National Freedom of Information Coalition
Protecting Your Right to Open Government

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OK: Governor wins right to continue fighting open records case

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An Oklahoma County Judge ruled in favor of Governor Mary Fallin in one of the lawsuits filed against her and her actions regarding providing open records.

The ACLU of Oklahoma is representing two parties in a lawsuit and asked a judge for summary judgement in their favor after a local journalist and an Oklahoma City advocacy group had been waiting more than 900 days for records they requested from the governor’s office.

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KS: Advocates for more transparency in government testify on open records bill

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Kansas news organizations and other open-government advocates came to the state Capitol on Thursday, pushing for more transparency in government meetings and reduced costs for records.

The groups are supporting Senate bills 86 and 70 in this year’s legislative session.

SB 70 clarifies what elected officials would have to tell the public when they meet in closed sessions.

SB 86 would place new limits on the prices public agencies can charge for copies of documents requested under the Kansas Open Records Act.

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Legislation aimed at government transparency resurrected in Michigan

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On Wednesday legislation aimed at government transparency was resurrected in the Michigan State House.

The bipartisan bills would allow you to formally request information from the governor’s office down to the state legislature. However the bills may prompt a showdown between the State House and the State Senate.

House lawmakers from both parties are putting State Senators on the spot, putting them on notice that there needs to be more government transparency in Michigan.

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New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office to put finance reports by legislators, government online

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New Mexicans soon will have more insight into the private business dealings of their public officials.

The Secretary of State’s Office plans to post online later this month the latest finance reports filed by legislators and other top government officials.

Publishing the mandatory reports online is a shift in policy for the office. It stopped posting the filings in 2012 under then-Secretary of State Dianna Duran, a Republican who later resigned from office before pleading guilty to felony corruption charges.

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Virginia State Senator Amanda Chase raises transparency concerns over impromptu committee hearing

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A group of senators on Thursday briefly debated a touchy subject — whether they should prohibit themselves from using their campaign funds for personal use.

The debate happened during a meeting of the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee on the Senate floor just after adjournment, prompting a complaint from Sen. Amanda F. Chase, R-Chesterfield, that holding the meeting on the floor was not transparent for the public.

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Ruling says government can’t charge for legal review of open records under Missouri’s Sunshine Law

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A court ruling in St. Louis County last month found that Missouri public records laws do not allow government agencies to charge fees for the time they spend reviewing public records and blacking out information before turning them over to the people who requested them.

The Missouri Sunshine Law says the requester can be billed for the time it takes to locate records, but the government has the responsibility to segregate open parts from closed.

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Florida CIO: Transparency Requires Government Data to Be Available and Accessible

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Making government data ­available offers much value, to both citizens and an active democracy.

The digital age and the internet have ushered in many changes to our global culture, particularly when it comes to expectations for information access. Technology is readily available to aid in the ease and efficiency of data analysis, analytics and distribution, which citizens now expect.

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Surge in information requests, hiring freeze puts pressure on overburdened FOIA offices

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The Environment Protection Agency collected about 200 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests during the first week of the Trump administration, and more than 20 percent of them are about the new president, climate change and social media.

Larry Gottesman, director of the national FOIA program at EPA, said his agency receives about 12,000 requests per year. According to FOIAOnline, since the beginning of October, the start of fiscal 2017, the EPA has received roughly 3,200 requests.

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Air Force Academy to pay $25,000 in legal fees in open records battle

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The Air Force will pay $25,000 to cover attorney fees for the Military Religious Freedom Foundation in a Freedom of Information Act battle.

A federal district court judge in New Mexico ordered the payment last week and told the Air Force Academy to re-examine its archives for documents relating to the foundation, which goes by the acronym MRFF, and its founder Mikey Weinstein that would fall under the group's 2011 Freedom of Information Act request.

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