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.
Information blackout on Texas public pensions must end
Fort Worth Star-Telegram Originally posted Feb. 13, 2013 By now, it should be clear to every member of the Legislature, even the new ones, that HB2460 should not have been approved two years ago. The bill, written by then-Rep. Vicki Truitt of Keller, dropped a curtain of secrecy around information about public retirement funds in Texas. Pretty much, it said the people who run [...]
Open books on legislative pensions
By Editorial Board, Austin American-Statesman Originally posted Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013 Asked if she recalls voting on bills that would keep Texas taxpayers from knowing how much is spent on legislative pensions, State Rep. Donna Howard replied that she doesn’t. Howard, an Austin Democrat who took office in 2006, wryly noted that the legislation to deprive voters of such information wouldn’t have been announced [...]
Transparency buzz elicits some action at the Capitol
By Tim Eaton Austin American-Statesman Staff Originally published February 9, 2013 Should Texans know how much the state pays lawmakers in retirement? Is it OK for private foundations to supplement the salaries of state workers? Would government work better if voters knew how much debt it had before they are asked to approve more? These and other questions about government transparency have been bouncing [...]
More heat than light from CPRIT hearings
By Laylan Copelin American-Statesman Staff Originally published Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013 There is always bit of a lynch mob mentality when Texas lawmakers go after a Capitol scandal. So it was last week for the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, the small state agency created to manage a $3 billion, 10-year effort to fund scientists and organizations looking for cures and treatments [...]
Transparency buzz elicits some action at the Capitol
By Tim Eaton, American-Statesman Staff Originally posted Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013 Should Texans know how much the state pays lawmakers in retirement? Is it OK for private foundations to supplement the salaries of state workers? Would government work better if voters knew how much debt it had before they are asked to approve more? These and other questions about government transparency have been bouncing [...]
Advocates hope this is the year for tighter ethics laws at Texas Capitol
By Kelley Shannon Austin Bureau, Dallas Morning News [email protected] Originally published 08 February 2013 AUSTIN — Dozens of new lawmakers, voter frustration with government and conflict-of-interest questions at a cancer-fighting agency could make conditions ripe for changes in Texas ethics laws this year. Ethics watchdogs and legislators who want to limit lobbying by former lawmakers and expand financial disclosures for public officials acknowledge it [...]