Although the government still hides too much information about a secret telephone records surveillance program known as Hemisphere, we have learned through EFF’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits that police tout the massive database of private calls as “Google on Steroids."
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Update, Nov. 29, 2016: Provisions in the 21st Century Cures Act dealing with disclosure of physician payments were removed from the bill Tuesday, following criticism from some lawmakers and transparency advocates, a GOP aide said.
Original lede:
This week, Congress is expected to consider a bill promoting biomedical research and innovation that would also weaken requirements on pharmaceutical and medical device companies to disclose certain payments to doctors.
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Read More… from Medical Innovation Bill Would Water Down Disclosure of Industry Payments to Doctors
The Virginia Coalition for Open Government is pleased to announce the winners of its 2016 open government awards. The awards are given to individuals or organizations who have made use of public information laws to keep government accountable and to inform their fellow citizens.
Professor Marc Edwards from Virginia Tech is this year’s Laurence E. Richardson citizen award winner; Sarah Kleiner and Katy Evans of the Richmond Times-Dispatch will receive the media award; and Arlington County will receive the award for government.
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Read More… from Virginia Coalition for Open Government: 2016 Open Government Award Winners
Gov. Terry Branstad said Monday that a review of the state's open records laws is "appropriate" following disagreements about whether video of a Cedar Rapids officer-involved shooting should be made public.
"This is kind of a recent development of these police cameras," he said. "I think it would be appropriate for us to carefully review our laws."
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Read More… from IA Gov: Review of open records laws ‘appropriate’ after shooting
Members of the House of Representatives get an annual budget for their Washington and district offices, but how they spend it is up to them. There are some rules: It can’t be used for personal or campaign expenses, and there is no reserve source of money if lawmakers spend all of their allowances.
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Read More… from ProPublica/Sunlight Foundation: House Office Expenditure Data
With state and local government secrecy on the rise in many U.S. jurisdictions, this database offers a view of state open records and open meetings laws, and provides information about how to get what you are looking for, as well as ensure that government is operating in the sunlight.
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Read More… from From MJS: Open records laws across the nation
The NYPD does not keep detailed data explaining how or where property is seized during arrests, city lawyers say in court documents obtained by the Daily News.
The department’s Property and Evidence Tracking System, or PETS, can’t provide a breakdown of how much money or property — including vehicles — is seized on a precinct-by-precinct basis, city lawyers recently claimed in Manhattan Supreme Court filings.
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The office within the National Archives and Records Administration tasked with overseeing Freedom of Information Act activities across government has tapped Alina Semo as its new director.
Semo, who has served as NARA's director of litigation in the Office of General Counsel since March 2014, will take over as director of the Office of Government Information Services. OGIS was established under the OPEN Government Act of 2007 as the ombudsman between FOIA requesters and federal agencies.
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The Boston Police Department is on the verge of buying new software that will scan social media and the Internet for criminal activity and threats to public safety — a step that civil liberties groups say is a worrisome risk to free speech and privacy.
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Read More… from Boston police set to buy social media monitoring software
An attorney for the Freedom of Information Commission has tentatively ruled that state police violated the state’s Freedom of Information Act when the agency required written permission from a prosecutor for the release of documents while a case was pending prosecution.
Hearing Officer Lisa Fein Siegel found in her Nov. 9 report, stemming from a complaint from the Record-Journal, that the law enforcement agency’s policy violated state law regarding the release of arrest records during pending prosecution.
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Read More… from CT: Hearing officer says state police policy on arrest records violated FOI law
