Consequently, this office is unable to be of any further assistance on this matter. The AG's decision to broaden the trade secret exception contravenes the intent of legislators who debated the open records legislation in 1973. A subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Jurisprudence added the trade secret exception to the original House bill after a lengthy public hearing at which Texas agency heads expressed their concerns with the legislation. When the subcommittee chair, Senator Bill Meier, presented the final subcommittee bill to the full committee, he explained that the trade secret exception and other exceptions added by state senators were designed to address the testimony presented by witnesses and should be construed narrowly. 91 Morales' adoption of the federal definition for the PIA's trade secret exception creates a loophole whose scope is only slowly becoming apparent.
Agencies now exercise considerable discretion over access to public information.
92 TDI sent the request to the Attorney General. TDI also suggested that an AG order to release the materials would impair the agency's ability to obtain such information in the future. The AG sided with the insurance department and ruled the information could be withheld. A requester in 1997 asked Austin's Capital Metro for Longhorn Railway information relating to hazardous materials transport and residential safety, and correspondence related to Longhorn's escrow account. Information Related to Water District Elections Can Be hard to Unearth Esteban Sosa sought the AG's help when the Bexar Metropolitan Water District ignored his request for information.