University of Texas System Regent Wallace Hall Jr. has lost in court a second time, and perhaps for good, in his effort to gain access to confidential student information from an investigation of admissions irregularities.
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Read More… from TX: Appeals court tosses UT regent’s lawsuit over admissions records
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.
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Read More… from Texas court mulls ‘magic words’ loophole for transparency law
The Headliners Foundation of Texas has embarked on a one-year pilot program of grants to reimburse small-market and community news organizations in Texas for extraordinary expenses charged by governmental bodies for Open Records searches.
The grant application process will open September 6, 2016, and will continue until the 2016 Foundation funding for the grants is awarded.
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Read More… from Headliners Foundation of Texas announces FOI grants program
The Victoria Advocate has won the Spirit of FOI Award for its in-depth look at questionable hiring in the county sheriff's office.
The investigation was conducted using documents obtained using the Texas Public Information Act.
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Read More… from TX: Victoria Advocate wins award for open government work
Open government advocates want lawmakers to fix what they call a loophole in the state’s Public Information Act.
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Read More… from TX: Open Government Advocates Call For Fix To Public Records Issue
A state appellate court hinted Wednesday that it had little interest in expanding government secrecy in a case involving the public's right to know who supplies the lethal drugs Texas uses to execute convicted criminals.
A decision in favor of openness by the state's 3rd Court of Appeals could a have limited effect because the Texas Legislature passed a law last year requiring state prison officials to keep the identities of the drug makers secret.
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Read More… from Texas court weighs secrecy exemption for execution drugs
Public officials who use private email accounts to conduct official business cannot conceal their personal email addresses when releasing public information, a state appeals court ruled Friday.
The question dates back to 2011, when The Austin Bulldog, an independent online news site, filed several open records requests asking for all emails regarding city business between the Austin mayor, city council members and the city manager, according to court papers.
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Read More… from Texas officials’ personal email addresses open to public, court says
A top House lawmaker who led the charge to require politically active nonprofits to reveal their donors, a lightning rod issue opposed by Gov. Greg Abbott, says he wants Texas voters to decide the issue at the ballot box.
State Rep. Byron Cook, a Republican from Corsicana who narrowly won re-election earlier this month, said he is planning to propose next legislative session an amendment to the state constitution on the issue of disclosing so-called "dark money" donors.
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Read More… from ‘Dark money’ disclosure fight heading back to the Texas Legislature
Texas plans to launch an open-data pilot program that will let state agencies share information and collaborate on providing services to residents.
Although the trial program, set to start in March, is just a test, a key Texas IT official hopes it will turn into a full-fledged program to deliver services more efficiently. The goal of the pilot is to spark connections between agencies.
That is especially needed in Texas, according to Ed Kelly, the statewide data coordinator at the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR).
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Read More… from Texas to launch data-sharing pilot, aims to deliver services more efficiently
Months after statewide body camera legislation took effect and the Houston Police Department outlined its policies regarding the devices, local criminal justice watchdogs worry that some video from high-profile incidents may never see the light of day.
At issue, they say, are provisions in the law that could stymie requests for camera footage, privacy protections, and local departmental reluctance to release information.
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Read More… from Concerns raised about accessibility of police body camera footage in Texas
