FOI advocates seek enforcement, compliance with open records law

The importance of government transparency in helping Texans make informed decisions and legislators craft public policy was discussed by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst as keynote speaker when the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Texas Public Information Act.

The Bernard and Audre Rapoport Annual State Conference and John Henry Faulk Awards Luncheon were held at the AT&T Conference Center on the UT campus in Austin. During the conference, panelists and speakers discussed the facets and frustrations of TPIA and suggested solutions to some issues.

Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, chairs the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. Her work in the 2021 Legislative Session culminated in legislation requiring that Texas can obtain statistics on transmission rates of communicable disease in health care facilities was recognized with the Champion of Transparency award from the Texas Press Association.

Koklhorst said she responded to constituents who relayed stories about lack of access to information from nursing homes during the COVID pandemic and lockdown.

“These people were trying to make informed decisions about the health and safety of their family members who were in these facilities,” she said, noting that even as a legislator and HHS committee chair she could not get information about COVID deaths in long-term care facilities or even the total number of beds in some hospitals.

“We are living in a politically volatile time in Texas and in our nation,” she said. “Whether it was COVID or how Texas is addressing the border crisis or the upcoming debate over public education or the hundreds of other political debates filling our days, we as Texans and Americans seem to be stifled by public skepticism. One of the remedies for skepticism must be to increase the pursuit of public information, to knock down the walls between the government and the governed.”

She emphasized that legislators need public information — facts — to build effective public policy. “We all benefit from a transparent government,” she said. “Public good directly benefits from public information.”

Kolkhorst was also instrumental in helping pass important transparency legislation in the 2023 session. She worked with Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, to pass SB 943 maintaining the long-standing requirement for paid notices to be printed in a general circulation newspaper with the added requirements that the notices be published on the newspapers’ website, outside the paywall, for no additional charge and to place them on TPA’s free, interactive statewide public notices site.

She also worked with Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, on HB 3033, which defined business days for government offices and when they should be open and available to accept requests for information. Kolkhorst noted many agencies were “making up their own rules” during and after the COVID lockdown when many offices were closed, citing dependence on “skeleton crews” and claiming days when work is done offsite don’t count.

FOIFT Legislative Committee co-chair Laura Prather, who also serves as general counsel for the TPA Legislative Advisory Committee, detailed Kolkhorst’s assistance in the final hours of the recent session in helping get other important legislation through conference committee. Passing HB 30 by Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso,  was the culmination of years of advocacy by FOI supporters to close a loophole created by an exemption to the TIPA which gave police discretion to withhold information about people who die in custody and therefore haven’t gone through the court system.

Following the death of their son while he was in police custody in 2013, Robert and Kathy Dyer were denied access to information about his case when officials cited the exemption, which has also been used to prevent release of information surrounding school shootings when the perpetrator dies before arrest. The Dyers became proponents of closing the loophole and testified at the last four legislative sessions. “I don’t know why it took so long to pass it,” Kolkhorst said. “But it was time.”

Noting other transparency wins in the recent session, such as HB 3440 by Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, adding the requirement for government agencies to post meeting notices and agendas on their websites, Kolkhorst said she will continue to work toward legislation requiring accountability from mental health facilities, including financial audits of how appropriations are spent, hospital inspection report transparency and other pubic information issues.

“Our future is built on the bedrock of free speech and a transparent government,” Kolhorst said. “Listening to people and giving them their information is very important to navigating the maze of our state and federal agencies and court systems. We must have information.”

Prior to her election from District 18 in 2014, Kolkhorst had served in in the House since 2001, representing District 13. In addition to chairing the Health and Human Services Committee, she serves on the Business and Commerce, Finance, Natural Resources & Economic Development and the Water, Agriculture & Rural Affairs committees.