Watch a conversation on public access to government

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Advocates of the public’s right to public information said on Wednesday that the Texas Public Information Act often falls short of its goals. Some officials responsible for complying with the open records law intentionally delay their responses, the advocates said. There are inconsistencies in how the law is applied, they added, and no mechanism to pay the legal costs of anyone making a request when the process becomes complex.

As the law approaches its 51st anniversary, experts made these points during a panel conversation at the Tribune’s Studio 919 in Austin, held as part of the “We the Texans” series examining the state of democracy in Texas. Matthew Watkins, the Tribune’s managing editor, moderated the discussion.

Panelists included Rachel Denny Clow, specialty producer for KRIS-6 News; Laura Lee Prather, partner at Haynes and Boone; Kelley Shannon, executive director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas; and Ruth Soucy, deputy chief counsel for open records for the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

Under the law, anyone can request access to public records from state offices. If an official determines that information is confidential, the state Attorney General can deny the request. Unlike similar laws in other states, the Texas Public Information Act requires that officials, not the individual, appeal to the Attorney General.

There are about 20,000 such requests a year in Texas. Requests must be made in writing. Any individual, whether a journalist, lobbyist or private citizen, can submit a request.

After the 2022 Robb Elementary school shooting in Uvalde, essential public records were withheld from the families of the victims, according to Shannon and a lawsuit filed by the Tribune and other news organizations.

“Because there was no investigative ability, cases closed and records were not returned,” Shannon said.

Changes to the open records law over the years have created loopholes, inconsistencies, and ambiguity, according to panelists. “We are now Swiss cheese,” Prather said. “We have so many holes in our Texas Public Information Act.”

Panelists expressed concern that state officials intentionally impede the process by acting in bad faith. In some instances, officials have attempted to “kick the can down the road,” until the pressure for a substantive response goes away, Clow said.

In cases in which a person making a request needs help from an attorney, costs can mount quickly. A bill during the last legislative session could have helped get reimbursement for such costs, Prather said. The bill passed in the House and Senate but was vetoed by Gov. Greg Abbott.

Panelists said they were also concerned that many Texans are not aware that they can request public records. “The assumption is that these records are open,” Prather said. “The reason that they are open to you is so that you can be informed on what your government is doing.”

The panelists in this Texas Tribune event pointed to these resources to help anyone wanting assistance with a public records request:

• Transparency Stars Program
• Texas Open Meetings Act
• FOIFT.org (Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas)

Disclosure: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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