FEATURED: Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo/Starr County, received legislative approval for House Bill 4219, of which she was the Senate sponsor, that will require government agencies to respond to public information requestors or face consequences – an important step in making government more accountable. Sen. Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen, was a cosponsor of the measure. “Once again, our Valley state legislators are in key leadership positions, serving as champions to make all state, regional and local governments in Texas transparent to the people,” Ochoa noted. As sponsor and cosponsor. In this image, taken Tuesday, February 13, 2024, Zaffirini addresses Laredo leaders in their hometown at La Posada Hotel during an event honoring her for appointment as Dean of the Texas Senate.
Photograph Courtesy CITY OF LAREDO
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Sen. Judith Zaffirini and Sen. Juan Hinojosa successfully led efforts to require state and local governments to improve responses to public information requests or face consequences, reports South Texas attorney Omar Ochoa
By DAVID A. DÍAZ [email protected]
State and local governments in Texas will be required to improve responses to public information requests or face consequences as a result of a new state law led by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo/Starr County and Sen. Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen, according to South Texas attorney Omar Ochoa.
“In general, a public information request in Texas, also known as an open records request, allows citizens to get government records under the Texas Public Information Act,”said Ochoa. “This Public Information Act generally assumes all government information – with some exceptions – is open to the public.”
The new state measure, which was signed into law on Sunday, June 22, 2025, goes into effect on Monday, September 1, 2025.
House Bill 4219 changes the Government Code to increase the requirements for governmental bodies in responding to public information requests.
House Bill 4219 introduces new provisions that required a governmental body to notify a requestor in writing within 10 business days if it has no information responsive to the request or if the information is subject to a previous determination that allows for withholding.
A bill is a type of legislative measure that requires passage by the Texas Senate and the Texas House of Representatives and action by the governor in order to become effective. A bill is the primary means used to create and change the laws of the state.
Additionally, House Bill 4219 requires the governmental body to specify the previous determination relied upon when withholding information, according to bill analysis by FastDemocracy.com.
Furthermore, House Bill 4219 establishes a process for requestors to file complaints with the attorney general if a governmental body fails to respond as required. If the attorney general finds that the governmental body did not comply with the response requirements, it can mandate training for the public information officer and prohibit the governmental body from charging the requestor for producing the information.
The changes will apply only to requests received on or after the effective date of the Act, which is set for Monday, September 1, 2025.
https://fastdemocracy.com/bill-search/tx/89/bills/TXB00078145
“Once again, our Valley state legislators are in key leadership positions, serving as champions to make all state, regional and local governments in Texas transparent to the people,” Ochoa noted. “House Bill 4219 not only affects the Texas Legislature, state agencies, state agencies, state boards, and state commissions, but also many types of local government – cities, counties, independent school districts, special purpose districts, community colleges, regional mobility authorities, and other entities.”
https://texapedia.info/local-government-types-texas/
In the context of government, transparency refers to the openness and accessibility of government information and processes to the public, enabling citizens to understand how the government operates and hold officials accountable. It involves sharing information proactively and readily, promoting accountability, and ensuring that public officials are answerable to the citizens they serve.
Born and raised in Edinburg, Ochoa’s roots run deep in the community.
A graduate of Edinburg North High School, he went on to earn a business degree, a master’s in accounting, and a law degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
A champion for government transparency, Ochoa provides regular reports to the public on the Texas Public Information Act, the Texas Open Meetings Act, and existing and proposed state laws that affect the mainstream and social media and the people’s rights to know about the actions of their governments in the Lone Star State.
Mainstream media refers to traditional news outlets, typically controlled by large organizations, that aim to inform the public. This includes newspapers, magazines, television and radio broadcasting, and increasingly, major online news sites. In essence, it’s the news and information you typically find in the mainstream, often seen as more established and widely circulated.
https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=what+is+mainstream+media&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
Social media are online platforms where users connect, share information, and interact with each other through various forms of content. These platforms facilitate the creation and sharing of content, allowing individuals to form online communities and networks. Examples of social media include websites and apps like Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube.
“House Bill 4219 will help ensure citizens aren’t ignored and that the Public Information Act works as it should. Currently, some information requestors don’t receive responses at all. That’s contrary to common sense and courtesy,” said Kelley Shannon, executive director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas.
Laura Prather, a First Amendment attorney and co-chair of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas’ legislative committee, noted House Bill 4219 requires governments to cite the specific prior attorney general rulings if they rely on them to withhold information and to get more training if they don’t understand how the law works
“The passage of House Bill 4219 is just one example of good public policy enhancing transparency and accountability,” she said.
House Bill 4219 was part of the legislative agenda of the broad-based Texas Sunshine Coalition, made up of 16 organizations.
“The bipartisan Sunshine Coalition brings together groups from across the political spectrum who have a shared belief in the public’s right to know what their government is doing,” Prather said.
The legislation will benefit all Texans, said Arif Panju, a constitutional attorney and co-chair of the foundation’s legislative committee. “It should not require legislation in 2025 to force the government to respond to an open records request. But it did.”
The Sunshine Coalition members are the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas; Texas Association of Broadcasters; Texas Press Association; Texas Public Policy Foundation; Institute for Justice; ACLU of Texas; Every Texan; Common Cause; Grassroots America; League of Women Voters of Texas; SMU School of Law First Amendment Clinic; Texas Appleseed; Texas Association of Licensed Investigators; Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom; Public Citizen; PublicData.com.
Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Keller, was the author of House Bill 4219. As the author, Capriglione was the legislator who filed the measure in the Texas House of Representatives and guided it through the legislative process (also called the primary author).
“Filed” is used refer to a measure that has been introduced into the legislative process and given a number.
As the sponsor, Zaffirini was the legislator who guided House Bill 4219 through the Texas Senate.
As a cosponsor, Hinojosa was the legislator who joined with Zaffirini to help guide House Bill 4219 through the Texas Senate.
The Texas Legislature provides for House Bill 4219 the following section by section analysis, which is a summary of proposed changes to each section or article of the law. These are broken up into sections in a bill, and analyzed accordingly.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
AN ACT relating to a governmental body’s response to a request for public information.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 552.221, Government Code, is amended by adding Subsections (f) and (g) to read as follows:
(f) If the governmental body determines it has no information responsive to a request for information, the officer for public information shall notify the requestor in writing not later than the 10th business day after the date the request is received.
(g) If a governmental body determines the requested information is subject to a previous determination that permits or requires the governmental body to withhold the requested information, the officer for public information shall, not later than the 10th business day after the date the request is received:
(1) notify the requestor in writing that the information is being withheld; and
(2) identify in the notice the specific previous determination the governmental body is relying on to withhold the requested information.
SECTION 2. Section 552.301(b), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) The governmental body must ask for the attorney general’s decision and state the specific exceptions that apply within a reasonable time but not later than the 10th business day after the date of receiving the written request.
SECTION 3. The heading to Subchapter H, Chapter 552, Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER H. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT; COMPLAINT
SECTION 4. Subchapter H, Chapter 552, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 552.328 to read as follows:
Sec. 552.328. FAILURE TO RESPOND TO REQUESTOR. (a) If a governmental body fails to respond to a requestor as required by Section 552.221, the requestor may send a written complaint to the attorney general.
(b) The complaint must include:
(1) the original request for information; and
(2) any correspondence received from the governmental body in response to the request.
(c) If the attorney general determines the governmental body improperly failed to comply with Section 552.221 in connection with a request for which a complaint is made under this section:
(1) the attorney general shall notify the governmental body in writing and require the governmental body’s public information officer or the officer’s designee to complete open records training not later than six months after receiving the notification;
(2) the governmental body may not assess costs to the requestor for producing information in response to the request; and
(3) if the governmental body seeks to withhold information in response to the request, the governmental body must:
(A) request an attorney general decision under Section 552.301 not later than the fifth business day after the date the governmental body receives the notification under Subdivision (1); and
(B) release the requested information unless there is a compelling reason to withhold the information.
SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to a request for information that is received by a governmental body or an officer for public information on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
For more details on House Bill 4219, including the legislative history of the measure, the witnesses who testified for, against, or on the bill, votes taken in the House and Senate committees which considered House Bill 4219, similar legislation (known as companion bills), amendments, log on to:
https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=HB4219
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For more on this and other Texas legislative news stories that affect the Rio Grande Valley metropolitan region, please log on to Titans of the Texas Legislature (TitansoftheTexasLegislature.com).
