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| Greg Abbott |
Abbott announced today that he would give county officials 60 days to comply with an opinion he released late last week aimed at protecting Texans' identities.
That opinion said that Social Security Numbers (SSNs) and other important personal information on public documents must be blacked out. Previously, officials had interpreted the law as saying that SSNs may be redacted.
County clerks scrambled to abide by the new ruling, with many counties reacting by closing off public access to books and web-sites. Clerks are now printing out documents and blacking out personal information.
Tarrant County Clerk Suzanne Henderson described the new system to the Associated Press as "chaos" for citizens wanting to refinance a mortgage or negotiate mineral rights.
Apparently recognizing the problems, Abbott admitted that reaction to his ruling had caused "a virtual halt to a tremendous amount of business and commerce in Texas."
Abbott consequently stayed his opinion for 60 days "in order to allow the legislature ample time for thorough deliberation and action."
Filed Under: State AGs