Call to Action: Free Flow Act
posted on 3.31.2009The Free Flow of Information Act (HB 670) is up for a vote in the Texas House on Wed., April 1.
There has never been a more important time for broadcasters to get involved by contacting lawmakers and urging them to vote YES on HB 670.
Office phone numbers for all 150 Texas House members
- Please call the lawmakers on that list that you know personally, not a laundry list of lawmakers from a specific area.
- Keep trying to reach the lawmakers themselves until you have spoken to them directly.
- Ask for the chief of staff if the lawmaker is not available.
- By all means, use lawmaker cell phone numbers if you have them.
WHAT YOU NEED TO SAY
- The bill they are voting on Wednesday morning is a compromise bill agreed to by members of the media and the prosecutorial communities.
- It was the result of a 13-hour negotiation conducted personally by House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee Chairman Todd Hunter of Corpus Christi.
- This compromise language was unanimously approved by the entire House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee in an 11-0 vote last week.
- The Senate Jurisprudence Committee also approved the same language last week in a 6-0 vote.
- The bill strikes a fair balance between the public's right to know and the effective administration of justice and law enforcement.
- Passage of such a law benefits the public by increasing the free flow of information, improving protection from governmental abuse, and enhancing the health and welfare of the general public by allowing witnesses or others with knowledge of information of wrongdoing to speak to the public through the media without fear of reprisal.
- More information is available at www.FreeFlowAct.com
Please report your lawmaker contact to TAB staff.
Questions? Contact TAB's Michael Schneider or call (512) 322-9944.
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