Obama administration in FOIA fees fight
The Obama Administration is in a legal showdown over claims that officials are using the prospect of sky-high fees to try to block requests for government records under the Freedom of Information Act.
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Author: NFOIC
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Michigan – Grand Haven Twp. prepares for FOIA changes
“The state Legislature made some changes to the Freedom of Information Act (at the end of 2014),” Township Manager Bill Cargo said. “These were the first major changes since the act was instituted.”
The impending changes include significant new requirements for municipalities and will change how the township responds to requests for information. According to Cargo, changes of this magnitude are unprecedented in FOIA’s nearly 40-year history.
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Open-government advocates optimistic about Texas legislative session
AUSTIN — Texans are likely to get greater access to campus police records and public meetings online.
But after a group secretly taped lawmakers in Austin, some are wary of legislation that could make it harder to record audio without the consent of all recorded.
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FOIA Council in VA: No on making open records violations a misdemeanor
Virginia won't be adding criminal penalties to its Freedom of Information Act any time soon.
The state's FOIA Council shot that proposal down Wednesday afternoon without even needing to send it to a subcommittee for study.
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FOIA requests to Virginia police sometimes denied improperly
Suffolk, Va. – A review of thousands of police replies to citizens seeking public records shows most Hampton Roads departments follow the law, even if they only release the minimum required. However, NewsChannel 3 found dozens of instances where citizens were improperly denied records, where police cited the wrong codes and exemptions, or where authorities failed to cite the specific reasons they were withholding documents.
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Effort to create FOIA office developing (S.C.)
Government agencies could face a new authority for improperly withholding public records in the face of a Freedom of Information Act request.
But at the same time, government agencies could also strike back at people who make overly burdensome requests for documents. Continue>>>
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Two state agencies nullify open government laws
In 2004, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 59, one of the most far-reaching government openness laws in the nation. Its premise was that government agencies, when facing requests for official records, should err on the side of disclosure, not secrecy. The law requires laws to “be broadly interpreted to further the people’s right to access government information,” the Legislative Analyst’s Office noted.
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Clinton Aides at State Handled FOIA Requests, Not Experts: WSJ
During former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s tenure at the State Department, her political staff personally reviewed and negotiated the release of public records requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) — and in some cases blocked documents' release, according to The Wall Street Journal.
A Journal investigation found there existed a culture of "delay and inefficiency" at the State Department.
To promote transparency, US will release documents seized in Bin Laden raid
U.S. intelligence officials on Wednesday released documents it said were recovered during the 2011 raid on the compound in Pakistan where US forces killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
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Privacy often trumps transparency with police shooting videos
Cameras mounted inside patrol cars captured every moment.
With their guns drawn, Gardena police officers screamed instructions at three men on the sidewalk. The officers warned them to keep their hands above their heads, mistakenly believing that they had been involved in a robbery.
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