CPRIT fights back

CPRIT is fighting back. According to the Dallas Morning News, "the Travis County district attorney's office ruled Wednesday that a foundation created to raise private dollars for Texas' cancer-fighting agency is not subject to the state open records act." CPRIT's lawyer, David Minton, is planning a case to explain how the foundation is not a governmental body. Wendy Davis is not giving up. She has filed another bill "that would make the CPRIT Foundation subject to the open records act." Davis' argument back in December that "Texans deserve open and transparent stewardship of their hard-earned tax dollars [and CPRIT] is currently plagued by accusations of cronyism, conflicts of interest, insider deals and a lack of transparency to to the public."
Even the Livestrong Foundation is sharing its' concerns. Doug Ulman, the president and chief executive, hopes CPRIT can be restructured because "the individuals who are facing this disease are too important to allow this to derail such a monumental effort." The Amarillo Area Breast Health Coalition, who was helped by a grant from the foundation, believes that the loss of their funds from CPRIT will cripple their program. Cancer research and screenings for patients have been helped greatly by the "nearly 500 grants totaling $836 million." (Source)
Now obviously a great deal of good has been done by the money CPRIT has provided for cancer research and preventative measures, yet it is overshadowed by the allegations of cronyism and misplaced funds. What will become of those who have benefited from the funding? CPRIT's trepidation toward providing open records is a cause of concern - what are they hiding? Or are they in the right by refusing transparency as a private (non-government) foundation?

Avery Ruxer
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