National Freedom of Information Coalition
Protecting Your Right to Open Government

Author: NFOIC

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Cracking the Code: U.S. House of Representatives Allows Use Of Open Source Software

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As the executive branch of the United States government quietly works on creating an official open source policy, the legislative branch is also moving into the 21st century: Open source software is now officially permitted in the U.S. House of Representatives. That means software developed in the People's House with taxpayer funds will eventually be available to the people. According to the nonpartisan OpenGov Foundation, there will soon be an Open Source Caucus in Congress.

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PRA Government Services Launches EZTransparency(TM) to Support White House Open Government Initiative

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NORFOLK, Va., June 29, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — PRA Government Services, a division of PRA Group (Nasdaq:PRAA), has launched EZTransparency™, a user-friendly, interactive tool to help council members, municipal staff and the public quickly visualize and understand complex city and county budgets.

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MSNBC’s O’Donnell: Hillary’s Private Server Was ‘An Absolutely Unacceptable Choice From The Start’ [VIDEO]

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MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell continued to castigate Hillary Clinton’s State Department email practices Tuesday, calling her decision “an absolutely unacceptable choice from the start.” (RELATED: MSNBC’s O’Donnell Blasts Hillary: ‘Convenience Is Not A Choice You Have In Government’)

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Connecticut: 60 years fighting for open government

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The Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information had reason to celebrate at its annual meeting this month. It is the 60th anniversary of the group’s founding by Connecticut journalists seeking to protect the public’s right to know, a right not always appreciated or understood by the public, or by some public servants at every level of government who prefer to perform many of their functions away from the prying eyes of the taxpayer.

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Washington DC: Bowser chastized for body cam budget threat

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On the eve of the final vote on the 2016 Budget Support Act, the D.C. Open Government Coalition, the D.C. Professional Chapter of SPJ, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the Office of Open Government, the ACLU of the National Capital Area and the D.C. Police Union jointly chastized Mayor Muriel E. Bowser for attempting to coerce the D.C. Council to prevent the public from gaining access to police body-worn camera videos.

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Connecticut: Is State’s New Transparency Law For Charter Managers Strong Enough?

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After last year's debacle involving the Hartford-based Jumoke Academy charter school operation, many legislators arrived at the Capitol this year on a mission to improve the control and regulation of charter schools. A new law, passed with overwhelming support in the General Assembly but not yet signed by the governor, is designed to make charter schools and the charter management organizations that oversee them more accountable and transparent.

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Texas: Supreme Court limits reach of open government law; GHP can keep books closed

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In a 6-3 opinion with profound reach on the state's open government laws, the Texas Supreme Court on Friday decided that Greater Houston Partnership doesn't have to open its check registers, even though it receives funds from the city of Houston.

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NJFOG: Atlantic County Judge says public agencies can’t sue under OPRA!

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A judge in Atlantic County has just held that public agencies cannot sue records requestors for declarations that the records sought are not subject to the Open Public Records Act (OPRA). The court affirmed that only the requestor can sue under OPRA and awarded attorney’s fees to the defendant-requestor!

Click HERE to see the opinion and order in the case, Township of Hamilton v. Scheeler et al.  Continue>>>

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