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Texas Governor Signs Shield Law
By Jeff Nobles
On May 13, Gov. Rick Perry signed the Texas Free Flow of Information Act, making Texas the 37th state in the nation (along with the District of Columbia) to offer journalists qualified protection for confidential sources.(SNPA eBulletin 5-21-09 - download)
Open Meetings Law Unconstitutional?
By David Thompson
In an opinion that could call into question the constitutionality of open meetings laws everywhere, a federal appellate court held Monday that the Texas Open Meetings law must pass a heightened constitutional test under the First Amendment. Read more from Thompson's blog.
Special Report
Public Notice Listings Remain Under Attack in Southern States
By Sean Ireland
An important cog in the check-and-balance fundamentals of representative government – and a longtime service provided by community newspapers – remains under attack. For the last few years, virtually without exception, states across the South have been considering alternatives to laws requiring that governments place notices in their local newspapers about items of public business – notices such as upcoming meetings of elected bodies, opportunities to bid on public projects and elections. (SNPA eBulletin 4-2-09)
Texas House Approves its Version of Shield Law
The Texas House has passed, by a 146-2 margin, its version of the Texas Free Flow of Information Act, which will provide a qualified privilege to journalists to protect them from subpoenas for testimony and documents. Jeff Nobles, of the law firm Haynes & Boone in Houston, Texas, and a member of SNPA's First Amendment Committee, says: "The outlook for passage in the Texas Senate seems promising, and it now appears possible that Texas will join 36 other states in adopting a shield law that will protect journalists from revealing confidential sources." (SNPA eBulletin 4-2-09)
Holder Says Government Records Should be Presumed Public
Attorney General Eric Holder has issued his much-anticipated memorandum advising executive branch agencies how the Obama Administration wants the federal Freedom of Information Act to be interpreted. In it, he expressly rescinds the Bush Administration's standard favoring withholding information, and orders that government agency records should be presumed public. (SNPA eBulletin 3-26-09 - download)
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