Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed into law on Wednesday measures that transform campaign finance rules and a government accountability board — two bills pushed by the very same conservative political groups implicated in an investigation into his campaign.
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Read More… from Conservative groups helped gut Wisconsin election laws
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) asked FBI Director James Comey to explain the purpose of a new FBI policy requiring people to upload copies of government-issued identification when filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, in a letter sent Monday.
“I write to express my strong concern that the ID requirement presents serious legal and privacy concerns,” Wyden wrote to Director Comey. “The FBI’s new eFOIA system imposes a requirement that can neither be found in statutory law nor case law.”
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Read More… from Senator questions FBI ID policy on Freedom of Information Act requests
Senior members of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration received and sent emails about the video of the police shooting of Laquan McDonald long before the mayor said he was fully briefed, emails obtained by NBC5 News show.
The emails were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request and show that the mayor’s chief of staff, deputy chief of staff and top press aides were included in email chains.
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Read More… from City hall emails show trail to top Emanuel aides
The head of the state's Public Records Board said it did not change the meaning of a "transitory" record at its August meeting.
Matt Blessing, an archivist with the Wisconsin Historical Society and chairman of the Public Records Board, said the board did not change its policy at the meeting, but rather expanded the description of what constitutes a "transitory" record including more specific examples to guide staff in training and orientation.
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Read More… from Wisconsin Public Records Board head: We didn’t change transitory records definition
Nebraska lawmakers will consider a proposal next year that would place more agencies on the state's spending transparency website.
State Treasurer Don Stenberg and state Sen. John McCollister announced Tuesday that they will propose legislation that would require quasi-public agencies to submit their financial records for publication. Financial information would appear on the website, www.statespending.nebraska.gov.
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Read More… from Nebraska bill would put more state agencies on transparency site
The Department of Justice helped kill a bill intended to enhance transparency and refuses to release records on its efforts to block the legislation, the Freedom of the Press Foundation claims in court.
The nonprofit watchdog sued the Department of Justice in Federal Court Monday, seeking immediate disclosure of its communications with members of Congress on bills that would force the DOJ to release more records to the public.
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Read More… from Press freedom group says Justice Department helped kill transparency bill
A Colorado state senator plans to introduce legislation next session that will require governments to provide electronic databases in the format they're kept after open records advocates questioned why some government agencies are less transparent.
Denver and other governments often provide databases and spreadsheets in locked PDF formats even when the records are maintained in Microsoft Excel or other formats, which make them easier to sort and analyze.
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Read More… from Colorado lawmaker plans bill to make government more transparent
The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council took the right step this week in filing a complaint against the state Public Records Board, alleging violations of the state's open records law. The violations are serious and require a thorough examination by the Dane County district attorney, with whom the complaint was filed.
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As more and more law enforcement officers throughout the state strap on body cameras to do their work, both the officers and the people with whom they interact are safer, and more accountable.
People who disagree with an officer’s version of an encounter can go to the videotape to be proved right — or wrong. When officers are accused of using too much force, for example, they can use video to acquit themselves — or not.
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Read More… from Editorial: Adjust body camera rules in South Carolina
This summer, Jeffrey Roberts fielded a call at his office in Denver. A resident of Elbert County, southeast of the capital, had noticed something curious: The county assessor maintained a website where the assessed value of local homes, considered a public record under Colorado law, was readily accessible. But the records for properties owned by certain local officials—including the assessor—were hidden from view.
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Read More… from How a former Denver Post journalist helps everyone in Colorado get public records
