Open Records: A Look at Attorney General Greg Abbott’s Tenure
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When Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott first campaigned for his office 12 years ago, he promised a new era of government transparency. Abbott, who in July announced his bid for governor, believes he has accomplished his goal, even as the public pressure for more openness has also risen dramatically. Others believe that self-assessment overstates Abbott’s results.
“Throughout my tenure as AG, we have achieved the highest transparency ever,” he says.
The Office of the Attorney General serves as the state’s arbiter of whether information is open to the public under the Public Information Act and other applicable laws. Therefore, municipal and state government agencies often ask the OAG to rule on open-records requests they receive. In response, the AG issues informal rulings or formal opinions, the later of which creates precedents that may be cited in future disputes.
The OAG received 2,059 such requests in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2013, and received 2,301 in the previous fiscal year.
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