Texas Department of Criminal Justice Book Bans
It is a clone of this request.
| Tracking # |
0210-06-2022 |
| Submitted | June 3, 2022 |
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Communications
From: Adam Steinbaugh
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
1. A copy of any current list of books, printed materials, or other forms of media not permitted in facilities operated by or under the supervision of the Department of Criminal Justice.
2. A copy of any written notice of disapproval issued by a Director's Review Committee. This request is limited to notices issued on or after January 1, 2022.
3. A copy of any appeals from a notice of disapproval. This request is limited to appeals from notices issued on or after January 1, 2022.
4. A copy of any decision rendered by a Director's Review Committee concerning books, magazines, or other media. This request is limited to decisions rendered on or after January 1, 2022.
5. A copy of any list of publications disapproved for receipt generated since January 1, 2021. This list is referenced at section IV(F)(3) of Policy BP-03.91 (rev. 5), dated June 25, 2021 and available at https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/documents/policy/BP0391.pdf.
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,
Adam Steinbaugh
From: Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Mr. Steinbaugh,
We are writing in response to your June 3rd request for public information concerning books and publications. We are seeking clarification as to item #3 and asking whether you will narrow the scope of item #2.
Regarding item #3, you seek copies of any appeals from a notice of disapproval. When a publication is denied at the unit level, an appeal to the Director's Review Committee is automatic. The appeals are not written or submitted by inmates. Are you seeking copies of the appeals that are automatic, or are you seeking appeals that were submitted by inmates? Our initial interpretation of your request is that you are seeking appeals written and submitted by inmates. Any clarification you can provide will be helpful.
Regarding item #2, we anticipate it will take a minimum of 10 hours to locate and compile the information you are seeking. The responsive information will contain confidential inmate information (Tex. Gov't Code 552.134) and require redaction, which will add additional time to the processing of this request. Are you able to narrow the timeframe for item #2 or exclude it altogether? If not, we will prepare a cost estimate and provide it to you before proceeding any further with your request.
Please note, if by the 61st Day after the date of this letter no written response is received from you, your open records request will be considered withdrawn pursuant to Texas Government Code ยง 552.222.
Thank you,
Office of the General Counsel-TDCJ
P: (936) 437-6700
The information contained in this email and any attachments is intended for the exclusive use of the addressee(s) and may contain confidential, privileged, or proprietary information. Any other use of these materials is strictly prohibited. This email shall not be forwarded outside the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Office of the General Counsel, without the permission of the original sender. If you have received this material in error, please notify me immediately by telephone and destroy all electronic, paper, or other versions.
From: Adam Steinbaugh
Hello --
With respect to request number 3, you're correct -- I'm only seeking copies of appeals that are not automatic. However, to the extent that there are decisions on automatic appeals, please include those.
With respect to request number 2, I think we can leave it as is. Can you send me an estimate for that?
Thank you!
Adam Steinbaugh
From: Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Good Afternoon,
Attached you will find the cost estimate for your Public Information Request dated, June 3, 2022.
Thank you,
Office of the General Counsel-TDCJ
P: (936) 437-6700
The information contained in this email and any attachments is intended for the exclusive use of the addressee(s) and may contain confidential, privileged, or proprietary information. Any other use of these materials is strictly prohibited. This email shall not be forwarded outside the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Office of the General Counsel, without the permission of the original sender. If you have received this material in error, please notify me immediately by telephone and destroy all electronic, paper, or other versions.
From: Adam Steinbaugh
To Whom It May Concern:
Please find enclosed a check for $216.00 to satisfy the fee associated with the attached public records request.
Thank you.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Office of the General Counsel
P.O. Box 4004
Huntsville, TX 77342
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Texas Public Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 3, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Mr. Steinbaugh,
We are working through your request and anticipate having a finalized response in the next 30 days. The goal is to complete this request in a shorter timeframe, but due to the current workload it is possible it may take 30 days. We have not yet cashed your check in the event that the labor required to complete this request is significantly higher than we estimated. If that's the case, we will reach out to you to discuss the best path forward.
We appreciate your patience. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns in the meantime.
Thank you,
Office of the General Counsel-TDCJ
P: (936) 437-6700
The information contained in this email and any attachments is intended for the exclusive use of the addressee(s) and may contain confidential, privileged, or proprietary information. Any other use of these materials is strictly prohibited. This email shall not be forwarded outside the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Office of the General Counsel, without the permission of the original sender. If you have received this material in error, please notify me immediately by telephone and destroy all electronic, paper, or other versions.
From: Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Mr. Steinbaugh,
We significantly underestimated how many hours it would take to process and complete your request. Pursuant to Texas Government Code ยง 552.2615, we are sending an updated estimate of charges. That estimate is attached.
We understand this is a significant increase in costs. Please let us know if you are interested in scheduling a call to discuss this request by phone. There are portions of your request that can be completed at no cost.
Thank you,
Office of the General Counsel-TDCJ
P: (936) 437-6700
The information contained in this email and any attachments is intended for the exclusive use of the addressee(s) and may contain confidential, privileged, or proprietary information. Any other use of these materials is strictly prohibited. This email shall not be forwarded outside the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Office of the General Counsel, without the permission of the original sender. If you have received this material in error, please notify me immediately by telephone and destroy all electronic, paper, or other versions.
From: Adam Steinbaugh
Hello -- can you clarify which parts can be completed at no cost?
Thanks in advance,
Adam Steinbaugh
From: Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Mr. Steinbaugh,
We apologize for the delay in responding. The attorney assigned to this case was out of office most of last week. We are working to verify a couple details and will follow-up ASAP.
Thank you,
Office of the General Counsel-TDCJ
P: (936) 437-6700
The information contained in this email and any attachments is intended for the exclusive use of the addressee(s) and may contain confidential, privileged, or proprietary information. Any other use of these materials is strictly prohibited. This email shall not be forwarded outside the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Office of the General Counsel, without the permission of the original sender. If you have received this material in error, please notify me immediately by telephone and destroy all electronic, paper, or other versions.
From: Adam Steinbaugh
No problem at all -- I'm not in a rush here. Thanks again!
From: Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Mr. Steinbaugh,
We appreciate your ongoing patience. TDCJ can produce items 1 and 5 to you at no cost. There is some labor involved in producing those items, but we will waive those costs. Items 2-4 are the parts of the request that generate the high cost estimate.
Are you willing to accept items 1 and 5 in satisfaction of this request? You are certainly entitled to submit additional requests in the future if you decide to seek such information at a later date.
Best regards,
Office of the General Counsel-TDCJ
P: (936) 437-6700
The information contained in this email and any attachments is intended for the exclusive use of the addressee(s) and may contain confidential, privileged, or proprietary information. Any other use of these materials is strictly prohibited. This email shall not be forwarded outside the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Office of the General Counsel, without the permission of the original sender. If you have received this material in error, please notify me immediately by telephone and destroy all electronic, paper, or other versions.
From: Adam Steinbaugh
That sounds agreeable to me. Thank you!
Adam Steinbaugh
From: Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Mr. Steinbaugh,
Attached are the records responsive to items 1 and 5 in your request. We appreciate your patience and flexibility as we worked through this request.
We still have the check you submitted a couple months ago prior to our realization that the cost for completing the original request would be far greater than our original estimate. Would you like us to return the check to you? Or, alternatively, we can shred it and send you an email confirming it has been shredded?"
Thank you,
Office of the General Counsel-TDCJ
P: (936) 437-6700
The information contained in this email and any attachments is intended for the exclusive use of the addressee(s) and may contain confidential, privileged, or proprietary information. Any other use of these materials is strictly prohibited. This email shall not be forwarded outside the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Office of the General Counsel, without the permission of the original sender. If you have received this material in error, please notify me immediately by telephone and destroy all electronic, paper, or other versions.
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DENIED_BOOKS_20220930
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