Earlier this month, a Texas House committee heard testimony concerning one of the most important pieces of legislation that will be presented this session: House Bill 670, the Texas Free Flow of Information Act. In an age where there is an abundance of information, ensuring its “free flow” may seem irrelevant or unnecessary. However, this bill and its companion, Senate Bill 915, will make the front-page stories that impact our political and social climates much easier to tell.
These bills, which are based on shield laws currently on the books in 36 states and the District of Columbia, would defend news-gathering organizations in a way that is sorely lacking under our state’s current laws. While other states might recognize some sort of constitutional protection for journalists under the First Amendment, Texas courts have repeatedly failed to do so. Also, the Texas Rules for Evidence give no testimonial privilege to reporters.
These bills directly protect journalists, but more importantly, they protect the confidentiality of whistleblower sources. As has often been the case in Texas, journalists’ notes and other unpublished material are the first things law enforcement tries to obtain during a criminal investigation. Texas law has long recognized the need to obtain testimony from journalists who are eyewitnesses to crimes, and these bills would not prevent that from happening unconditionally. They would, however, give Texas judges the necessary legal framework to decide whether or not such testimony is vital to the case.
Newsroom cooperation with law enforcement and the courts is important, but newspapers need to be able to act independently of the government on which they are reporting. If journalists are viewed as just another branch of law enforcement, sources with sensitive information will be less willing to come forward, fearing a subpoena and the consequences it could bring to their reputation, career or personal safety. Besides, journalists aren’t paid nearly enough to work double duty as criminal investigators.
Some of the most important news stories in recent years only came to light after anonymous individuals came forward. In Texas alone, whistleblowers have alerted us to the Enron scandal, Texas Youth Commission scandal, Dallas Independent School District steroid abuse and Department of Public Safety security failures regarding the arson attack at the Governor’s Mansion. Even the recent SG election controversy was first brought to light by an anonymous source. If newspapers are the fourth estate, anonymous sources are its foundation.
Like so many bills before it, the free-flow bill died last session because time simply ran out. But thanks to the leadership of Chairman Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, this bill won’t suffer the same fate, as it was the first piece of legislation to be considered by the committee. The House version of the bill will likely see a vote in the next two weeks.
In the spirit of accessibility and transparency, we’re including the names and contact information of every member on the House Civil Jurisprudence and Judiciary committee.
Let them know how much support this important bill has behind it.
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