in the case of Nehls v. Hartman Newspapers is the latest [...]
Paris News Column: Time to fight for your information rights
By Klark Byrd The Paris News Originally published Dec. 2, 2018 Texas Sunshine Laws are bumming me out. Sunshine Laws protect the public’s right to access information generated by the government and the right to witness proceedings of government agencies, boards and committees. There’s usually two parts, a public information act and an open meetings act. Texas, like every other state in which I’ve [...]
Records obtained under Public Information Act show Calhoun Port commissioners spent 19K on trip to Chile
By Jessica Priest Victoria Advocate Originally published Dec. 1, 2018 The Calhoun Port Authority spent about $19,000 to send three board members and their wives to an October conference in Chile. By comparison, a similarly sized port 90 miles east along the Texas coast, Port Freeport, sent its port director and one board member to the international conference. The much-larger Port Houston sent no [...]
Denied Evidence: KXAN examines denial of information in another death in police custody
By Josh Hinkle KXAN, Austin Originally published Nov. 19, 2018 Citing an obscure legal loophole, the Travis County Sheriff's Office blocked a grieving mother's request for evidence of how her 21-year-old son died in jail. Now, KXAN uncovers video and other records of the painful days leading up to his death and his interactions with jail staff in those final hours. The ongoing report [...]
Aligning open government ideals with law enforcement provisions
By Paul C. Watler Dallas Partner, Jackson Walker Past president, FOI Foundation of Texas Originally published Oct. 30, 2018 In Texas, our public information act is founded on the proposition that the people are sovereign and entitled to full disclosure of governmental affairs in order to retain control of public institutions. Embedded in our state FOI law is the policy that the people “do [...]