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If you wonder how open government laws affect you, think about these basics: The local taxes we pay. The roads we drive on. Even, sometimes, matters of life and death.
Access to information through public meetings and records helps us know about the decisions elected officials are making on our behalf. It allows us to ask questions, to speak out, to demand change.
After all, in our nation, government belongs to us.
This summer’s deadly Hill Country flooding underscores the need for openness and accountability to enhance public safety. Questions have arisen about transparency surrounding evacuation plans, warning systems and building in floodplains since the tragedy that killed at least 138 people. Questions continue about government’s responses to the catastrophe.
This subject will be explored at the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas state conference Sept. 26 in Austin, “We the People: Holding Government Accountable.” Other discussions will focus on transparency legislation at the state Capitol and effective use of the Texas Public Information Act. Members of the public are welcome to register to attend the conference.
Jan Crawford of CBS News, the chief legal correspondent who reports on the U.S. Supreme Court, is the keynote speaker. Attorney Bill Aleshire will receive the James Madison Award honoring his open government and First Amendment work.
“Without transparency, the government is a petri dish for corruption and a reason for people to doubt the legitimacy of their government,” Aleshire rightly notes.
Aleshire represented citizens who challenged the Hays County Commissioners Court over a $439 million road bond election. The commissioners’ meeting item ordering the election did not mention the election was for road bonds, which roads were included or the amount of the proposed bonds. The Open Meetings Act lawsuit successfully contested the 2024 election, with a judge striking down the passage of the bonds.
Another Aleshire lawsuit blocked the city of Austin from placing controversial charter amendments on an election ballot because of Open Meetings Act violations.
In Corpus Christi, investigative reporting by KRIS-TV using government records disclosed the persistent problem of fatal wrong-way driver crashes on the Harbor Bridge and highlighted solutions to save lives.
Other dangerous situations have been exposed thanks to access to public information – toxic air pollution in southeast Texas, for example, and the locations of deadly COVID-19 outbreak clusters in nursing homes during the pandemic.
Public records about law enforcement responses to mass shootings such as the one at Robb Elementary in Uvalde or records related to someone dying in police custody are supposed to be obtainable under the Texas Public Information Act – not kept secret.
State lawmakers approved bipartisan legislation in 2023 by Rep. Joe Moody of El Paso specifying that when someone dies in law enforcement custody those records are to be public. Under a previous loophole, some police departments withheld records from citizens because the arrested person – the one who died – had not gone to trial. That was a misuse of the law.
Whether it’s a police encounter, the spending of taxpayer money, public health policy or something else important in life, open government laws are at the heart of keeping us informed.
Public information is for everyone. It’s how we, the people, stay in the know and work to improve our communities, our state and our nation.
Kelley Shannon is executive director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, a nonprofit that works to ensure government transparency and protect First Amendment rights. For more information on the FOIFT state conference go to www.foift.org.
