Problems:
coming soon…
Solutions:
- The public and private calendar could be available for the past 90 days at no charge. The appointment must include a minimum of time, location, who the meeting is with and general description of topics discussed.
- Any correspondence on personal email accounts use for government communication will be included in any open records laws
- Open records laws will apply to legislature staff regardless of employee classification
- Emails could be available as long as they do not contain security information. Policy would have to be written so that language is concise, close any loopholes and providing clear guidance as to what is sensitive information.
- Close loopholes for government contracting by requiring private companies to provide the same information as their public counterparts.
- Open records laws should apply equally regardless if the state legislature is in session or not
Texas Constitution
Code – Government
Chapter – 551 Open Meetings
Chapter – 552 Public Information
Chapter – 554 Public Disclosure
Code – Penal Code
Chapter – 36 Bribery and Corrupt Influence
Code – Government Code
Chapter – 554 Protection for Reporting Violations of Law
NCSL – Penalties for Violations of State Ethics and Public Corruption Laws
NCSL – State Whistle Blower Laws
Texas Tribune – Attorney General Appeals $1.2M Whistleblower Verdict
Texas Tribune – Fired TCEQ Investigator: Law Firm Triggered Dismissal
Texas Tribune – For John Carona, Conflicts and Interests
Houston Chronicle – Sharpstown scandal sparked a revolution at the polls
NPR – The Texas Plant That Polluted for Years, and a Whistleblower That Helped Expose It
NPR – Open Records and Finding Stories in Documents (The October-November Challenge)
NPR – Whistleblower Says Medicare Advantage Plans Padded Charges In Home Visits
Closing imaginary loopholes in Illinois’ public-records law
Open-records laws could get a much-needed boost in Kansas
Washington Examiner – Horror stories abound among patchwork of state public records access laws
Washington Times – Michigan public records laws lag behind most other states
Huffington Post – State Open Records Laws: Access Rules Vary By State
The state of open records laws: Access denied
The Atlantic – What the Sunshine Act Means for Health Care Transparency
Star Telegram – Keeping sunshine on public information is an ongoing fight
Bill Moyers – Transparency in Government: Let the Sun Shine In
Bill Moyers – Five Great Online Tools for Mining Public Records
Bill Moyers – Conservative Lawmaker Defies Open-Records Law to Keep ALEC Dealings Secret
PBS – Lakewood City Council in Apparent Violation of Colorado Sunshine Law
Daily Kos – ALEC is after more open records laws
Daily Kos – San Antonio places $81,000 price tag on police email open records request
The Nation – Blocking the Public’s Right to Know About ALEC
Truth Out – How One State Protects Taxpayers From Privatization Pitfalls
Truth Out – Auditing Our Public Agencies is Hard in Spite of Sunshine Laws
Truth Out – Privatization Limits Access to Public Information
Truth Out – For First Time, ALEC Is Formally Requesting Open Records Immunity
Truth Out – Wisconsin Board Reboots, Holds Hearing on Changes to Open Records Law
Salon – How open record laws are applied in state legislatures
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