Texas Public Information Act
From Sunshine Review
Contents |
The Public Information Act of Texas (PIA) is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of government bodies at all levels in Texas. Texas Government Code, Chapter 552, gives citizens the right to access records at various levels of Texas government, without having to declare your purpose in doing so. Until the law was formalized, the ability of a citizen to gain access to public records was at the discretion of the custodian of the records, except in those cases where records custodians were forbidden to allow access.
Texas's transparency report card
A 2008 study, BGA - Alper Integrity Index, conducted by the Better Government Association and sponsored by Alper Services, ranked Texas #7 in the nation with an overall percentage of 60.20%. [1]
A 2007 study, Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, conducted by BGA and the NFOIC, gave Texas 53 points out of a possible 100, a letter grade of "F", and a ranking of 23 out of the 50 states.[2]
A 2002 study, Freedom of Information in the USA, conducted by IRE and BGA, ranked Texas's law as the 18th best in the country, giving it a letter grade of "C".[3]
Public Records
A citizen requesting information from a government sources has a number of rights, according to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. "Texas Government Code, Chapter 552, gives you the right to access government records; and an officer for public information and the officer's agent may not ask why you want them. All government information is presumed to be available to the public."[4] The commission also lists a number of other rights that citizens have in requesting the government records. First, the citizen should receive prompt access to information that is not confidential or otherwise protected from public scrutiny. Certain types of information should have no exceptions, such as voting records of public officials. For all requests exceeding $40 in fees, the government agency is responsible for providing an itemized estimate of costs. The citizen, then, can revise the original request in light of the expenses. Most information can be viewed at no charge, but copies will cost administrative fees. In certain circumstances, fees can be waived or reduced if the governmental body determines that access to the information will directly lead to benefits for the general public. If a government agency makes an appeal to the Texas Attorney General to limit access to the imformation, the citizen is entitled to receive a copy of that request and respond to the request. Citizens are also able to file complaints about fee overcharges with the General Services Commission, and other complaints to state attorneys. See external links for the Texas State Library and Archives Commission descriptions.
Definition of Public Records
Executive Session
Executive session is a type of working session where governing boards or legislative bodies are said to be engaged in executive business. Executive business can be hiring or firing discussions, contract negotiations, or other strategic discussions. These meetings can be open door, meaning the public is allowed to attend, though usually they cannot participate. Executive session in regards to local bodies or smaller organizations often are closed door, forbiding the public from attending the meeting or restricting access to those records. Executive sessions are designed to protect individual members of the board from public rancor over their specific input. In most deliberative bodies, individual members sometimes need the freedom to speak their minds, or engage in sensitive topics without being individually targetable by the public. Despite this need, the final results or decisions by the board at large are always subject to public scrutiny.
Does Texas have exceptions for executive sessions?
Electronic Media
Is electronic media considered in the Texas open records laws?
See also: Texas Public Records
Government entities
What is considered subject to the Texas open records laws?
See also: List of Texas government entities
See also:
External links
References
- ↑ Integrity Index available for download here
- ↑ Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, 2007
- ↑ Freedom of Information in the USA, 2002
- ↑ States State Library and Archives Commission The Public Information Act
