The heavily redacted emails reveal little of the two men’s relationship.
Public Information Act
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
Texas bill to increase transparency in public records law left in limbo despite passing Legislature
The bill would close a long-standing loophole in state law that allows officials to withhold law enforcement records if no one was convicted in a case. The measure was the only bill sent to the Senate that did not get signed and sent to the governor.
Posted in
Politics
Ken Paxton refuses to release messages about attendance at pro-Trump rally before Jan. 6 insurrection
The Texas Tribune joined several other news organizations in an effort to obtain copies of emails and text messages that the Texas attorney general sent or received while in Washington for the rally.
Posted in
State Government
Analysis: Why you should treat elected officials like your dog
For four years, local and state governments in Texas were allowed to keep a lot of public business hidden. New laws make more of that information public. But what did they get away with in the meantime?
Posted in
Criminal Justice
After loss at state Supreme Court, Texas keeps fighting to conceal its execution drug supplier
With new execution drugs in stock, the state is fighting a June Texas Supreme Court decision that would identify a 2014 supplier, claiming it would disrupt the state’s ability to carry out the death penalty.
Posted inState Government
Analysis: Texas lawmakers asked for a study on open government. They’re still waiting.
Efforts to close loopholes in the state’s open information laws fell short at the end of last year’s legislative session. An interim committee intended to get a head start before the 2019 session hasn’t met. Its members haven’t even been named.
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Criminal Justice
Texas prison system stalls release of public information on executions
Earlier this month, defense lawyers claimed Texas was botching its executions with old drugs. Now, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has stalled the release of information on how many lethal doses the state has and when they expire.
Posted in
Politics
Analysis: A cloudy day for sunshine laws in Texas
It might deflate your confidence in the state of Texas to find that the people protecting your access to government information have their thumbs on the scale. That they’re playing favorites. That they put requests from their enemies on the slow track. Or that they advise the agencies who come to them for advice to act that way.
Posted in
State Government
Texas House halts effort to ensure access to public information
The Texas House has thwarted an effort to patch what some called “glaring loopholes” in public records law, recently punched by the Texas Supreme Court.
Posted in
State Government
Texas Senate unsticks proposals to plug public records “loopholes”
With looming deadlines threatening to kill a slew of bills aiming to bolster access to public records in Texas, Sen. Kirk Watson muscled them closer to the governor’s desk — all at once.