The Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed a bill Thursday revamping the state’s much-maligned public records law, considered one of the least effective in the country.
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Read More… from Massachusetts passes public records reform bill
Sumner County Schools' most recent legal bills show the district has spent more than $113,000 defending an open records case now headed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
Sumner school board members voted unanimously on Dec. 1, 2015 to appeal Judge Dee David Gay’s ruling that the district violated the Tennessee Public Records Act when it refused a Joelton man’s records request.
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Read More… from Tennessee school district’s legal bills in records fight climb to $113,000
The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday fought over open-records laws covering unsubstantiated misconduct allegations against public servants.
The case at hand stems from requests by The Lakeland Times newspaper for state records on its communications with Vilas County District Attorney Albert Moustakis and its investigations into his conduct.
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Read More… from Tensions soar in Wisconsin over public records
The Arizona Legislature is considering a pair of bills that would limit public access to government records and make it more difficult for individuals to recoup legal costs in battles with the government over those records.
Supporters said the intent is to protect crime victims and witnesses and to prevent individuals from using records requests to harass local governments.
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Read More… from Arizona bills would limit access to public records
Virginians should be immensely proud of a Virginia Tech professor and his research team’s members for their role in exposing the poisoning of Flint, Mich., residents who were forced to drink toxic water that was laced with dangerously high levels of lead.
The leader of the team is civil engineering professor Marc Edwards. He volunteered his time and considerable money (estimated at $150,000 of his own funds) after being contacted last summer by a Flint mother who conducted an Internet search for help after becoming concerned about the water coming into her home.
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Read More… from Column: Flint case shows records should be open to all
The Massachusetts Senate plans to debate legislation that ideally should be aimed at giving the state’s public records law – one of the weakest in the nation – a much-needed backbone transplant.
Last fall, the Massachusetts House approved its version of the bill, but changes rendered the final result anemic. The Senate, which recorded 64 amendments to its own bill this week, now has a chance to make things right.
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Read More… from Editorial: Massachusetts Senate should toughen public records law
In a debate that could reshape how the state handles its Sunshine laws, Florida lawmakers are swiftly advancing a bill that proponents say will crack down on “economic terrorists” that are abusing state law by extorting money from governments through frivolous and misleading public records requests.
But opponents say the solution is an overreaction that will “gut” the state’s open records laws and permanently cloud its Sunshine Law tradition.
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Read More… from Will a one-word change wreck or improve Florida’s public records law?
Moroni Alvarez attended traditional public school until fifth grade, when a move placed his family near Freedom Preparatory Academy in Provo.
Now seven years later, the high school senior said he appreciates the emphasis on technology, leadership and service at his charter school. But he also acknowledged there are some drawbacks that stem from the school's comparably small student body. "In my class the ratio of boys to girls is like four-to-one," he said. "No. Five-to-one."
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Legislation to subject Michigan's governor and legislature to the state's Freedom of Information Act could drop as soon as next month, say lawmakers working on the plan.
"I've been working on this project now for over a year and hopefully going to roll it out during Sunshine Week in March," said Rep. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan.
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Flooded with requests for public records, local officials in Washington want to put limits on how much information public servants have to make available to the public.
The concepts have long been enshrined in Washington state law:
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Read More… from ‘Abusive’ info requests lead to push for less government transparency in Washington
