Texas Supreme Court

Joe Larsen: How to make Texas government less transparent

FOIFT2016-08-19T15:27:30-05:00

By Joe Larsen FOI Foundation of Texas Board Member Published in The Texas Tribune Aug. 18, 2016 The bedrock laws providing Texans with access to information of and regarding their government were passed in 1973 in the wake of the Sharpstown scandal. All areas of government, with very few exceptions, benefit from transparency. But sunlight is perhaps most beneficial and necessary at that juncture where private enterprise is paid out of the public burse. That is why the ruling in the 2015 Texas Supreme Court case of Boeing v. Paxton is so pernicious. It allows both governmental bodies and the people [...]

Joe Larsen: How to make Texas government less transparentFOIFT2016-08-19T15:27:30-05:00

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

Court rulings taking a toll on Texas public records access

FOIFT2022-03-31T17:08:38-05:00

By Kelley Shannon Those of us who keep a close eye on Texas’ evolving open government laws watch the state Legislature for signs of change. We also look at how local and state government agencies carry out these laws to see if they are working. But we must focus on the courts, too. Troubling rulings by the Texas Supreme Court and lower courts are watering down our Texas Public Information Act, long considered one of the strongest in the nation. The momentous law, which originated as the Texas Open Records Act in the early 1970s amid citizen frustration after the Sharpstown [...]

Court rulings taking a toll on Texas public records accessFOIFT2022-03-31T17:08:38-05:00

Texas Supreme Court ruling helps bar the door to public release of company records

FOIFT2016-05-04T13:51:30-05:00

By Dug Begley Houston Chronicle Originally published May 3, 2016 A Texas Supreme Court decision last year that one open records advocate said "blew a hole in the Texas Public Information Act" has been used in the past few months to shield records ranging from Uber's driver information in Houston to how much singer Enrique Iglesias was paid for a McAllen Christmas concert. The 7-1 decision, in the Boeing v. Paxton case, was issued on June 19. In it, the justices decided businesses can assert in Texas that information they turn over to a government agency that could give competitors an [...]

Texas Supreme Court ruling helps bar the door to public release of company recordsFOIFT2016-05-04T13:51:30-05:00

Corpus Christi Caller-Times: Texas’ top court downsized the right to know

FOIFT2015-10-05T18:48:12-05:00

Corpus Christi Caller-Times Editorial Originally published Oct. 4, 2015 Among the most basic of the reasons for We the People to have a right to know is so we can review how our government is spending our money. The Texas Public Information Act protects this right, with careful exceptions meant to protect commerce without infringing on this basic right. An example is the right of a private company that contracts with the state to protect trade secrets that make its products or services unique. Recently, the Texas Supreme Court extended private companies' right to keep secrets from the public way too [...]

Corpus Christi Caller-Times: Texas’ top court downsized the right to knowFOIFT2015-10-05T18:48:12-05:00

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