Open Records Requests

---

"We also have the self-proclaimed social [justice] warriors who put all their time into thousands of open record requests....these individuals are no more than social media terrorists." - San Antonio Report, 2024

Check out this guide on how everyday taxpaying citizens can place Open Records Requests (ORR) against cities, counties, State of Texas officials, elected officials, and other government agencies and their bureaucratic staffs at every level in order to hold them accountable, and to preserve our Texas communities

Government officials and their bureaucratic staffs in the State of Texas have to follow the law as it pertains to Chapter 552 of the Texas Government Code, known as the "Public Information Act" (PIA). In some cases, when a government official even uses their personal phone or other electronic devices for official government business, these items can be subject of Chapter 552 ORR or PIA requests. Notwithstanding, government agencies and their functional offices will typically have a full-time attorney or even a contracted attorney and law firm advising and directing the government and their bureaucratic staffs what they have to comply with, as it pertains to ORRs under Chapter 552.

Over time, unfortunately, these government officials, under the advice of their attorneys, have learned how to avoid having to answer what taxpayers and the public require through Chapter 552. 

You can always assume good intent. But, experience will teach you otherwise.  Government officials and their bureaucratic staffs have essentially become "crafty" at avoiding public transparency. 

Mind you, there are various exemptions from public disclosure under Chapter 552. 

Nonetheless, as a example of how to avoid transparency through ORRs, or to make it difficult to make sense of the information once the ORR returns are produced to the requestor, government officials may avoid storing cell phone numbers in their phones with the contact's actual name and/or job title and position. This can make it extremely difficult to understand context and flow of information in communications such as text messages, because you simply don't know who is talking to whom. 

Unfortunately, there is nothing in the law that compels a government official to manage their contacts in any kind of particular way. 

On equal footing, if your ORR only specifies text messages and emails, that will be all you get in the ORR return, if material and information exists in those communication technologies and mediums related the topic you placed your ORR against, for the timeframe you specified in your request. 

There may also be some items that are simply brevity code or short-hand-text like "CC" for "Catholic Charities" as an example. 

What some government officials have also begun doing, is avoiding emailing communications and text message communications on topics they may aim to keep from public transparency, and communicate about them in other technologies, such as Signal chat, WhatsApp chat, GroupMe chats, etc. Thus, if your ORR doesn't request a wide sweeping cull of those communication mediums as well, then you may be missing out on exactly what your ORR is intending to find. 

Again, over time, some government officials have essentially learned to avoid complying with ORRs by posting Notepad files, updating PowerPoints, Word documents, or other files and items that exist only in a SharePoint site. Another example, is that you might find a text message or email between government officials telling each other to "check SharePoint" and leave some bread crumbs behind in a text or email that incline the ORR to assess that the "real meat and potatoes" are being coordinated or communicated about "secretly" through the use of documents and hidden messages posted on SharePoint sites in various files.

Crafty indeed, rather "cat and mouse," and morally questionable. 

Chapter 552 of the Texas Government Code, also known as the "Public Information Act" gives Texans the right to various records and information used by government officials and agencies in the State of Texas, whether actually occurring at the State of Texas-level, cities/municipalities, and counties. "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 people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created." Notwithstanding there are certain types of information that the law exempts from ORRs.