A group of news organizations including The Texas Tribune had sued for access to the records.

Once a tool of journalists and concerned citizens to hold government accountable, open records requests have been increasingly used by political opponents and conspiracy theorists to slow down the pace of government.

At the annual conference of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, two Republican lawmakers described how government officials fail to meet transparency requirements.

The Travis County district attorney, a Democrat, says the Republican attorney general has four days to provide communications, multiple Texas news outlets first reported.