Texas transparency headlines
From Sunshine Review
This article is a list of transparency related news from Texas.
BexarMet delayed the release of contract
November 20, 2008: As the Bexar Metropolitan Water District was fighting for its life last year in the Texas Legislature, the utility stalled the release of public information that could have shed light on a controversial contract worth an estimated $177 million.
“I want us to delay anything as long as we can,” BexarMet's spokesman, T.J. Connolly, privately wrote in an e-mail to BexarMet's lawyer and general manager on April 17, 2007. Read the full article here.
Dallas school trustees are told new audit won't be positive
November 7, 2008: Dallas school district administrators warned school board members Thursday that independent auditors are likely to issue another critical report next month.
Chief financial officer Steve Korby said that's because the district did not have time to fix problems highlighted in last year's stinging audit before the 2007-08 fiscal year ended. Read the full article here.
Top state university leaders often go without written performance evaluations
November 5, 2008: Top administrators of four-year Texas universities are evaluated unevenly and often out of the public eye, a survey of documents obtained by journalism students at three state universities has found.
No hard and fast rules exist for how administrators are evaluated at Texas schools, nor are there overarching standards for what criteria appear on evaluations, the documents show.
Last year, the Texas Legislature debated how much information should be available to the public on the performance of higher-education administrators. Lawmakers considered a proposal to make evaluations exempt from public disclosure under the Texas Public Information Act. Read the full article here.
Is City Council wasting time on the web?
November 4, 2008: We've all taken a few minutes out of the workday to goof off online.
But is it okay for those who represent us to surf the web during city council meetings?
It's a question we started asking after uncovering months of computer records from El Paso city council members. Read the full article here.
McAllen files rare open records suit against Abbott
October 6, 2008: The City of McAllen has taken the rare step of suing Texas' attorney general to keep details of attempts to woo an automobile plant secret in a case that questions the media's role as information provider during delicate economic development negotiations. Read the full article here.
Some DA records could be public
September 30, 2008: Some e-mails and personnel records requested from the district attorney through an open-records query should be public, the Attorney General’s Office ruled recently.
Defense lawyer Scot Courtney asked for e-mails to and from District Attorney Stephen Tyler and his former chief of staff Michael Ratcliff. He also requested both men’s personnel files. Read the full article here.
City of McAllen sues Texas AG to block records request
September 18, 2008: The city's economic development corporation has filed a lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to block the release of documents Abbot's office deemed public information.
The suit, filed last week in a state district court in Travis County, focuses on a request The Monitor made to the McAllen Economic Development Corp. earlier this summer. Read the full article here.
Cash: Secrecy threatens state pensions
October 13, 2008: Even though we might not like what we see, transparency is critical in these gloomy financial times as Texans seek scrutiny of their state retirement investment plans.
And even though investors have a right to information about their pension plan investments, taxpayers, teachers and public employees traditionally have been denied that information by private investment managers who say divulging details of where they're putting our money would jeopardize potential profits. Read the full column here.
Sheriff Fighting Request For Detailed Jail Plans
October 11, 2008: Sheriff J.B. Smith said he asked the Smith County district attorney's office to fight the Texas Attorney General Office's ruling that detailed floor plans of the proposed jail be made public.
The ruling, Smith said, "poses an extreme hazard to my officers and the public," by releasing the inner workings of the jail including ductwork, the electrical system and camera positions.
He said he is unaware of any sheriff's department in the state that releases information regarding the inner workings of a high-security center. Read the full article here.
McAllen files rare open records suit against Abbott
October 6, 2008: The City of McAllen has taken the rare step of suing Texas' attorney general to keep details of attempts to woo an automobile plant secret in a case that questions the media's role as information provider during delicate economic development negotiations. Read the full article here.
Some DA records could be public
September 30, 2008: Some e-mails and personnel records requested from the district attorney through an open-records query should be public, the Attorney General’s Office ruled recently.
Defense lawyer Scot Courtney asked for e-mails to and from District Attorney Stephen Tyler and his former chief of staff Michael Ratcliff. He also requested both men’s personnel files. Read the full article here.
City of McAllen sues Texas AG to block records request
September 18, 2008: The city's economic development corporation has filed a lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to block the release of documents Abbot's office deemed public information.
The suit, filed last week in a state district court in Travis County, focuses on a request The Monitor made to the McAllen Economic Development Corp. earlier this summer. Read the full article here.
Former county judge claims no possession
September 11, 2008: Former County Judge Joe Bobbitt has signed and returned to Hunt County officials an affidavit relating to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request filed by the Herald-Banner in June with the county pertaining to missing county documents. Read the full article here.
Candidate says there are problems at sheriff’s office, Jernigan says 'no'
September 8, 2008: During citizen comments, Martinez described his efforts to use the Texas Open Records Act to find out information about the office. "I want to know about the financial status, budgets, applying for grants, employee's pay scale, certifications, policies … etc," he said. The candidate sought records from Jernigan, the county auditor, county clerk, county treasurer, county attorney's office and justices of the peace. Read the full article here.
Fate of hard drives in question
September 5, 2008: The Brazoria County district attorney has asked for a hearing to determine what should happen with two computers confiscated during an investigation of former County Court at Law Judge James Blackstock.
District Attorney Jeri Yenne filed the motion Wednesday after she received a subpoena from the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission requesting she preserve the hard drives from the two county-owned computers, which are being kept by the county’s information systems director, according to documents from the district clerk’s office. Read the full article here.
Forney requests public feedback on proposed budget
BISD withholding public records
PEC Board implements open meetings, records policy
August 20, 2008: At its regularly scheduled meeting on Aug. 18, the Pedernales Electric Board of Directors approved an open meetings and open records policy, as drafted by PEC staff and General Manager Juan Garza.
“Transparency is the cornerstone of what we should practice in good governance and accountability,” PEC District 7 Director Patrick Cox said at the meeting. “It is very clear that the Legislature will address this in the upcoming session. It is incumbent upon us to formalize the process for open meetings and open records.” Read the full article here.
Freeport Council says board will be more open
August 20, 2008: City Council pledged better record-keeping for the city’s boards and commissions after a resident’s accusations led to a closed-door discussion about the Main Street board’s expenditures.
Resident Larry Schaefer told council Monday the minutes were vague and didn’t state where the board was spending money. From there, City Attorney Wallace Shaw asked the discussion move to executive session because it included talks about Main Street Director Mary Stotler, a city employee. The executive session was on the meeting agenda posted Friday at City Hall. Read the full article here.
DPS appeals ruling over records access
Media group fights for court transparency
News 4 Investigates School Leaders' Salaries
August 19, 2008: We are just one week away from the start of the new school year for a lot of children in San Antonio.
It will mean changes for some students and teachers. Some schools are closing, while others are opening for the first time.
News 4's investigated how much you are paying the leaders of three of the biggest districts in Bexar County. Read the full article here.
The fight for Gov. Perry's emails
Auditor getting second opinion
August 14, 2008: The Henderson County Auditor’s Office would like County Attorney James Owen to be more specific.
The Auditor’s Office has responded to each of the six open records requests filed by Owen last month, asking him to narrow most of his requests and be more specific about the documents sought. Read the full article here.
Texas Lottery Commission paid almost $100,000 to settle ex-worker's suit
August 14, 2008: The Texas Lottery Commission has paid nearly $100,000 to settle a 2-year-old federal lawsuit brought by a former employee who accused the agency of firing him for going public with his concerns that legislative leaders were being misled about a vital computer system that he said was inoperable. Read the full article here.
Collin County publishes check register
Law enforcement group calls for investigations into county officials’ dealings with a private jail company
August 11, 2008: A spokesman for the state’s largest law enforcement association is calling for state and federal investigations into dealings between McLennan County officials and a private detention corporation as the county continues to negotiate jail contracts.
“First of all, we don’t believe anything that officials in McLennan County say anymore,” said Charley Wilkison, political and legislative director for the 16,500-member Combined Law Enforcement Agencies of Texas. “The credibility gap in this county is incredible.” Read the full article here.
Bedford citizen watchdog says she's scaling back
August 10, 2008: Dorothy McWhorter was at it again.
In June, she filed an open-records request asking for the invoices, e-mails and other documents related to a consultant the city hired to improve communication among City Council members.
She thought the city spent too much money for work she said Mayor Jim Story should have been doing. Read the full article here.
Beshear spent almost $86,000 during trip to Japan
August 8, 2008: Records obtained by The State Journal through an open records request show some of the expenses include $13,500 for hotel rooms, $12,000 in airfare, $28,000 to hold a reception at a hotel in Tokyo and $9,000 for rented vehicles. Read the full article here.
Hallsville ISD to purchase $2.6M of land for new campuses
August 8, 2008: The Hallsville Independent School District plans to pay almost $2.6 million for about 119 acres of land for its new high school and elementary campuses, according to information the Longview News-Journal obtained through an open records request. Read the full article here.
Apartment Association claims city, PSB ignored records request
August 7, 2008:The El Paso Apartment Association is asking the state Attorney General to help force the city and the Public Service Board to release information in response to a Public Information Act request.
The Apartment Association claims that neither the city nor the PSB responded to a request filed May 29. Read the full article here.
A Free Press and Open Courts
August 6, 2008: Nine people have pleaded guilty to crimes of corruption. The pleas almost uniformly have been made behind closed doors, via a form called an "information," which avoids the use of a grand jury to issue indictments. There is no docket, no sentencing, and no records other than the increasingly sketchy informations to shine light on exactly what they did.
It's time to learn more about what is going on. Read the full article here.
Commissioners split on outside legal help
August 6, 2008: The Henderson County Commissioners Court left Tuesday’s meeting without knowing whether or not they had approved a request by County Auditor Ann Marie Lee to hire outside legal counsel to review certain open records requests. Consultation between County Judge David Holstein and the Texas Association of Counties revealed the vote did not pass because it failed to gain a majority of the 4 votes cast. Read the full article here.
Texas newspapers in court over DPS records
August 1, 2008: Two newspaper companies sought in court Thursday to force the Department of Public Safety to release travel information for Gov. Rick Perry's protective detail.
But the head of the DPS security detail testified before state District Judge Scott Jenkins in Austin that disclosing the travel vouchers would endanger Perry, his family and those who travel with him by revealing information that might be useful to someone trying to hurt them. Read the full article here.
School campaign reports offline
July 26, 2008: Taxpayers can find out with the click of a mouse who has donated to the campaigns of Houston City Council members, the mayor, Harris County officials and state officers.
Getting the same data on school trustees and candidates is not so easy. Read the full article here.
DISD seeks public opinions on trustee ethics
July 26, 2008: People who want a say in whether Dallas school trustees should follow tougher ethical standards have until Aug. 1 to complete an online survey.
School trustees say the poll launched last week on the district Web site will give them a sense of how residents feel about the current ethics policy. Results will go to a school board ethics committee, which plans to submit its recommendations to the full board by September. Read the full article here.
TxDOT resists requests for wreck data
July 24, 2008: Officials with the Texas Department of Transportation have sued Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's office to prevent the release of records about Texas vehicle crashes.
The agency, in resisting the request from a San Antonio television station, cited a 1997 state law designed to shield those involved in car accidents from being contacted by attorneys looking to represent them in lawsuits. Read the full article here.
EDITORIAL: Government's decision allows public to know what state withheld regarding DaVita Lufkin Dialsyis clinic
July 8, 2008: After an open records request by The Lufkin Daily News the Texas Department of State Health Services on June 26 released 41 pages of mostly blacked out information from its survey of the troubled DaVita Lufkin Dialysis center.
On Monday the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, responding to a similar open records request, handed over the same survey with page after page of revealing information — including the numbers of dead and those taken to local emergency rooms during treatment. Read the full editorial here.
Official's e-mails freely available -- in theory
June 29, 2008: The cheerleader mom understood that most Texas government records are hers for the asking.
Michelle Schauer, whose daughter was a Keller High School cheerleader, first wrote to school district officials in April to get "copies of all email communications" to and from the cheerleading coach for a 13-month period. She wanted to see whether policies were followed and how decisions affecting cheerleaders were made.
At first, she was informed that there were 11,700 e-mails and that it would take five days to copy them. The estimated cost for copies and the labor to retrieve them: $4,105. Read the full story here.
Teachers' association files lawsuit over privacy
June 26, 2008: Austin teachers' criminal histories have been made vulnerable to public disclosure, according to a Texas teachers association.
A lawsuit filed by the Association of Texas Professional Educators says its members' privacy rights are threatened by spreadsheets containing the criminal histories of Austin Independent School District employees.
The teachers' association has asked for a temporary restraining order against the school district's release of employee information requested by local media, citing a likelihood of "loss of privacy and public humiliation" for affected employees. Read the full story here.
DPS tries to deny open records video request
June 24, 2008: The Texas Department of Public Safety, citing protection of public property from terrorism, is trying to keep secret the video surveillance tapes of the Governor's Mansion the day it burned.
The DPS wrote Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott last week asking for a ruling on whether the tapes must be released to The Associated Press. The AP requested the video the day of the fire using the Texas Public Information Act. Read the full story here.
Katy board changes mind on records law
June 23, 2008: The Katy school board on Monday backed off a plan to propose a law requiring those who want access to public records to first explain why the information's release would benefit the community.
Katy officials say they're trying to stymie a flood of what they consider frivolous requests for open records. To that end, the school board intended to ask the Texas Association of School Boards to push for a new law to make information requestors justify themselves.
But they canceled the vote just a few hours before the meeting because administrators said they don't want school board members to be criticized as being anti-open government. Read the full story here.
Cover Up at Vidor ISD
June 21, 2008: Rather than release public documents in accordance with a directive from the Texas attorney general’s office, members of the Vidor Independent School District board of trustees voted in a hastily-called, illegal meeting to file a lawsuit against the Texas attorney general to keep secret a complaint alleging improper sexual conduct by Vidor High School assistant principal Danny Ray Reynolds Jr. with an underage female student. Read the full story here.
Secret Government? Shapleigh Says TCEQ Attempting to Hide Collusion With Industry
June 18, 2008: State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh said that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is trying to set a precedent that would keep the public and lawmakers from accessing records that shed light on its operations.
He plans a news conference later today to discuss the issue, which began with a request by him for records from the TCEQ and intensified when the TCEQ was ordered by the Attorney General's office to release the records. Read the full story here.
Cost of raid on polygamist camp tops $14 million
June 14, 2008: The cost of the April raid on a polygamist compound in West Texas is expected to top $14 million, about one-third of it in lawyers' fees, according to a published analysis of state records.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reviewed more than 400 pages of invoices, e-mails and other state records that it obtained under an open-records law request and published its findings Saturday.
More invoices for overtime, travel and professional services are expected to boost the final tab, the records indicate. Read the full story here.
AISD opposes open records requests
June 10, 2008: The Austin Independent School District is fighting a ruling that forces the district to give out statistical information on how many teachers have criminal histories.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said the district has to comply with open records requests from the media.
The district argues releasing that information violates employees' privacy rights and is not a matter of public record.
Many parents, however, think they have a right to that information. Read the full story here.
