The 86th Texas Legislative session ended on May 27th, and just last week, Governor Greg Abbot finished signing bills into law. According to the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, 193 of those bills discussed were related to public records - three of which deserve particular attention.

More than 4,500 individuals at federal and local law enforcement agencies currently have access to a facial recognition database hosted by the Ohio Attorney General’s office, including at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

New proposed changes to FOIA law in Washington D.C. could block access to government emails dealing with “matters unrelated to public employees and officials’ work,” among other restrictions.

A rally held in Portland, Oregon last August by the far-right group Patriot Prayer turned violent after Portland Police Bureau began cracking down on counter-protesters with flash grenades and pepper spray. Newly released communication logs from that day show that while the PPB were aware of a much greater threat posed by “patriot” camp - which included many armed demonstrators, some with criminal charges and violent histories - they still chose to target the counter-protesters, leaving many injured.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts is suing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the release of records pertaining to an “immigration update” given at a law enforcement association earlier this year.