Of general interest, it could help other states as well, but especially Texas researchers. This is in regards to Harris County, but affects all counties. Thanks Bobbie for the great information as we visit the local court houses. Of genealogical information: Paper: Houston Chronicle Date: THU 12/30/1999 Section: A Page: 29 MetFront Edition: 3 STAR County workers get lessons on new records act By JOE STINEBAKER Staff A recent overhaul of the state's open records act has prompted Harris County Attorney Michael P. Fleming to begin holding seminars for local government officials on how to comply with the law. The first of those seminars came Tuesday, with members of Fleming's office telling a group of county employees that the revamped act will require them to act promptly and honestly in dealing with records requests from the public and the media. "More than anything, it's really summed up in the first paragraph, where it says that basically the records in the state are presumed open and government is presumed open," Fleming said. "It also says the law is to be construed liberally in favor of openness and in favor of the requestor. So, if anything, that is abundantly clear and cannot be any clearer." Under the new Texas Public Information Act , formerly known as the Texas Open Records Act , the amount of time the state attorney general would have to resolve open records disputes is shortened to 45 days from 60 days. It also prohibits governmental bodies from delaying the release of public information by asking the attorney general for an open records opinion if the attorney general or a court had previously ruled that the information was public. The act also gives Fleming's office a much higher profile locally in dealing with records requests. The county attorney's office will now take the lead in handling complaints against all local governments in Harris County, including the City of Houston, local school districts and other municipalities. The act says that governments must respond to a records request within 10 days. If the government fails to do so, or otherwise fails to comply with the law, the requestor can file a complaint with the county attorney's office. The office will investigate the complaint and, if it determines a violation has occurred, will give the government five days to comply with the request or face a lawsuit. Appeals of the office's decisions will be handled by the state attorney general's office. Fleming, whose office has been somewhat aggressive in enforcing compliance with the state's open meetings and open records laws locally, said he welcomes the new responsibility. But, he said, he expects few problems once government employees learn their responsibilities under the revamped law. "If government is kept more open , I think that's great," he said. "Most of the governmental entities are going to be familiar with the act and will make a good-faith effort to comply with the law. I think the protections that are in there for enforcement by the county attorney are to correct those governmental entities that are flagrantly violating the act." Fleming set up a special committee in his office in February, before the new law was passed, to ensure that various county boards and agencies fully complied with the state's Open Meetings Act. That committee will now also take on responsibility for handling complaints filed under the Public Information Act. The office has set up a hot line for the public to answer questions about the act and to field complaints. The telephone number is 713-755-1573. To ensure all local governments have a chance to become familiar with their responsibilities, Fleming plans more seminars. The next one, he said, will be sometime next month. It will be open to the public, he said, and employees of local governments across the county will be encouraged to attend. "One of the reasons for doing the seminars is to ensure that the elected officials and department heads . . . understand what the law is and to cut down on some of the questions that might be asked and concerns that may delay the delivery of open records to people that are filing legitimate requests. It should streamline the process." Bobbie Ross, County Co-ordinator for Coryell County TX. http://www.rootsweb.com/~txcoryel/ Family Home Page at: http://www.htcomp.net/ross National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution at: http://www.htcomp.net/ross/dar "What this country needs is dirtier fingernails and cleaner minds" Will Rogers