State agencies have routinely concealed from the public details of thousands of legal settlements and judgments involving millions of dollars of taxpayer money.
State payments must be recorded by the comptroller's office and a review of its records shows that over the past five years anywhere from a quarter to nearly half of the payments have been classified as "confidential."
In fact, every legal settlement and judgment paid by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in recent years has been deemed a secret.
The Austin American-Statesman reports state cases can range from car wreck injuries involving a state vehicle, whistleblower lawsuits alleging government misbehavior and beatings of inmates by state prison guards.
Open government experts say Texas laws are clear that officials cannot hide how they spend taxpayer money.
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Information from: Austin American-Statesman, http://www.statesman.com
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