Mask Mandates (Office of the Governor)

Emma North-Best filed this request with the Office of the Governor of Texas.
Tracking #

488-21
Multi Request Mask Mandates
Submitted Aug. 25, 2021
Est. Completion None
Status
Fix Required

Communications

From: Emma North-Best

Subject: Texas Public Information Act Request: Mask Mandates (Office of the Governor)

Email

To Whom It May Concern:

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

Emails, memos, letters, documents and other records discussing or mentioning implemented or proposed mask mandate policies, as well as discussions regarding their expiration or termination between January 1, 2020 and the present.

I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities, with some reaching over 100,000 readers in outlets such as Gizmodo, MuckRock, Motherboard, Property of the People, Unicorn Riot, and The Outline, among others. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through non-profits such as the library Internet Archive and the journalist non-profit MuckRock, disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not limited to this, a great deal of it, including this, focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such, it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular subject in advance.

As my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available, I request that fees be waived.

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,

Emma North-Best

From: Office of the Governor

Subject: 488-21 North-Best - Request for Narrowing or Clarification

Email

Ms. North-Best

This email seeks to narrow or clarify your request to avoid the production of and potential charges for responsive information that you are not interested in receiving. Additionally, clarifying or narrowing the scope of your public information request can assist the Office of the Governor (the "OOG") in providing responsive information to you more quickly and potentially avoid the need for a decision from the Office of the Attorney General.

Your original request seeks, in part, "emails, memos, letters, documents and other records discussing or mentioning implemented or proposed mask mandate policies " Please respond to the following requests for narrowing or clarification:

* We understand your request to encompass communications involving every employee at the OOG. Are you willing to narrow your request to certain divisions of the OOG that are most likely to have records related to the context of your request? Narrowing your request to certain divisions that are most likely to maintain relevant records, such as the OOG's Executive and Budget & Policy Divisions, may result in locating the information most relevant to your request, to the extent it exists, and reduce the chargeable labor required to obtain any responsive information. To see a list of some of the divisions of the OOG that you may find relevant, you can visit: https://gov.texas.gov/organization.

Your narrowing or clarification of this request does not preclude you from making future requests for additional information. After we receive your response, we can begin a search of our records for the information you are seeking. If the OOG does not receive a response from you by the 61st day after the date this email is sent, your request will be considered withdrawn. See Gov't Code ยง 552.222(d), (g). The withdrawal of your request does not preclude you from requesting the same or other information in the future. You can reach us at publicrecords@gov.texas.gov<mailto:publicrecords@gov.texas.gov> or 512-475-2256 with any questions.
Best,

Kieran Hillis
Public Information Coordinator
Assistant General Counsel
Office of the Governor

Files

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