In Connecticut, open government foes are winning
With eroded powers and under continuing attack, Connecticut's first-of-a-kind Freedom of Information Act turns 40 on Thursday.
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Author: NFOIC
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Santé Fe Reporter: Faux transparency
About two years ago, Hanna Skandera, then secretary-designate of the New Mexico Public Education Department, started repeating a number. Under the state’s old teacher evaluation system, she would say over and over again, 99 percent of teachers were considered competent.
By contrasting that stat with low student test scores, Skandera was pointing to flaws in the teacher evaluation system and calling for a change. Continue….
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Supreme Court testimony: Records rules for the state judicial branch ‘do not inspire trust’
The Colorado Supreme Court heard Thursday from a state lawmaker and members of the public who are concerned about proposed regulations that will govern access to the administrative records of the Colorado Judicial Branch.
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Study: Ohio Supreme Court most often rules against open records
The Ohio Supreme Court, which serves as the ultimate referee in fights for public records, most often sides with the government, a new analysis from the Ohio Coalition for Open Government shows.
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Sunlight Foundation: Why should cities have an open data policy?
As more cities break into the world of transparency, policy remains an important piece of the open data puzzle.
But just how relevant and important is an open data policy to a successful open data program? What does it actually accomplish, not just symbolically, but functionally? Or, to put it more bluntly, why even have an open data policy? Continue…
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Make Iowa juvenile court records private, group told
The court records of convicted juveniles in Iowa should be confidential and unavailable for public review, a move that would help youth who have completed probation turn their lives around, according to a state group studying justice policy reforms.
Currently, court records of juveniles convicted of crimes can be accessed on Iowa Courts Online and from court files. Continue…
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Covert electronic surveillance prompts calls for transparency
Law enforcement officials across the U.S. have become enamored of the StingRay, an electronic surveillance device that can covertly track criminal suspects and is being used with little public disclosure and often under uncertain legal authority.
Now, though, some states are pushing back, and are requiring the police to get a court order and local consent before turning to the high-tech tool. Continue…
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Open gov advocates face obstacles when publishing state codes
Transparency advocates in the U.S. are facing legal obstacles to moving state codes online.
Though the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 200 years ago that government work can’t be copyrighted, a tug of war between private companies with contracts to publish state codes and open government activists has raised questions about the ruling’s scope. Continue…
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OpenGov Voices: “Open,” the world’s first short film on open government and open source
If you’re reading this, you’re likely familiar with the terms open government, open data and open source. You probably understand how civic engagement is being radically transformed through these movements.
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Florida First Amendment Foundation: Texting blitz to save firefighters from demotions violated spirit, intent of Sunshine Law
When it became clear Monday the Jacksonville City Council would not spend $320,000 to prevent fire department demotions, the firefighters’ union president sent out a flurry of text messages to council members in a last-ditch, real-time — and private — lobbying push for a second vote.
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