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.
Governor signs nursing home transparency bill after COVID-19 outbreak left many in the dark
The public will gain access to information on COVID-19 and other communicable disease outbreaks in Texas nursing homes and assisted living centers under a bipartisan transparency bill Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law May 24. Senate Bill 930 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini and co-author Sen. Lois Kolkhorst came about after nursing home residents and their loved ones were unable to obtain information on coronavirus [...]
Transparency bills on the move in Texas Legislature
By Kelley Shannon Transparency bills are moving forward in the Texas Legislature with bipartisan support to promote open government and correct public information access problems that arose amid the COVID-19 pandemic. With about five weeks left in the legislative session, here’s a status report on bills backed by the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, the Texas Press Association, the Texas Association of Broadcasters [...]
Texas House committee approves two major open government bills
The Texas House State Affairs Committee unanimously approved two bills Wednesday addressing governments that quit responding to Texas Public Information Acts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The panel approved House Bill 1416 by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, specifying which days are to be counted as business days for purposes of the Public Information Act. Currently, the law doesn't define TPIA business days. Many governments, citing [...]
Sunshine Week: Public’s right to know should be front and center, especially now, in Texas
By Kelley Shannon With state lawmakers immersed in the COVID-19 pandemic response and Texas’ electricity failures, the public’s access to information must be at the forefront of the Legislature’s actions. Information allows citizens to watch over their government, to speak out and to ask questions. There’s no better time than Sunshine Week, starting March 14, to emphasize the importance of the people’s right to [...]
Sen. Zaffirini files package of open government bills
Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, has filed seven bills to improve the Texas Public Information Act and Texas Open Meetings Act. Senate Bills 924 to 930 filed Tuesday address such issues as deadlines for governmental entities to respond to public records requests and citizen access protections for video or telephone virtual public meetings. All of the measures were also combined in an omnibus bill, SB [...]
Speaker Pro Tem Joe Moody, expert panel address Texas law enforcement transparency in webinar
Texas House Speaker Pro Tem Joe Moody, Josh Hinkle of KXAN-TV, Eva Ruth Moravec of the Texas Justice Initiative and Kathy Mitchell of Just Liberty discussed the latest in police transparency laws during a one-hour webinar on Feb. 24. Hinkle, leader of KXAN's investigative team, moderated the panel discussion, which was free and open to the public. The FOI Foundation of Texas and ACLU [...]