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.
Texas Monthly: Texas has a transparency problem
By Leif Reigstad Texas Monthly Originally published Dec. 5, 2016 Texas received a grade of D- in the Center for Public Integrity‘s state rankings for accountability and transparency last November, including an F in the “public access to information” category. And the Lone Star State certainly didn’t do anything to improve its performance in 2016. This year state agencies have blocked public access to information regarding everything from [...]
Montgomery County commissioner proposes digital message board allowed under Open Meetings Act
By Catherine Dominguez Houston Chronicle Originally published Oct. 24, 2016 Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack is proposing a digital public message board that would allow the commissioners to communicate publicly outside a called meeting. While County Judge Craig Doyal said he sees some benefits, he said he isn't sure all the commissioners would use a digital message board. The court was scheduled to discuss [...]
Reasons for Texas’ surge in pregnancy-related deaths cloaked in secrecy, bad data
By J. David McSwane and Terri Langford The Dallas Morning News Originally published Sept. 28, 2016 The rate of pregnancy-related deaths among Texas women nearly doubled in recent years, a national study found this month, while a separate state-commissioned study found black women are especially vulnerable. Researchers can't say why maternal death rates are higher in Texas than any other state, and the reasons [...]
Texas court mulls ‘magic words’ loophole for transparency law
By Jon Cassidy Watchdog.org Originally published Sept. 14, 2016 The Supreme Court of Texas heard arguments Wednesday on whether to write a loophole into state public records law that would allow government agencies to avoid public scrutiny and disregard basic public records procedures simply by invoking “magic words.” The court could also decide to eliminate a previous loophole it created, but most of its public [...]
KXAN, Victoria Advocate receive Spirit of FOI Awards for open government work
AUSTIN _ Two Texas news organizations have won the Spirit of FOI Award for investigations into law enforcement actions based on documents obtained using the Texas Public Information Act. The Nancy Monson Spirit of FOI Award, presented Thursday by the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas at its state conference, was awarded to the Victoria Advocate in the Class A market category for [...]
Yellow Cab leader touts transparency, then fights release of reports
By Nolan Hicks Austin American-Statesman Originally published Aug. 31, 2016 When Yellow Cab Austin President Ed Kargbo went to the Capitol to address state lawmakers back in June, he hammered on one issue in particular: transparency. There was no way to verify Uber’s and Lyft’s claims they serve minority communities and disabled people, or how much their drivers were making, Kargbo said, because the [...]