National Freedom of Information Coalition
Protecting Your Right to Open Government

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Media companies begin appeal of N.J. public records ruling

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New Jersey's largest newspapers and some of the biggest U.S. media companies are challenging a 2013 ruling by a Bergen County judge that they say gives government agencies in New Jersey unprecedented power to deny requests for public records.

Experts call it one of the most consequential legal battles involving privacy rights and government transparency New Jersey has seen in years. A state appeals court heard oral arguments for nearly two hours Tuesday.

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Virginia FOIA council looks to shore up public-records laws

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Virginia’s public-records panel will explore changes to state law to address the ramifications from a recent state Supreme Court ruling that advocates have warned could have sweeping effects on government transparency.

At a meeting Wednesday, the co-chairman of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act Advisory Council said the body will look into concerns raised by Sen.-elect Scott A. Surovell, D-Fairfax, who took the Department of Corrections to court last year after being denied information about the state’s procedures for carrying out the death penalty.

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Massachusetts public records bill does little to open access

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A Massachusetts House committee is set to unveil a bill that would allow those who are thwarted in seeking public records to collect attorney fees, but the measure does nothing to strengthen what is largely viewed as one of the nation’s weakest public records laws and, in fact, could make it harder to get records in some cases.

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Report: State-by-state access to consumer complaints

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As a nonprofit focused on educating and empowering consumers to protect themselves from false and deceptive advertising, truthinadvertising.org routinely files requests under the Freedom of Information Act with state and federal officials for consumer complaints lodged against companies it is investigating.

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Central Indiana cities launch open data portal

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Some of the most common data requests central Indiana city officials field are now available in an online, searchable database. Fishers, Zionsville and Greenwood are joining Indianapolis in publishing police statistics in an online web portal.

The cities are posting records of complaints against police, law enforcement use of force and officer-involved shootings all on one website. The site — data.indy.gov — launched Monday and the other cities will follow soon.

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PRESS RELEASE: Call for James Madison Award FOI nominations

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Nominations are encouraged for the 2016 James Madison Awards honoring persons and organizations in northern California who have championed freedom of information and/or freedom of speech/press/expression during the past year or over an extended time span.

The Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California Chapter, is accepting the nominations through Friday, Jan. 8. You can access an online entry form at http://bit.ly/1kKvF72. There is no contest entry fee.

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Dallas County booking records can be kept secret

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A ruling from the Texas Attorney General's office has just made it more difficult to access information about the kinds of crimes undocumented immigrants have committed in Dallas County — and whether local officials turned those offenders over to federal authorities.

In a Nov. 13 ruling, the AG's office determined that because the Dallas County Sheriff's Office booking system is maintained for use by the court system, it is not subject to the Texas Public Information Act.

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Most on-campus bodies don’t comply with open meeting law

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In order to be transparent, many on-campus groups are required to comply with the Open and Public Meetings Act, a Utah law that consists of seven key provisions. Five of these groups affect the majority of campus — students and faculty.

While these bodies are required to receive annual training on the act in order to ensure compliance, none of the groups are completely compliant with the provisions. Continue…

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