Attorney General Ken Paxton

Coronavirus has upended local government, moving democracy online and putting it on hold in some cases

FOIFT2020-04-13T15:21:43-05:00

By Joshua FechterSan Antonio Express-NewsOriginally published April 13, 2020 Democracy at the local level usually involves elected officials weighing policy within arm’s reach of each other, residents delivering impassioned remarks at a lectern, oblivious to the microphone’s cleanliness, and voters filing into libraries and schools. But the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus has forced elected officials to try to strike a balance between open government and the need for everyone to keep their distance from each another — a key tool in slowing the spread of the virus but not conducive to public participation. “The virus doesn’t care about democracy,” [...]

Coronavirus has upended local government, moving democracy online and putting it on hold in some casesFOIFT2020-04-13T15:21:43-05:00

Documents withheld surrounding officer-involved shooting

FOIFT2019-07-15T21:40:31-05:00

By Marshall ReidDenton Record-ChronicleOriginally published July 14, 2019 Disclosure of certain law enforcement records rests in the hands of Attorney General Ken Paxton. In an attempt to learn more about a June 29 officer-involved shooting, the Denton Record-Chronicle filed a request for information under the Texas Public Information Act on July 2. The newspaper requested body camera video, the offense report, 911 call audio, dash camera video, audio of calls for service and more. On July 11, the paper received notice from a paralegal working on behalf of the sheriff’s office that the request had been appealed to the attorney general, who has [...]

Documents withheld surrounding officer-involved shootingFOIFT2019-07-15T21:40:31-05:00

LULAC sues Texas over non-citizen voting claim, says Public Information Act being used to hide data

FOIFT2019-01-31T15:13:18-06:00

By Guillermo Contreras San Antonio Express-News Originally published Jan. 29, 2019 The League of United Latin American Citizens filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Texas Secretary of State David Whitley and Attorney General Ken Paxton, seeking an order to force state officials to release the data used in support of Paxton’s claim last week that nearly 100,000 voters may not be U.S. citizens. The suit says Paxton’s announcement last week is a method of voter suppression, meant to instill fear in Hispanic voters. “That’s all they’re doing,” said Luis Vera, LULAC’s general counsel. “They’ve done it in Florida; they’ve done it in [...]

LULAC sues Texas over non-citizen voting claim, says Public Information Act being used to hide dataFOIFT2019-01-31T15:13:18-06:00

Clarification sought on release of police body camera videos in Texas

FOIFT2017-09-20T20:44:46-05:00

By Chuck Lindell Austin American-Statesman Originally published Sept. 19, 2017 Trying to make sense of an emerging area of law, a state senator has asked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to determine whether certain footage from police body cameras could be withheld — not just from the public, but from civilian supervisors of a law enforcement agency as well. Specifically, Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, wanted to know if state open record laws give a police chief or sheriff the discretion to withhold body camera footage if they determine that viewing the video could interfere with the “detection, investigation or prosecution [...]

Clarification sought on release of police body camera videos in TexasFOIFT2017-09-20T20:44:46-05:00

Texas high court carves “monstrous loophole” for government secrets

FOIFT2016-08-08T14:54:29-05:00

By Jim Malewitz The Texas Tribune Originally published Aug. 5, 2016 Thanks to the Texas Supreme Court, McAllen taxpayers cannot find out how much their city paid Enrique Iglesias to belt out his Latin pop lyrics at a holiday parade. And Houston cannot release, among other information, how many driver permits it has issued to ride-hailing giant Uber. A Kaufman County school district’s food service deal? Much of that is now secret, as are details of a Texas Department of Insurance contract for interpretation services. Those are a few instances among many over the past year in which Texas Attorney General [...]

Texas high court carves “monstrous loophole” for government secretsFOIFT2016-08-08T14:54:29-05:00

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