FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  FOIFT office

214.977.6658

FOIFT to Co-Sponsor Open Government Symposium in Tyler

The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, in collaboration with the Office of the Attorney General of Texas, will sponsor the final Open Government 2006 seminar on Friday, Oct. 20, in Tyler.  The University of Texas at Tyler has donated space for the meeting, which will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. in Room 401 of the Robert R. Muntz Library at 3900 University Blvd.

Open Government 2006: A Symposium on Access to Public Information and Open Meetings in Texas is a traveling colloquium designed to develop and enhance understanding of the changing landscape of open government.  It is directed toward the general public, elected officials, government employees, and representatives of the media.

Scheduled presenters include Nancy S. Fuller, chair of the Opinion Committee of the Office of the Attorney General of Texas; Joseph R. Larsen, an attorney with the law office of Ogden, Gibson, Broocks & Longoria, L.L.P.; Hadassah Schloss, cost rules administrator for the Open Records Division of the Office of the Attorney General of Texas; and Thornton Wood, assistant attorney general and public education coordinator for the Open Records Division of the Office of the Attorney General of Texas.

The seminar is divided into two sections.  The Texas Public Information Act will be covered in the morning, followed by the Texas Open Meetings Act in the afternoon.  The fee is $50 for the whole day, or $30 for either the morning or afternoon only.  Advance registration is required due to limited space.  The course materials have been approved by the Office of the Attorney General as meeting the requirements for open government training for public officials.  Copies of the Attorney General's open government training DVD will be available at the registration table free of charge.

To register, contact the FOIFT office at (214) 977-6658 or visit our Web site at www.foift.org.

Previous Open Government 2006 seminars were held in Harlingen, El Paso and Amarillo.

The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, works to encourage, sponsor and facilitate a greater appreciation, knowledge and understanding of the First Amendment.  The FOIFT strives to preserve the freedoms necessary in a democratic republic by educating media and legal professionals, educators, students, public and government officials and individual citizens about their rights and responsibilities as citizens.

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