Archive for ‘Open Government’

The 9th Court of Appeals in Beaumont has accelerated an appeal by the state of Texas regarding a district court judge’s ruling that resulted in the dismissal of charges against two Montgomery County elected officials and a political consultant. With his ruling, Clapp, who was acting as visiting judge in the 221st state District Court in Montgomery County, dismissed charges of conspiring to circumvent the act against County Judge Craig Doyal, Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley and political consultant Marc Davenport. “In an accelerated appeal, (the court is) putting everyone on notice, ‘Look, we are speeding everything up,” said special prosecutor Chris Downey, who confirmed to The Courier April 19 that he filed a notice to appeal the ruling that a statute in the Texas Open Meetings Act is unconstitutional. Houston-based attorney Rusty Hardin, who is representing Doyal, had little to say Wednesdasy about the appeals court’s decision to expedite the case. More »

A man whose family was killed in a flood says recordings cause needless suffering, but a lawmaker worries about unintended consequences. More »

Some state lawmakers are aiming to close an open records loophole in light of a 2015 Texas Supreme court ruling that allows governments to withhold records turned over to agencies by businesses who claim releasing the information would put them at a competitive disadvantage. More »

Businesses opposed SB 407 and SB 408 at a public hearing, arguing that open records requests could put them at a competitive disadvantage. More »

First Amendment right of access to judicial proceedings. More »

Texas Open Meetings Act is constitutional, court rules | Postcards. More »

15 Texas city leaders sue over Open Meetings Act » Abilene Reporter-News. More »

Court: meetings act does not violate First Amendment. More »

3rd UPDATE: Fed To Release More Crisis Lending Data After High Court Order – WSJ.com. More »

Open records program at odds with A&M System rule. More »