One wonders how many other things Chambers blindly follows without any law
Last time I talked about the sloppy and irresponsible actions of Trey Brown regarding Somervell County attempting to keep public video of hallways away from me. Incidentally, this is my opinion based on the LAW that Trey Brown and Danny Chambers are ignoring. I wanted to get the video of exactly that happened when Brown and Somervell County Judge Danny Chambers gave me a criminal trespass warning although I broke no laws. Specifically, the copy who came to issue it to me and to kick me out of the public annex didn’t seem to know what he was doing it for, nor did Chambers verify that I was actually breaking a law, What I would like to know and wanted to know is what happened before Haynes came down the hall. Brown did not want me to see what happened, even though this is video that records EVERYONE and no one has any expectation of being private and asked the Texas Attorney General for an opinion. In mid-August, the AG issued their opinion and told them to get me the video promptly. They did not tell me the opinion had come in, and said something vague about IT getting it, with no projected date or any indication that for sure IT (I assume Eddie) was working on getting it for me. It’s now almost the middle of October and I feel they are stalling me, so I wrote to the AG the other day to complain. Incidentally, I should not have to *nag* them to DO THEIR JOB according to procedures set out in the Texas Public Information Act, it’s really pitiful that they are so unprofessional
That’s NOT the only thing I may have to complain about. De Los Santos and Brown are sloppy and incompetent. Here’s why
Again, I had not been notified that the AG opinion came in so I asked, through an open record request, for a copy of the AG opinion on Sep 8, 2025. Under Texas Public Information law, Brown and de los Santos had 10 business days to respond. I asked AGAIN on Oct 6. 2025 and have not received a reply. Why not? I thought County Attorney Trey Brown, who I believe is not only in charge of de los Santos but whom she cc’s on her emails as the Open Records person, was supposed to be conscientious about following the law … and he is NOT. Here is what I sent them. Now this is me, but how can ANYONE rely on either person who are supposed to be.. DOING THEIR JOB. Anyway, they STILL have to get me the copy of the AG opinion and I suppose I will have to complain about them to the Texas Attorney General.
I still do not have the video that the AG told them to get to me “promptly”, so I did another open records request on 10/6/2025, which was just a bit ago asking for documentation or emails showing that Eddie actually received this request and this is not just another example of Brown’s incompetence.
I always like to quote the preamble to the Texas Public Information Act because I believe that not only is it the law, but the principle of who these elected people are supposed to be for is spelled out very clearly.
Sec. 552.001. POLICY; CONSTRUCTION. (a) Under the fundamental philosophy of the American constitutional form of representative government that adheres to the principle that government is the servant and not the master of the people, it is the policy of this state that each person is entitled, unless otherwise expressly provided by law, at all times to complete information about the affairs of government and the official acts of public officials and employees. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created. The provisions of this chapter shall be liberally construed to implement this policy.(b) This chapter shall be liberally construed in favor of granting a request for information.
Also interesting the TExas Legislature has tightened added some laws to make the Texas PIA better.. At least, in this instance, the TXLEGE has tightened up the Texas PIA to make it tougher on govt entities to drag out responses for the public. KETR
Faster Timelines
- Old system: Agencies could stretch out responses, especially if they claimed exemptions or needed AG rulings. Timelines for “no records” responses were not always defined.
- Now: If a government body decides there are no responsive records, or that records are covered by a previous attorney general determination, it must notify the requestor in writing within 10 business days of receiving the request.
This narrows what used to be an open-ended process into a defined two-week window.
Limits on Attorney General Appeals
- Old
system: Agencies often paused requests while asking the AG for a ruling
on whether they could withhold the information. This created long
delays. - Now: If the AG has already issued a ruling on a type of
record, such as certain kinds of student information or employee data,
the agency must apply that ruling directly and notify the requestor
within 10 business days. - Agencies cannot use the AG process as a
blanket delay. Only new, unsettled questions of law or privilege still
qualify for an AG referral.
Why’d they change this?
- Supporters
say the law curbs gamesmanship by agencies that used delay tactics and
broad exemptions to avoid disclosure. Groups like the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas argue it gives citizens a more predictable and transparent process.
As of September 1, Texas agencies must respond faster, release more categories of records, and lean less on the attorney general for delay. For citizens and journalists, that means better access. For government bodies, it means new workloads and less wiggle room.
