Date 07/15/02
Contact: FOIFT office, (214) 977-6658
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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 and the Texas Association
of Regional Councils will sponsor their second
2002 Open Government seminar Friday, August 9,
in Tyler. The seminar will be held at the Robert
R. Muntz Library, Room 401, University of Texas
at Tyler. Open Government 2002: A Symposium on
Access to Public Information and Open Meetings
in Texas will include in-depth discussions of
the Texas Public Information Act and the Texas
Open Meetings Act.
Scheduled presenters include attorneys
Joe Larsen with Ogden, Gibson, White & Broocks,
LLP, and Rob Wiley with Locke Liddell & Sapp,
LLP; Katherine "Missy" Cary and Kym Oltroggee
from the Office of the Attorney General of Texas;
and Hadassah Schloss with the Texas Building and
Procurement Commission.
Open Government is a traveling symposium
designed to develop and enhance understanding
of the changing landscape of an open government.
Sessions will address hot topics in public information
and open meetings laws. The symposium is directed
toward the general public, government employees,
elected officials and representatives of the media.
Each symposium features experienced attorneys
and others knowledgeable in this important area
of law.
The seminar is free, but early registration
is recommended due to limited space. Meals are
not provided, however, a 90-minute lunch break
allows time for participants to travel to area
restaurants.
The State Bar of Texas will award
five (5) MCLE credit hours per Open Government
seminar attended. The next free Open Government
seminar will take place in El Paso on Friday,
October 25, 2002. For questions, call the FOIFT
office at (214) 977-6658. To register, call TARC
at (512) 478-4715, or complete a registration
form available on the FOIFT web site at www.foift.org,
and fax or mail to TARC at (512) 478-5014, 1305
San Antonio, Austin, TX 78701.
The Freedom of Information Foundation
of Texas works to encourage, sponsor and facilitate
a greater appreciation, knowledge and understanding
of the First Amendment. By educating media and
legal professionals, educators, students, public
and government officials and individual citizens
about their rights and responsibilities as citizens,
the FOIFT strives to preserve the freedoms necessary
in a democratic republic.
The Freedom of Information Foundation
of Texas is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization
supported through grants from private citizens,
corporations, foundations and tax deductible donations.
For more information, call (214) 977-6658, or
visit our web page, www.foift.org.
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