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.
In this conversation, part of The Texas 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.
Speakers include Kelley Shannon, executive director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas ; Rachel Denny Clow, specialty producer at KRIS-6 News; Ruth Soucy, deputy general counsel for open records section at the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts; and Laura Lee Prather, partner at Haynes and Boone, LLP. Moderating this conversation is Matthew Watkins, managing editor for news and politics at The Texas Tribune.
Join us at 9 a.m. Wednesday, June 26, at the Tribune's Studio 919 and online.
Doors will open at 8:30 a.m. and the hourlong conversation will begin at 9 a.m.
Parking is not provided. Complimentary coffee will be available.
This in-person event will be live streamed for virtual attendees and will be available to watch on demand at texastribune.org/events.
Email us at events@texastribune.org
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.
Clow, an award-winning specialty producer, began her career in newspapers before transitioning to a specialty producer role in television, with a focus on investigative journalism. Last year, she was part of the team that exposed deadly problems with wrong-way drivers on the Harbor Bridge in Corpus Christi. That reporting led to significant traffic changes that officials said have saved lives. For this reporting, KRIS 6 News was the recipient of the Carole Kneeland Award. In 2023, she was nominated for both a Lone Star Emmy and Texas Broadcast News Award for her part in exposing corruption at the Nueces County Medical Examiner’s Office. That investigation, which spanned over 30 stories, resulted in the arrest of the Nueces County Chief and Deputy Chief Medical Examiners. KRIS 6 News was also awarded the 2023 Nancy Monson Spirit of FOI Award for a series of stories on the dismissals by the Nueces County District Attorney's Office.
Soucy has worked in the area of open government for more than 30 years. Since 1999, she has served as deputy general counsel for open records at the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. In this capacity, Soucy manages the Open Records Section, including legal staff, data analysis staff and accounts examiners. She was an assistant attorney general for six years in the Open Records Division of the Attorney General’s Office.
Prather represents a broad array of clients at the trial and appellate court level in First Amendment, Anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) and intellectual property disputes. She represents content providers including online and traditional publications, cable and terrestrial broadcasters, streaming media platforms, podcasts, production companies, and music and sports entities. She was awarded The American Lawyer’s inaugural Tony Mauro Media Lawyer Award for her efforts advocating for legislation to strengthen First Amendment rights, including zealous advocacy for free speech rights both at the statehouse and the courthouse.
Shannon has served as executive director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas since 2013. She oversees FOI advocacy, educational seminars and conferences and other outreach. She has been a journalist for three decades. Shannon was a correspondent for The Associated Press, first in San Antonio and later as bureau leader in Austin, where she covered government and politics.
