What A ‘Sunshine Law’ Means in The State of Texas

If government transparency is important to you, then "Sunshine Laws" may become your favorite Texas law and you didn't know about it until right now.

There's a reason that government meetings from city councils to school boards are open to the public, and the reason is our Sunshine Laws.

What 'Sunshine Law' Means to Texans.

In fact, the Texas Public Information Act (PIA) and the Open Meeting Act are both sunshine laws here in the Lone Star State that exist to promote transparency and accountability in government.

Sunshine Laws are regulations "that ensure transparency in government operations by requiring that certain meetings, records, and proceedings be open to the public." So without these laws, any government entity and its decision making process could be done secretly and without accountability.

But because they exist, citizens are allowed to observe and participate in the decision-making processes. So, the primary Texas Sunshine Law is the Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA), which mandates that most meetings of government bodies.

Then there's the Texas Public Information Act (PIA) which guarantees "the public access to government records, unless there is a specific exemption under state law, such as records related to personal privacy or law enforcement investigations."

It's because of these laws and others like it that our right to know how our government functions is safeguarded.