FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Marlena Villers

214.977.6658

FOIFT to Co-Sponsor Open Government Symposium in Midland

The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, in collaboration with the Office of the Attorney General of Texas and the Texas Municipal League, will sponsor the third 2004 Open Government seminar on Friday, August 6, in Midland.  The seminar will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Midland Convention Center at 105 N. Main.  Open Government 2004:   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 David Donaldson, an attorney with the law office of Graves, Dougherty, Hearon & Moody, P.C.; June B. Harden, an assistant attorney general in the Open Records Division of the Office of the Attorney General of Texas; Hadassah Schloss, open records administrator for the Texas Building and Procurement Commission; and Scott Houston, legal services director for the Texas Municipal League.

Open Government 2004 is a traveling symposium designed to develop and enhance understanding of the changing landscape of 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.

The cost of the seminar is $20.  Advance 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.

To register, contact the FOIFT office at 214.977.6658, or complete a registration form available on the FOIFT Web site at www.foift.org, and fax or mail to FOIFT at 214.977.6666, 400 S. Record St., Suite 240, Dallas, TX  75202.

Previous Open Government 2004 seminars were held in Dallas on April 2 and Harlingen on June 4.

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.   For more information, call 214.977.6658, or visit our Web page, www.foift.org.

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