Building the Liberty Institute at University of Texas at Austin

Dear William Pate:

Thank you for your interest in the public records of The University of Texas at Austin.
Your request has been given the reference number R002247-102121 for
tracking purposes. Your request is being processed in accordance with Chapter
552 of Texas Government Code, the Public Information Act. We will respond to
you on or before 11/5/2021. Records Requested: To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

All materials and communications related to any proposal or plan to create a "Liberty Institute" (and/or any other designation used to refer to the organization) at The University of Texas at Austin between 2010 and the date this request is processed.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

William Pate

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/
PLEASE NOTE: The Public Information Act, found in Chapter 552 of Texas Government Code, does not require a governmental body to create new
information, to do legal research, or to answer questions.

You can monitor the progress of your request at the link below and you'll receive an email when your request has been completed. Again, thank you for using The University of Texas at Austin Public Information Portal.
The University of Texas at Austin
To monitor the progress or update this request please log into the Public Information Portal (https://utexas.mycusthelp.com/WEBAPP/_rs/CustomerIssues.aspx)

RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST # R002247-102121


Dear William Pate,

The University of Texas at Austin received a public information request from you which provides as follows:
To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

All materials and communications related to any proposal or plan to create a "Liberty Institute" (and/or any other designation used to refer to the organization) at The University of Texas at Austin between 2010 and the date this request is processed.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

William Pate

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/

Section 552.222 of the Texas Public Information Act permits a governmental body to ask a requestor to clarify or narrow a request for information if the request is unclear or if a large amount of information has been requested.  The purpose of this letter is to ask that you clarify or narrow your request by providing us with more information about the particular records you seek.  The following paragraph highlights the aspect of your request that we find to be unclear or overly broad.

In this case, we consider your request to be overly broad and wish to discuss how it might be narrowed. First, because any University employee may have documents "related to any proposal or plan to create a 'Liberty Institute'", we would have to ask every University employee to search their records since 2010 for responsive information. We consider any such request to be overly broad. Accordingly, we first ask that you specify one or two particular University departments or employees whose records we should search for responsive information. We suggest the Office of the President and the Development Office, as those seem to have been most involved with this effort.

Additionally, we ask that you consider narrowing your request to seek information that specifically pertains to some aspect of the Liberty Institute. The best way to do this is to suggest one or two keywords that should be present within the responsive information, along with the term "Liberty Institute".

Finally, we ask that you consider narrowing the timeframe of your request. We suggest limiting the timeframe to September 23, 2020, to present, since that was the date that President Hartzell was formally appointed.

Please let us know how you wish to proceed.  Upon receipt of your response, we will resume work on your request.  You may deliver your response by replying to this email or by any one of the following means:

By U.S. Mail:
Attn:  Open Records Coordinator
Office of the Vice President for Legal Affairs
The University of Texas at Austin
P.O. Box R
Austin, Texas 78713-8918
By Hand Delivery:
Office of the Vice President for Legal Affairs
Peter T. Flawn Academic Center, Suite 438
2304 Whitis Avenue
Austin, Texas 78712
By Fax:
512-471-1255
Please note that, in accordance with section 552.222 of the Texas Government Code, your request will be considered withdrawn if you do not respond to this request for narrowing and clarification in writing within 61 days from the date of this letter.
If you have any questions, please contact my office at 512-471-8300. Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,


Bob Davis
Open Records Coordinator
Office of the Vice President for Legal Affairs

To view the full details of this request please log into the Public Information Portal. (https://utexas.mycusthelp.com/WEBAPP/_rs/CustomerIssues.aspx)