In every Texas legislative session, dozens of bills are submitted that try to make it easier for public officials to hide their activities from voters and their constituents — the very people who hire them on Election Day. The current session is no different.
One proposal, for example, would bring back the kind of “trade secret” exemptions that the city of McAllen tried to use to prevent taxpayers from knowing how much of their money was paid to entertainer Enrique Iglesias for a 2015 Christmas event. Another would keep the public from knowing information about law enforcement, fire and medical officers including disciplinary information; this would allow officers to leave agencies where they have built records of disciplinary problems or accusations of abuse and take similar positions at other agencies without the public knowing about their troubled past.
As always, we beseech Rio Grande Valley legislators to recognize the need for the public to know what their public officials are doing and how they are spending taxpayers’ dollars.
Such protections are especially important in the Valley, where so many officials have been found guilty of malfeasance and criminal conduct that the entire region suffers the dark reputation of being a haven for corrupt politicians.
Fortunately, some Valley lawmakers appreciate the value of openness in government, and have fought to maintain transparency and support the public’s right to know how their government is being run.
One of those is Rep. Terry Canales. The Edinburg Democrat has been a consistent champion of open government. Canales has filed a bill that would address an issue that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many offices sought to escape public information requests by saying their offices were closed, even though staff were working from home. Canales’ bill would ensure that if the work is being done, even remotely, a day is considered a business day with regard to deadlines for providing public information and other official business.
Judith Zaffirini of Laredo offered the bill in the Senate.
Another important bill, filed by Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa of McAllen, would protect from prosecution journalists and others who received leaked information but committed no crimes in that acquisition. Without such protections, the public might never have known the kind of information that led to President Nixon’s resignation, affected sentiment about the Vietnam War or led to countless political and corporate reforms.
Zaffirini also has filed legislation that likewise would prevent agencies from contending that they did not conduct official business simply because they had skeletal crews working. This would ensure that the public’s needs were met during a pandemic, disaster or other event that reduces agency staff, and other bills that seek to improve reporting by requiring birthdates and other information on government documents in order to better prevent misidentification.
Every effort to keep officials accountable is vital to maintain the strength of our government. We applaud lawmakers, from the Valley and across the state, who continue working to maintain that strength.
