Tennessee Audit finds long delays for public records assistance

The state office responsible for helping Tennesseans gain access to public records and entrance to government meetings isn't keeping up with its workload — in some cases lagging more than a year behind in responding to citizens' requests for help, an audit released Wednesday found.

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ACLJ Forces IRS to Comply with the Law in Major Federal Lawsuit

The ACLJ has secured an important victory in our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case against the IRS on behalf of Citizens for a Strong New Hampshire. After a year of litigation, which followed over four months of waiting for the IRS to respond to its FOIA request, we finally succeeded in compelling the IRS to comply with its obligations under federal law.

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Florida Open government watchdog group announces award

A north Florida woman and a Lake City newspaper publisher are being honored by an open government watchdog group.

The First Amendment Foundation said Tuesday it is giving its 2015 open government award to Barbara Jeffords Lemley of Lake City and Columbia County Observer publisher Stew Lilker.  Continue…

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Virginia Judge sides with open government advocate in suit against Hopewell City Council

Hopewell’s City Council erred last January in discussing electing its leadership behind closed doors, a Circuit Court judge has ruled in what open-government advocates believe to be the first legal test of its kind.

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Judge questions Wyoming laws barring collection of open lands data; allows lawsuit to proceed

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit contesting two new Wyoming laws barring people from gathering information about agriculture and other industries on private and public lands.

U.S. District Judge Scott Skavdahl in Casper made the ruling Monday after questioning the constitutionality of the laws.  Continue…

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West Virginia’s Secretary of State Natalie Tennant: New FOIA website to launch Friday

MORGANTOWN — A website that tracks public records requests across state and local governments will be up and running by Friday, meeting the Jan. 1 deadline spelled out in state law, Secretary of State Natalie Tennant said.

Tennant told The Associated Press the site will list agencies, what was requested, when it was requested and who asked for the information.  Continue…

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Editorial: Bills threaten to dim Sunshine (Florida)

Although Florida is widely considered to have among the strongest open-records laws in the nation, that reputation is imperiled every year when lawmakers in Tallahassee seek to pass exemptions that nibble away at the public’s right to know how its government operates.

The latest attempt to amend the statutes, though, represents a potentially big bite.  Continue…

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