San Antonio Public Records

Court rules Perry security records can stay secret

AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Rick Perry's safety concerns trump public records law and details from his travel expense records for his security force can be kept secret, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday.

Perry and the Texas Department of Public Safety have been fighting to keep the records closed since 2007, when the parent companies of the Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express News and the Austin American-Statesman sued to get them.

DPS has in the past released expense totals but not a detailed accounting of how they add up. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said those details should be kept secret because providing too much information about Perry's security could put him in danger. Perry, who is considering running for president, has made recent trips to New York, Louisiana and California.

Two lower courts ruled that the documents should be public record, but those were overturned by the unanimous Supreme Court ruling written by Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson.

"Freedom from physical harm is indeed a hallmark of our common law," the ruling said.

However, Friday's ruling did not close off all the records for good. The ruling sent the case back to the trial court with orders for DPS to provide expert testimony on what records would put Perry in danger if released.

The Supreme Court ordered the lower court to give DPS experts some deference and to consider the testimony in the context of the new personal safety determination. But it also noted that "vague assertions of harm will not carry the day."

In September 2010, The Associated Press obtained figures showing a 12-day Perry trip to Asia cost taxpayers more than $129,000. The Republican governor went to China, Taiwan and South Korea. DPS released totals for expense categories, such as airfare, hotels and overtime.

The agency would not say how many DPS officers traveled with Perry or where they stayed.

Releasing detailed vouchers could reveal the size of Perry's security force, how far in advance they arrive at Perry's destination and what type of vehicles they use, DPS said.

The Texas Legislature earlier this week passed a law that would allow trip details to remain secret for 18 months. The bill is not retroactive and would only apply to future trips.

Public deserves access to Perry travel records - San Antonio ...

Reasonable people can disagree about whether Gov. Rick Perry 's ambitious travel agenda benefits Texas, but records detailing tax dollars spent while he is on the road should be public.

Yet Perry has renewed his efforts to hide from public view the Department of Public Safety security expenses required to accommodate his travel.

The Express-News reported this week that Perry is asking lawmakers to add a provision keeping those records secret to a school finance bill that is working its way through the ongoing special session.

Even members of Perry's own political party have expressed doubts about the wisdom of indulging his penchant for secrecy.

Perry's request comes after two measures that would have hidden public expenditures on his security detail failed to pass in the regular legislative session, the Express-News noted.

Additionally, the Express-News and the Houston Chronicle won lower court rulings requiring the release of DPS vouchers related to Perry's travels, which include 23 foreign trips since he became governor, but the DPS has appealed the rulings to the Texas Supreme Court .

DPS officials claim releasing the information about Perry's patterns of travel and the number of officers on his security detail would be a security risk, but that excuse doesn't hold water.

As newspaper lawyers have noted, records are being sought long after trips are taken.

The specifics of the security team's expenses clearly are public record and would not give any advance notice about what Perry will do or where he will be next.

The state has released lump sum expenses — the security costs for 23 foreign trips over seven years were about $1 million — but declines to release vouchers that reveal details.

As newspaper lawyer Bill Christian told the Express-News, details such as expenditures in 2005 for a golf cart and scuba diving equipment “would be lost forever” if Perry gets his way. The newspapers filed suit in 2007 after the state stopped releasing such details.

Hiding this information long after the trips does nothing but give Perry political cover. Texans have a right to know how their tax dollars are being spent.

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