FOI Followup: Successful litigants in a lawsuit against Florida Governor Rick Scott and his cabinet return the funds to NFOIC and to the Knight Foundation FOI grant program. The grant was critical to secure legal representation that may not have occurred without the funds. Continue>>>
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Public evaluation has begun of D.C. Mayor Bowser's latest proposal for limited access to video from police body cameras, with press representatives, the D.C. police union, and now the Washington Post suggesting further work is needed, especially reconsidering a complete ban on release of any video taken anywhere a person has a "heightened expectation of privacy."
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Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit upheld a request for booking photographs of criminal defendants sought under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in Detroit Free Press v. USDOJ. Existing circuit precedent mandated this result. In their brief per curiam opinion, however, Judges Guy, Cook, and McKeague explained why they believe full 6th Circuit should reconsider this holding. Continue>>>
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Read More… from Should booking photos be subject to FOIA requests?
In his 2013 State of the City speech, Mayor Michael Hancock touted a new city website to help residents determine how officials spend tax money.
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Read More… from Colorado: Denver’s ‘transparency’ portal skips secret taxpayer-funded meals
Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), an independent non-profit research center and high-profile privacy and freedom of information advocacy group, announced yesterday that it filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court asking the Court to review the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s February 2015 judgment permitting the Department of Homeland Security to withhold releasing substantially all of a secret protocol that governs the shutdown of wireless networks in emergencies.
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Read More… from U.S. Supreme Court Asked To Review Secrecy Of DHS’s Wireless Kill Switch Policy
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser has proposed that footage from police body cameras be made available to the public if the encounter with police happened in a public place.
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Read More… from D.C. Mayor Backs Releasing Certain Police Body Cam Footage – WNEW
The city of Berkeley has officially launched a new website featuring 17 data sets related to everything from municipal water usage and employee salaries to crime heat maps, energy consumption, restaurant inspections, registered business licenses and much more.
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Read More… from California: City of Berkeley unveils new open data portal
A private vendor of the publicly-owned utility CPS Energy is suing the state Attorney General’s office in record time over an open records ruling favoring the public.
The AG ruled on July 7 that Cassidy Turley Real Estate Services/DTZ Americas has to turn over a contract it has with the San Antonio-based energy supplier as well as payment details, including incremental payouts for the completion of certain duties. Continue>>>
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Read More… from Texas: CPS Energy – A feisty public utility with a trail of open records contests
Kansas policymakers say they want to bring the state’s open records law into the 21st century and ensure that public officials can’t flout it by using private e-mails and personal devices.
A special committee held its first meeting on the issue Friday and identified numerous questions on how the 30-year-old Kansas Open Records Act ought to be updated for a digital world. Continue>>>
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Read More… from State committee looks to update Kansas Open Records Act for digital age
