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Houston Airport System: Releasing salary list would make airports vulnerable to terrorists
June 18, 2009: "In response to a request from Texas Watchdog, the Houston Airport System says releasing a list of how much employees make could compromise security at Bush Intercontinental and Hobby Airport. Was open government a casualty on Sept. 11?" Read the full story here.
Financial disclosures for Travis County commissioners, other local officials, posted to the Web
June 18, 2009: "Travis County officials' financial disclosure forms, which detail business and financial dealings for the calendar year 2008, are posted online at Texas Watchdog." View them here, and read about the tough time a reporter had getting officials to provide copies of the forms.
Temple city ties paying off: Those involved say savings outweigh possible conflict
June 14, 2009: "Since 2005, one Temple City Council member has landed more than $3 million in city contracts for his construction company, and the mayor has done steady business - more than $100,000 - with the city through his quarry, trucking and steel companies, according to public records. " Read the full story here.
Austin mayor, city council personal financial disclosures posted online
June 4, 2009: "Austin leaders’ personal financial statements for Austin leaders covering calendar year 2008 and filed in April. The statements detail personal and business connections." Click here to view the disclosure forms.
Dallas city e-mails to be deleted after 90 days
June 2, 2009: "Dallas City Hall soon will begin purging from its computer servers many e-mails 90 days or older - a policy city officials say will save precious storage space but one some open-government advocates fear will hamper transparency." Read the full story here.
Journalists, sources and public stand to benefit from new Texas shield law
May 14, 2009: "Gov. Rick Perry has made Texas the 37th state to pass a shield law by signing the Free Flow of Information Act, which went into effect Wednesday." Check out stories about the new shield law here and here. Compare Texas to other states at this interactive map.
Expense records should be public
May 4, 2009: "Lawmakers in Austin are scouring the state budget. Watchdog groups and interested citizens are monitoring public disclosures to ensure that state officials and agencies are wisely using the taxpayer money appropriated to them.
But there's one area of state spending that you won't be able to scrutinize if the Texas Senate, the Department of Public Safety and Gov. Rick Perry have their way." Read the full article here.
School employees bill would put records back in shadows
April 26, 2009: "This legislative session is no different from others in the numerous and energetic ways that legislators are trying to keep public information away from the public's scrutiny. One of these is a bill that would keep date-of-birth information about public school employees out of public records.
Date-of-birth information is key to identifying a person. It's one of the important pieces of information that can distinguish one John Doe from another John Doe. It's particularly helpful if John Doe has a criminal history and another one does not." Read the full editorial here.
Don't block access to public information
April 23, 2009: "Texas House members are scheduled to debate today a bill that will restrict public access to public records. It really shouldn't be debated at all. After all, the public pays to create and maintain those records and should be able to retrieve them at will.
At the center of the debate is a bill filed by Rep. Diane Patrick, R-Arlington, that would block access to state employee birth dates. The legislation is yet another assault on the Texas Public Information Act." Read the full editorial here.
Texas judges can keep information private
April 22, 2009: "In another attempt to close access to public records, the Texas Senate approved legislation Tuesday that would make secret the addresses of the spouses of federal and state judges.
The addresses of the judges themselves - contained in otherwise public records such as property appraisal documents and voter registration applications - are already secret." Read the full article here.
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