Texas Senate gambit to restore ailing public records law fails as House rejects amendments
FOIFT2017-05-18T23:40:58-05:00By J. David McSwane The Dallas Morning News Originally published May 18, 2017 AUSTIN – Hopes of strengthening the Texas public records law, weakened in recent years by court rulings and attorney general opinions, were dashed Thursday as Republican House Speaker Joe Straus rejected a Senate maneuver to salvage bills that were dying in his chamber. Last week, the Senate approved a half dozen amendments to a somewhat related House bill – including a measure to restore ordinary citizens' right to access contracts between businesses and their government – and sent back a very different bill to the House. Straus determined those amendments, authored by Sen. [...]