Governance & records
Records / Public Information (FOIA/PIA)
Every request tracked, every deadline met, every response on the record.
Take in public information requests through one bilingual form, track every one against its statutory deadline, and build the response — review, redaction, release — in the same place. Records you release once can publish straight to a transparency portal, so the next request never gets filed.
The challenge
Requests arrive by email, by mail, and on paper at the counter, then live in a spreadsheet only one person understands. The Texas Public Information Act gives you ten business days, and the clock doesn't care that the responsive records sit in three departments — or that the request came in Spanish.
In practice
Ten business days on the clock
On Monday morning, a resident submits a request through the transparency portal — in Spanish — asking for the inspection records on a shuttered carnicería. The system timestamps it, sends her a bilingual confirmation, and starts the ten-business-day clock the Texas Public Information Act sets. The records clerk sees the new request at the top of her queue with the due date already computed, and routes pieces of it to health and code enforcement.
As records come back, she reviews them in one workspace, redacts the personal information the law protects, and logs the response — what was released, what was withheld, and on what grounds. Because those same inspection records get asked for every few months, she publishes the releasable set to the transparency portal. The next person finds them with a search instead of a request, and no clock ever starts.
What it does
- 01
One bilingual front door
Requests come in through a single online form, in English or Spanish — no more hunting through inboxes and fax trays.
- 02
The statutory clock, computed for you
Every request carries its due date from the moment it arrives, business days counted correctly, the queue sorted by what's due next.
- 03
Routing across departments
Split a request into pieces, send each to the office that holds the records, and watch everything come back to one place.
- 04
Redaction in the workflow
Mark and redact protected information before release, right where the response is built — not in a separate PDF tool.
- 05
Every response logged
What was released, what was withheld, and why — recorded per request, ready when someone asks how it was handled.
- 06
A portal that prevents requests
Publish frequently requested records once; the next person finds them by searching instead of filing.
How it works
A request arrives
A requester files through the bilingual form — or staff enter one that came by mail — and it's timestamped with a confirmation sent.
The clock starts
The due date is computed automatically and the request routes to the departments that hold the records.
Gather, review, redact
Responsive records collect in one workspace, where staff review them and redact what the law protects.
Respond, log, and publish
The response goes out and is logged in full — and releasable records can post to the transparency portal for everyone.
English and Spanish
Bilingual by design
The request form, every status notice to the requester, and the transparency portal are all in English and Spanish — a resident can file, follow, and read released records entirely in either language. The staff workspace for review and redaction is a staff tool, so the bilingual emphasis stays on the public-facing side.
Premium AI add-on
CiVQ AI: find the records, suggest the redactions
CiVQ AI helps locate responsive records across departments from the request's own wording, so the search starts in minutes instead of meetings. During review, it suggests redactions — the personal information the law protects — for the clerk to confirm, with the human decision always on the record.
Get started
See CiVQ in your language.
Book a 30-minute walkthrough with our team in Rio Grande City. We'll tailor it to your city, county, or district.
Bilingual support included at every tier.