2024 PBCR/PLC

This presentation will overview the Texas Public Information Act as a critical community lawyering tool, focusing primarily on usage in environmental justice cases. The first part of this session will summarize how the lawyers can use the public information act from drafting the initial PIA request to filing a petition in state court to force the release of information. Ironically as state agencies and local governments rely more on digital files, accessing public information has become more difficult as governmental bodies charge high fees, seek repetitive clarifications that delay access, and interpret certain statutory provisions too narrowly to keep public information private. The session will also present strategies to overcome these hurdles. The second half of the session will include a panel discussion about live examples of recent community lawyering disputes with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and various cities. The session concludes with an audience participation discussion.