Sen. Cornyn Urges Texas Supreme Court To Resist Weakening Public Information Law

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Sen. Cornyn Urges Texas Supreme Court To Resist Weakening Public Information Law

Files Amicus Brief Stating Texas Open Government Law Has Served As Model For Nation

The Texas Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments tomorrow morning in the case of the City of Dallas v. Abbott, and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, announced today that he has filed an amicus brief with the Court in support of the State Attorney General's position and against any effort that would weaken the deadlines and enforcement mechanisms contained in the Texas Public Information Act (PIA). As a member of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Cornyn has been one of the leading advocates for strengthening transparency and accountability in government and he said today that the Texas PIA has served as a model for the rest of the nation.

In his brief, Sen. Cornyn, a former State Attorney General and Texas Supreme Court Justice, wrote that the PIA is "arguably the strongest and most successful open government law in the nation" and noted that any weakening of the PIA would "run contrary to the expressed will of the Texas Legislature and, moreover, would undermine the PIA's well-earned status as the national model for a strong open government law."

Sen. Cornyn wrote that in fact the PIA, and specifically its stringent statutory deadlines, "served as the model for the recent Congressional overhaul of the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)." On December 31, 2007, President Bush signed into law the OPEN Government Act of 2007, which was co-authored by Senator Cornyn and which made the most significant reforms to FOIA in over a decade.

"The PIA's deadlines and enforcement mechanisms are now the model for open government laws nationwide, as exemplified by the OPEN Government Act's PIA-based amendments to the federal FOIA. There is accordingly widespread agreement and acceptance, both in Austin and across the nation, that the Texas PIA is perhaps the strongest open government law in the country. The PIA provisions that penalize government agencies for tardiness in responding to information requests are understood and appreciated as effective open government policies. This Court should not construe the PIA in a manner that contradicts this understanding of and appreciation for Texas law," Sen. Cornyn wrote.

A copy of Senator Cornyn's brief can be accessed here: http://www.supreme.courts.state.tx.us/ebriefs/07/07093109.pdf

Among those who have also filed amicus briefs are the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, the Texas Association of Broadcasters, and the Texas Daily Newspaper Association.

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