The recent story regarding disclosure by private government's and government agencies of hazardous chemical stockpiles is interesting for a couple of reasons.
Abbott says companies must release chemical info but state does not. Lauren McGaughy, HoustonChronicle.com ($)
Confusing headline notwithstanding the story is pretty straight-forward. Abbott has ruled that there are differing standards for private entities in regards to disclosure of hazardous material than there are for state agencies. Private entities, per Abbott, must disclose this information while state agencies need not.
While this sounds vicious and ominous it follows a pattern of law that sets different legal standards for government and private industry in almost all areas. What's troubling is that Abbott is trying to use public safety in the form of keeping information from terrorists as the primary reason for the state exemption. If public safety really were the primary concern then no entity would be required to disclose this information to an un-credentialed member of the public. Private sector ammonium nitrate is just as dangerous as ammonium nitrate held in government hands after all.
The rest of the story reads like a children's playground exchange with "then sue me" actually being a phrase written by a public official in Texas. You also have the Wendy! Davis campaign desperately making a mountain out of a molehill and advocacy groups friendly to her campaign trying to suggest that this issue is a campaign killer for Attorney General Abbott. It's not, and a vast majority of voters are likely to not even care, but it's worth about 24 hours in a news cycle and then it will go away.
Of course, the Davis campaign would like for this to very much not go away and I'm sure that they'll continue to push this as hard as possible as they desperately try to gain some traction before school starts back up and people get distracted by their daily lives.
