Photo: In Texas, government denials of record requests have soared

ADVANCE FOR USE SUNDAY, MARCH 12, 2017 AND THEREAFTER-FILE - In this May 25, 2016 file photo, Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announces Texas' lawsuit to challenge President Obama's transgender bathroom order during a news conference in Austin, Texas. In Texas, reporters seeking public documents and data are increasingly running into a road block: the state attorney general's office. The agency is the arbiter of the state's open records laws, yet in recent years has been flooded with requests from governments at all levels seeking to withhold information. The agency almost always allows them to do so. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)[/caption]