Legislative Advocacy and Outreach

FOIFT President Laura Prather, also speaking on behalf of the Texas Daily Newspaper Association, the Texas Press Association and the Texas Association of Broadcasters, testified in favor of passage of compromise legislation known as the Free Flow of Information Act (SB 915, a companion bill for HB 670) which was left pending in Senate Committee. State Senator Rodney Ellis (D-Houston), the bill's sponsor, told committee members "...the ability of the press to report the truth to the public sometimes requires the use of confidential sources..." and pointed out they currently do so without the ability to protect the identity of "whistle-blowers." Ellis also pointed out this legislation will "...allow journalists to report the truth...and allow the state to enforce justice." A similar bill was approved by the Texas Senate during the last legislative session on a vote of 27 to 4.