Bill to mandate expedited procedures for public information requests

For those who cover your government and how your tax dollars are being used, access to public records is an essential tool. However, officer holders have been increasingly unwilling to comply with Texas law and adopting delay tactics. SB 1579, Senator Paul Bettencourt's legislation, would mandate expedited procedures for responding to public information requests and impose daily fines on city, county and state agencies for bad faith suppression of information that the public has the legal right to review.