Texas Lawmaker: Not so Fast on Limiting Media Access to Records
The Texas lawmaker who wanted to bar media access to the names of people involved in traffic accidents now says it probably won’t survive a court challenge and will likely be dropped.
The Senate approved the measure late on May 24 at the urging of Lubbock Republican Charles Perry.
It was added to a bill protecting accident victims from being harassed by lawyers seeking to file lawsuits. Perry wanted to protect the families of accident victims from hearing their loved one’s name in the media.
The measure would require police to issue redacted accident reports without the names and personal information of those involved. It is opposed by public records advocates.
Perry said he didn’t know a similar bill passed in 1997 was declared an unconstitutional restriction on the media.
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