FOIFT plans 50th anniversary event for Texas Public Information Act

AUSTIN – The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Texas Public Information Act at the annual state conference Sept. 28 at the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center in Austin.

The conference brings together journalists, government leaders, attorneys and interested citizens to delve into the current issues of government transparency and free speech. FOI heroes are honored with the James Madison Award, and outstanding journalism is recognized with the Spirit of FOI Award. The agenda of sessions and panel discussions will be released soon.

Registration is open to the public. Individual conference tickets and reserved tables may be purchased at www.foift.org. Tickets are $115 per person. Hotel rooms at the AT&T Hotel are available at a discounted conference rate of $240 plus tax for the night of Wednesday, Sept. 27. More information is available on the website.

The Texas Public Information Act, previously known as the Open Records Act, was passed in 1973 following the Sharpstown stock fraud scandal of 1971-72 that involved the highest levels of state government. Texas voters cleaned house in the 1972 election, when there was a 50 percent turnover in both chambers of the legislature. Among the reformers elected was Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby, who guided the transparency legislation in the Texas Senate. Elected speaker of the house for the 63rd Texas Legislature was Price Daniel Jr., who included open records as part of his reform package.

Included in the Texas Government Code as Chapter 552, the act gives the public access to government records and outlines the procedures and timelines for requesting records. The act also includes exceptions and outlines procedures that government officers may use to request an attorney general decision on whether certain records have to be released.

During the 88th regular Session of the Texas Legislature, important amendments to the act were passed. One of those was HB 30, improving access to law enforcement, corrections and prosecutorial records and closing the “deceased suspect loophole.” Another was  HB 3033, focusing on requiring prompt attorney general decisions under the law. Other TPIA amendments include defining business days, handling vexatious requestors, access to attorney general settlement records and release of election records.