Houston Community College Sues Texas Attorney General Over Public Records
Boy, for a public institution, the Houston Community College System really hates state public record laws: the embattled institution has sued the Texas Attorney General's Office, arguing that it erred in saying that HCC must release payment records related to HCC's outside law firm.
Last December, blogger Manuel Barrera, the HCC watchdog behind insidehccs.com, requested copies of invoices submitted by law firm Monty and Ramirez between June-November 2014. But HCC sought an Attorney General's opinion, arguing that the invoices contained privileged attorney-client information that should be redacted.
It's the latest convoluted filing in protracted litigation for the school system, which also allegedly operates part-time as a dojo where trustees punch each other during closed sessions.
The AG responded by stating that HCC failed to seek an opinion in the time allotted by law. In its response to HCC, the AG's Office explained that even though the school system blew the deadline, certain information could be withheld if the governmental body could show a "compelling reason." But HCC could not provide compelling reasons, according to the letter.
Read more: http://blogs.houstonpress.com/news/2015/05/hcc.php