Joseph Larsen

Texas is behind the curve on releasing timely information on the coronavirus. Here’s why.

FOIFT2020-04-06T15:44:38-05:00

By John Tedesco, Alex Stuckey, Stephanie Lamm, Matt DempseyHouston ChronicleOriginally published April 4, 2020 Texas is bracing for a pandemic that is projected to kill tens of thousands of people across the U.S., but health officials and state leaders are struggling to provide the public with timely updates on how many people are infected and how many hospital beds and ventilators are available for the critically ill. Other states across the country have been providing coronavirus hospitalization figures for weeks. On Friday, Gov. Greg Abbott announced that 827 people have been hospitalized in Texas. But the true number of cases is [...]

Texas is behind the curve on releasing timely information on the coronavirus. Here’s why.FOIFT2020-04-06T15:44:38-05:00

Texas clerks look to derail web-based public access to court records

FOIFT2017-01-31T14:55:50-06:00

By Ryan Autullo Austin American-Statesman Originally published Jan. 30, 2017 Texas court clerks are resisting a state proposal they say would strip them of their constitutional authority by making court documents available online for easy public access. The statewide database, re:SearchTX, holds records from all 254 counties and is backed by the state’s Supreme Court. It currently is used by judges and soon will be available to attorneys and the public — who could search for civil court records and review them, all from the comfort of home. Clerks say surrendering these records to a privately operated database would violate their role [...]

Texas clerks look to derail web-based public access to court recordsFOIFT2017-01-31T14:55:50-06:00

Texas court mulls ‘magic words’ loophole for transparency law

FOIFT2016-09-15T16:30:22-05:00

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 records decisions in recent years have favored government secrecy over the transparency that Texas law used to be known for. If the court rules for Dallas in a lawsuit the city filed against state Attorney General Ken Paxton, [...]

Texas court mulls ‘magic words’ loophole for transparency lawFOIFT2016-09-15T16:30:22-05:00

Denton City Council repeals ordinance after allegation it violated free speech

FOIFT2015-12-17T14:40:29-06:00

By Jenna Duncan Denton Record-Chronicle Originally published Dec. 15, 2015 The Denton City Council voted unanimously to repeal a nearly 10-year-old ordinance stating that council members who spoke about closed session items outside of the session could face criminal charges. While the agenda said the council would consider amending the ordinance to remove any criminal penalties, council member Kevin Roden moved to take the ordinance off the books altogether. He pressed City Attorney Anita Burgess to explain there are strict laws in place at the state level to ensure ethical behavior of elected officials, and harsher punishments for those who don’t [...]

Denton City Council repeals ordinance after allegation it violated free speechFOIFT2015-12-17T14:40:29-06:00

LCRA fights release of data on new reservoir

FOIFT2015-12-07T14:20:08-06:00

By Kiah Collier The Texas Tribune Originally published Dec. 5, 2015 The Lower Colorado River Authority says a $255 million reservoir it is building in southeast Texas won't reduce freshwater flows into Matagorda Bay enough to hurt aquatic life, but the organization is refusing to release the hydrological modeling that led to it that conclusion. The authority — the largest water and power supplier in Central Texas — has told the Matagorda Bay Foundation it can't have the information and asked state Attorney General Ken Paxton for an opinion shielding the data from the state's open records laws. If Paxton agrees, [...]

LCRA fights release of data on new reservoirFOIFT2015-12-07T14:20:08-06:00

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