Communities

Messing with Texas: empowering citizens to push for open government

Published March 11, 2013 by Elizabeth R. Miller

“You have to have a healthy disrespect for government,” said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), at a SXSW gathering on civic engagement co-hosted by Knight Foundation and The Texas Tribune this weekend in Austin, Texas. He called for citizens to take action, stressing the responsibility of governments to open up data and information access so that citizens can be empowered to engage in healthy debate.

Issa kicked off a conversation about several Texas initiatives designed to make citizen interaction with the government more open and participatory. His talk was followed by a discussion between Texas Reps. Donna Howard (D-Austin) and Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake), with Tribune Editor-in-Chief and CEO Evan Smith acting as a moderator. Despite coming from different ends of the political spectrum both representatives agreed on the need for government to be more accessible and transparent.

The conversation highlighted three specific ways pending legislation could fundamentally change Texas’ current disclosure systems. They are:

Increase transparency on financial interests of state legislature’s family members: Currently, elected officials aren’t obligated to disclose enough information about their families’ financial dealings or interests, said Smith. Unfortunately, it can perpetuate self-dealing and lead to a lack of accountability. Pending legislation would require lawmakers to “report all contracts they, their spouses or their close relatives have with any government entities, from state agencies all the way down to municipal offices, public universities and taxing districts,” according to the Texas Tribune.
Digitize financial disclosure forms: The Texas Ethics Commission does not make this information available online. Pending legislation would make financial disclosures – like personal financial statements and government contracts – available on the commission’s website no later than 10 business days from the date of request. Although The Texas Tribune has manually digitized much of this data, it shouldn’t be up to the media to gather and publish this information, said Howard: “It’s the responsibility of state government to put [it] online …make it searchable.” Legislation also suggests that an interim 11-member committee “study and review the procedures and effects of the filing of personal financial statements.”
Disclose public pensions: A current provision renders these existing records private, making it difficult for taxpayers to know just how public money is being spent. Capriglione wants to repeal it via HB 526 legislation, which would allow citizens to see what state pension benefits their legislators are currently receiving, which would make visible things like large sum payments, bonuses and more.

Pushing for open government in the state isn’t about having “gotcha” moments, said Capriglione. “It’s about having the information so that voters and [citizens] can…make decisions about what is right or wrong,” he continued. “We all have a right to know.”

The conversation also highlighted Knight’s News Challenge on Open Gov – open for only one more week- and offering a share of $5 million to winning projects that improve how citizens and governments interact. We recently rounded up a what you need to know tip series in anticipation of the 5:00 p.m. ET March 18 deadline.

If you’re at SXSW we’re having one more set of in-person office hours today about the challenge from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m at the Driskill Hotel. We’ll also have a final opportunity for you to ask us questions during virtual office hours at 1 p.m. ET Thursday, March 14.

As always, stay up-to-date on the latest News Challenge info by following @knightfdn and #newschallenge.

By Elizabeth R. Miller, communications associate for Knight Foundation

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