Join us for a June 26 conversation on public access to government
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Last year, Texas’ open records law turned 50 years old. The Texas Public Information Act was meant to usher in a new level of government transparency and followed a stock-fraud scandal that reached the top levels of state government. First Amendment advocates say that while many government agencies work hard to satisfy open records records, others often flout the law, leaving the public in the dark on information they should rightly have about how local and state agencies are operating.
Join The Texas Tribune in Austin and online for a June 26 conversation on public access to government. The conversation is part of the Tribune’s “We the Texans” project looking at the state of democracy in Texas. We’ll talk about the challenges with the implementation of the Texas Public Information Act, how it’s affecting Texans and what solutions are available.
Panelists include Rachel Denny Clow, specialty producer, 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, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. The conversation will be moderated by Matthew Watkins, the Tribune’s managing editor.
Doors will open at the Tribune’s Studio 919 at 8:30 a.m., and the hourlong conversation will begin at 9 a.m. The conversation will also be livestreamed here.
Register today so you don’t miss this event.
Disclosure: The Texas Tribune is 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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We’ve got big things in store for you at The Texas Tribune Festival, happening Sept. 5–7 in downtown Austin. Join us for three days of big, bold conversations about politics, public policy and the day’s news.
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