National Freedom of Information Coalition
Protecting Your Right to Open Government

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Open government advocates fend off attacks at Nevada Legislature

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Four bills that critics said would hamper public access to government information either failed or were substantially weakened Friday on a Nevada legislative deadline for committee action on measures.

Three measures, one seeking fees for more complicated records searches and two others proposing to close off prison and retirement system records, failed outright.

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Justice Dept Updates its FOIA Regulations

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The Department of Justice last week published newly updated regulations on implementation of the Freedom of Information Act, with several notable changes made in response to public comments.

Fifteen sets of comments were submitted by individual members of the public or public interest organizations after the Department released its draft FOIA regulations in 2011. In a lengthy Federal Register notice on April 3, the Department addressed all of the comments, and actually adopted a number of the changes recommended by public commenters.

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Lawsuit seeks records on 2 Clinton donors, questions influence on her decisions

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The conservative group Citizens United filed a lawsuit Thursday demanding that the State Department turn over correspondence it hopes will help determine whether Hillary Clinton’s decisions as the nation’s top diplomat were swayed by a pair of wealthy donors to her family’s foundation.

Citizens United said in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that its public records requests for documents from the State Department under the Freedom of Information Act have gone unanswered for seven to 10 months.

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Lawsuit demands information on use of covert cellphone trackers in Cook County criminal cases

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Cook County prosecutors are being sued to provide records of criminal cases that have involved the use of covert cellphone tracking systems — devices that have drawn the scrutiny of the U.S. Senate and privacy activists.

Freddy Martinez, a Chicago-area resident in the software industry, brought the lawsuit Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court, saying the state’s attorney’s office didn’t respond to his efforts to obtain the information through the state’s Freedom of Information Act.

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Editorial: Democrats, Republicans ignore US Freedom of Information Act

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Democrats, Republicans ignore US Freedom of Information Act

Freedom of information is one of the cornerstones that separate the United States from many other countries in the world. Back in 1966 President Johnson signed into law the Freedom of Information Act to clarify and protect the right of the public to information, and for other purposes. Nearly 50 years later FOIA is just as important as it was back then, but today it seems to be met with more resistance.

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Editorial: State legislators cannot ignore the Constitution’s open-government requirements

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In 2004 California voters overwhelmingly amended the state Constitution to ensure public right of access to the meetings and writings of government officials.

Yet, for more than a decade, state legislators have falsely claimed that, unlike members of local government or other branches of state government, they didn't have to follow Proposition 59.

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Stamford City officials, lawmakers to get sunshine law training

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A state open-records expert will come to train city officials on freedom of information laws in June, following a complaint brought against the city by the head of the Republican Town Committee.

The RTC chairwoman, Eva Maldonado, recently withdrew a complaint to the state Freedom of Information Commission against the city that stemmed from a meeting involving deliberations around whether to allow an off-track betting parlor downtown.

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Editorial: Secrecy at the top of Michigan government?

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If you are a local school board member, city councilor or county commissioner, all of your meetings, actions and records are subject to Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

This series of laws has been on the books since 1977, designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of government bodies at all levels in Michigan.

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