Traveler's View: National Park Service Needs To Improve Its Transparency
It's not often that the Interior Department calls, and so when caller ID indicated it was someone in the department calling, I answered the phone. The funny thing about that call, though, was it was...
View ArticleState gets 'F' for lack of public info on medical care
Connecticut is one of 41 states to earn a failing grade from health advocates for lacking public information about the quality of care provided by doctors."Consumers should be able to find out if...
View ArticleState Launches "Transparent Tennessee" Website
Governor Bill Haslam on Thursday announced the launch of “Transparent Tennessee,” an overhaul of the state’s transparency website to offer more user-friendly information online to Tennessee taxpayers....
View ArticleIn Kansas, Bills to shed light on government remain in dark
With a deadline for bills to pass one chamber of the Legislature looming next week, there has been little action on several measures meant to create more transparency in government. A proposal to open...
View ArticleNo excuse for ignorance on public's right to know
Some city of Beaufort officials say they will consider formal training to teach board and commission members about public-meeting and public-records law. The need for instruction was made starkly...
View ArticleProbation Officers Seek To Keep Personal Information From Inmates
Probation officers asked lawmakers Wednesday to consider preventing the release of their employment records to people who are under court supervision or incarcerated in the state’s prisons. Several...
View ArticleEditorial: Washington State House of Reps take strong action for open access
The state House of Representatives took strong, progressive action last week on two bills that improve citizen access to public information. Now they’re on to the Senate, where they deserve passage...
View ArticleGuest column: Kansas, let the sunshine in
“Sunshine is the strongest antiseptic … its rays may penetrate areas previously closed,” so opined the late-Hon. Robert H. Miller, a former chief justice of the Kansas Supreme Court, as he explained in...
View ArticleLocal School Board addresses FOIA request and processes for getting out info
The Shenandoah County School Board responded to recent news about Freedom of Information Act requests for employee salary data at its meeting Thursday night. In December, District 4 Supervisor Cindy...
View ArticleBill would provide more information on Md. government contracts
Greater transparency in Maryland government contracting is the goal of legislation that would provide more information about each contract on a state website. The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee...
View ArticleAdvocates slam proposal to charge for meeting records requests
A proposal that would allow governments to charge a fee for time-intensive public records requests would restrict access to information and undermine open government, a media attorney told lawmakers...
View ArticlePrivate prisons and transparency
Taxpayers fund the operations of private prisons in Oklahoma, just as they do state and federal ones — but they largely don’t have access to the same information and records about those private...
View ArticleTulsa computer experts create new civic innovations, apps using city's open...
Computer experts in Tulsa are joining together for a weekend of civic innovation. It's part of an international weekend of locally held events to use open government data and put it to good use. In...
View ArticleCourt rules attorney fees not mandatory
Open-government advocates are disturbed by a public-records ruling handed down by the Ohio Supreme Court last week. The justices voted 6-1 to uphold a ruling against a South Euclid woman who was...
View ArticleCoders Interpret Burlington's Open Data
The city of Burlington took a huge step toward more open government last week when officials released a wide variety of data on the city’s website. Now, coders are interpreting that data and trying to...
View ArticleAP chief urges governments to support free press
The Associated Press' executive editor called on governments around the world to support an independent press, warning Monday that efforts to silence the media through intimidation and violence are...
View ArticleBill moves to study FOIA exemptions
Want to know what your government is really up to? The Virginia Freedom of Information Act allows citizens of the commonwealth (and representatives of the media) to gain access to numerous records...
View ArticleNote to the Arkansas task force on FOIA: Just follow the law
A task force has been appointed by the chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, and members of the Arkansas news media have been invited to meet with the group Friday. I wasn’t one of...
View ArticleTransparency in N.J. Government: Legislation Aimed at Giving Taxpayers a...
http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/economy/transparency-in-nj-government-legislation-aimed-at-giving-taxpayers-a-website-to-track-state-financesThe “Transparency in Government Act,” sponsored by Assembly...
View ArticleChris Horner, FOIA watchdog, demands transparency from government's global...
Chris Horner is deeply serious about his role as a climate-truth watchdog, but his sense of humor about his detractors is deliciously dark. Take the story that broke just after New Year's of a Russian...
View ArticlePrivacy and access laws across Canada
British Columbia British Columbia's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act came into effect on Oct. 4, 1993. A year later, the legislation was expanded to include municipalities,...
View ArticleNational Press Club to Host D.C. Open Government Coalition Forum
The National Press Club, as part of its participation in Sunshine Week, is hosting a panel discussion the evening of Wednesday, March 19 at 6:30 p.m. on transparency in the District of Columbia.read more
View ArticleOpEd - Huge portion of FOIA Officers in Illinois ignored mandated training,...
Recent requests to see the FOIA officer training and certifications at the 34 state agencies listed on the Attorney general’s website: 60% were not current and violating mandatory state law.read more
View ArticleLocal Canadian Police agency defends FOI exemption
Putting Saskatchewan's municipal police under freedom of information and privacy legislation would be a pricey proposition for the Regina Police Service, according to its chief. It would require...
View ArticleHouse unanimously passes FOIA bill
The House on Tuesday unanimously passed a bill that would make Freedom of Information requests easier with potentially faster response times. H.R. 1211, the FOIA Oversight and Implementation Act of...
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