rompted by the recent police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, protesters are demanding a wide range of changes to policing, including abolition, shifting funds to other community services, and tactical reforms. A common thread across these demands is that American policing must be held accountable to the communities it serves. Accountability, however, requires […]
The National Freedom of Information Coalition and the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information issued a statement on law enforcement transparency and accountability in response to the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, and the following unrest and violence that erupted around the nation. More than 50 organizations have […]
New York state lawmakers repealed a decades-old law Tuesday that has kept law enforcement officers’ disciplinary records secret, spurred by the national uproar over the death of George Floyd. The measure to make officers’ records and misconduct complaints public is among several police accountability bills racing through the state legislature. Lawmakers passed other bills that […]
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Colorado’s sweeping police accountability and reform bill passed the state Senate on Tuesday morning with just one Republican vote against it. Senate Bill 217, sponsored by all of the state’s Democratic lawmakers, goes to the House next and is expected to head to the governor’s desk after the session concludes this week. Sen. Rhonda Fields, an Aurora […]
Read More… from Sweeping police reform bill passes Colorado Senate 32-1
At a dark time when the possibility of police accountability seems especially bleak, there is a new glimmer of light courtesy of the California Supreme Court. Under a new ruling, government agencies cannot pass the cost of redacting police body-camera footage and other digital public records onto the members of the public who requested them […]
Taxpayers are spending billions to confront the coronavirus on the front lines ― buying medical supplies, protective equipment and other essential gear. But even months into the pandemic, many states including Florida are withholding details about what they’re buying and who they’re paying, according to a new, exhaustive survey by the Associated Press. This secrecy only invites […]
May 29, 2020 For Immediate Release Contact: Daniel Bevarly Executive Director, NFOIC dbevarly@nfoic.org 352-294-7082 Knight FOI Fund supports lawsuit for “illegal” city council meeting during pandemic After the City of Sebastian (FL) Mayor Ed Dodd cancelled an April 22nd city council meeting due to the Governor Ron Desantis’ Covid-19 Emergency Declaration, three […]
Two transparency bills died Tuesday during a purge of proposals left over from before the coronavirus pandemic forced a suspension of the 2020 Colorado legislative session. Meeting for the first time since Mar. 11, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 4-1 to kill a bipartisan measure that would have required the state’s judicial branch to publish Colorado Supreme Court and […]
The Alabama governor’s emergency order allowing teleconferenced meetings in limited situations during the COVID-19 pandemic is being abused by the council majority, according to at least one Decatur, Ala., councilman. Gov. Kay Ivey’s order waives portions of the Open Meetings Act by allowing teleconferenced meetings, but only for COVID-19-related business and as “necessary to perform […]
Read More… from Alabama Council Members Debate Use of Online City Meetings
Citizens who request access to public documents under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act have the right to photograph those documents using their cellphones, the Arkansas Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday. By a 5-1 decision, the appellate court sided with Ben Motal, a Little Rock attorney who had argued against a city policy prohibiting him […]
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