TEXAS STATE RECORDS

The Public Sector in Texas

The Public sector provides services to the general public that are aimed at providing and maintaining quality living standards, reducing inequality, and ensuring economic stability for residents and citizens of the state with no profit motive.

Why is the Public Sector Important?

Public service plays a vital role in the daily lives of the citizens and residents of the state of Texas. Government policies on the allocation of resources to education, healthcare, social services, the environment, and other critical decisions are made and implemented by and through the public sector. It is very significant in the overall economic development of the state, collaborating with the private sector and the non-profit sector to deliver sustainable and efficient quality services that meet the needs of the general public and provide solutions to community challenges. An example is the fixed-route public transportation system in the city of Paris which was achieved through a collaborative effort between the government and the non-profit sector.

Why Should Young People Take Interest in the Texas Public Sector?

1. Ensuring Fairness. Although many young people perceive the public sector as bureaucratic and backward, it is apparent that the only way they can enforce their 14th Amendment right, especially with regards to government policy and administrative decisions that affect their community and daily lives, is by speaking to be heard or taking part in the process.

2. Flexible public Administration. Following due process is one of the hallmarks of the public sector which may sometimes in critical situations be perceived as rigid and resulting in unnecessary suffering. However, a flexible public administration can be influenced by individual groups, locals affected or concerned.

3. Fostering Government Accountability. Like many states, Texas has public access to information laws including the Texas Public Information Act and The Open Meeting Act, that are designed to respond to residents’ and citizens’ rights to know. Texas also has the Open Reports and Publications portal for obtaining public data collected by the office of the Attorney General.

4. Taking up leadership. In a short foreseeable future, most of the current incumbents of public positions are bound to retire, and young people can take up those leadership roles and implement the changes they wanted to see in government, such as more public input in policy development and execution.

SCHOLARSHIP BACKGROUND

Why it’s important to have this generation’s college students voice out and provide their input regarding the public sector.

1. The availability of public records and information is very crucial to a sustainable economy, public safety, access to public services, job creation, and other opportunities. It is the main tool for igniting citizen participation. Public records provide accurate and useful information to individuals, investors, government agencies, law enforcement agencies, companies, small businesses, and the press.
2. Staterecords.org promotes public access to information by collecting and updating information from open state and local government sources in line with applicable information regulatory infrastructure in each state.
3. The scholarship program is aimed at inspiring strategic public engagement in young people in college. The $1,000 will be awarded to students who can demonstrate their knowledge of the Public sector and public records system in the state of Texas and who can propose solutions to challenges they have identified in the system and how they intend to contribute to engaging their community in the governance process