The rights of the citizen in obtaining public records is spelled out in Chapter 552 of the Texas Government Code, stating that “government is the servant and not the master of the people.”
“The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know,” the law states.
The Public Information Act of Texas (TPIA) is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of government bodies at ALL levels in Texas. Texas Government Code, Chapter 552, gives citizens the right to access records at various levels of Texas government, without having to declare a purpose in doing so.
What agencies are covered?
Government agencies in Texas whose documents are public according to the TPIA include:
-A board, commission, department, committee, institution, agency, or office that is within or is created by the executive or legislative branch of state government and that is directed by one or more elected or appointed members, including the Texas Legislature;
-The county commissioners courts in the state;
-Municipal governing bodies in the state;
-Deliberative bodies that have rule-making or quasijudicial power and that are classified as a department, agency, or political subdivision of a county or municipality;
-School district boards of trustees;
-County boards of school trustees;
-County boards of education;
-Governing boards of special districts;
-Governing bodies of nonprofit corporations organized under Chapter 67, Water Code, that provide a water supply or wastewater service, or both, and is exempt from ad valorem taxation under section 11.30, Tax Code;
-Local workforce development boards created under Section 2308.253;
-Nonprofit corporations eligible to receive funds under the federal community services block grant program and that are authorized by this state to serve a geographic area of the state; and
-The part, section, or portion of an organization, corporation, commission, committee, institution, or agency that spends or that is supported in whole or in part by public funds.
-Public arrest records or arrest reports are public documents. The front page of a police report is public. Records that would hinder the investigation or prosecution of a crime may be withheld until the investigation or prosecution is complete.
The law says nothing about what can be done with public documents once they are obtained by a requestor.
Public information is supposed to be released “promptly.” There is a misconception that a governmental body or agency has 10 days to release information. The 10-day mark is the deadline for a governmental body, if it contends the information is not public, to ask for an attorney general’s decision allowing it to withhold the records.
Texas’ open records law is stronger than those in many other states in that if a governmental entity wants to withhold information, it must ask the attorney general for permission to do so. After a ruling is sought, the attorney general then decides within 45 days. But the request must be made in writing and the requestor given the same opportunity to argue for having the records released.
The bottom line is that we as citizens have the right to know what is going on. And we can simply request to see the records – and they should be produced immediately.
Texans have the right to see how their government is spending their tax dollars and exercising the powers they have granted it. That knowledge is essential to preserving the rule of law, protecting the democratic process, and defending the liberty we all cherish.
For more information on the TPIA, visit www.texasattorneygeneral.gov