From NFOIC: A few state FOIA and local open government news items selected from many of interest that we might or might not have drawn attention to earlier in the week. While you're at it, be sure to check out State FOIA Friday Archives.
Minnesota high court: Business not subject to open-records laws
The Minnesota Supreme Court ruling reversed a Court of Appeals decision in case involving an Ely newspaper. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a private business that contracted with a northern school district to renovate buildings isn’t subject to state open-records laws. The ruling means that Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls doesn’t have to reveal to Timberjay Newspapers of Tower, Minn., details of its subcontract with a Minnesota architectural firm to build schools in St. Louis County. The high court reversed the Appeals Court’s October ruling, which had been viewed as a victory for public access to government contracts.
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Vanderbilt rape records request denied again, Tennessee
Nashville officials on Thursday again denied a request for records related to the investigation of a June 23 incident in which four football players at Vanderbilt University are accused of raping an unconscious female student. The Tennessean and its attorney are weighing their response.
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N.M. Judge says state can keep audit secret
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — The state can keep secret an audit that prompted it to freeze payments to providers of mental health and substance abuse treatment, a state district judge ruled Thursday. Judge Douglas Driggers rejected a request by the Las Cruces Sun-News and New Mexico In Depth to order the Human Services Department to release the audit under state open records laws. But he did leave open the possibility of a new hearing in six months to see if more of the 300-page document can be released later.
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Clinton records trial delayed to Jan. 30, IA
CLINTON — A trial on the enforcement actions related to the city of Clinton not releasing records of closed sessions has been continued. In a summary judgment issued Tuesday, the city was found to have violated the state open records law in not releasing the records of a series of six closed meetings held regarding the lawsuit filed over the ambulance service billing practices. The Wednesday trial was to present arguments on the penalties and enforcement.
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Conservative thinktank wants emails of outspoken UNC law professor
The Civitas Institute, a Raleigh-based conservative group, has filed a public records request for emails and correspondence of Gene Nichol, a tenured University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill law professor who has been critical of McCrory Administration policies. The public records request for Nichol’s emails was reported Thursday afternoon by Sue Sturgis of the Institute for Southern Studies, a group which has closely tracked spending by Art Pope, a wealthy Republican donor serving as McCrory’s budget director. Civitas is funded almost entirely by a family foundation run by Pope.
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Another View: FOIA fixes would help, Michigan
A committee in the Michigan House has sent a bill making essential improvements to the state’s Freedom of Information Act to the full chamber for consideration, likely later this year. That is good news for media organizations that fight battles to get public information on a regular basis. But it’s even better news for citizens, who are entitled to see records that let them evaluate the quality of their government.
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PA local agencies may have violated law
Two local government entities may have violated the state’s Open Meetings Law, also known as the Sunshine Act, related to how officials handled executive sessions in October. The Express documented how local government handled executive sessions during October. During that time period, Keystone Central School Board and Wayne Township’s Board of Supervisors went into executive sessions during public meetings and the boards may have violated the Sunshine Act after potentially failing to offer proper explanation for the executive sessions, according to case law and a legal expert’s interpretation of the law.
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Sterling cancels mediation hearing in FL public records case
A hearing set for this morning in a lawsuit involving a public records request for a town official’s emails was cancelled Wednesday afternoon.
Sterling Palm Beach had asked for mediation in hopes of resolving key issues prior to a Dec. 13 hearing involving documents related to lease negotiations for the Royal Poinciana Playhouse. However, Sterling cancelled the hearing, which was a request to set mediation. Calls to John Little, Sterling’s attorney, were not returned.
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Wyo. Supreme Court hears arguments in records case involving frack chemical trade secrets
CHEYENNE, Wyoming — The state Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday over whether a trade secrets exemption in Wyoming’s public records law may be invoked to shield from disclosure many of the chemicals the petroleum industry uses in hydraulic fracturing. The landowner group Powder River Basin Resource Council and environmentalists including the Wyoming Outdoor Council argued that individual ingredients in the various chemical products used during hydraulic fracturing can’t be considered trade secrets. Therefore, they say, the information on file with the state must be disclosed to the public.
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Colorado couple sues town for records in February police shooting
The ACLU and a Castle Rock couple whose car was hit by a police officer’s bullet while he was responding to a burglary in February are suing town officials for records related to the shooting and the officer’s conduct. Town and police officials have repeatedly denied Michael and Susan Cardellas’ open-records requests for documents detailing the internal investigation into the Feb. 21 shooting, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday. The couple also wants information concerning Officer Terry Watts’ conduct about 1 p.m. that day, when he fired his rifle at fleeing burglary suspects in a Ford Explorer.
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University of Central Florida ignores FOIA request
A federal judge has ordered UCF to release documents involved in a same-sex parenting study, but UCF has obtained legal counsel in efforts to block the release. More than 50,000 documents relating to the parenting study, which appeared in Social Science Research — a publication housed at UCF — have been requested, but not submitted.
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Journalism background expected to serve new asst. attorney general in Washington well
OLYMPIA – Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced on Monday that he has selected Olympia attorney Nancy Krier to serve full time as the office’s Open Government Assistant Attorney General. Prior to pursuing her law degree at the University of Washington, Krier worked several years as a reporter.
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CT lawmaker scrambles after political consulting revelations
Rep. Geoffrey Luxenberg tried to skirt open-government laws by directing a state legislative aide to communicate with him by text message to his personal cellphone or to a personal email account. The Democrat from Manchester also asked legislative staffers to draft “talking points” to help him and his “surrogates” in interviews with reporters. The staffers told him they couldn’t do that because the issue involved his private business, not his actions as a state representative.
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Idaho open government group objects to closed Twin Falls meetings
TWIN FALLS • Idahoans for Openness in Government filed a complaint against the city of Twin Falls Tuesday, claiming city officials have repeatedly violated the state’s open meeting law. The complaint stems from the city’s use of closed subcommittees. The panels are made up of fewer than four City Council members, plus city staff and citizens. The groups make recommendations on who should fill open city positions and on city finances, for example.
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