The public's right to see government records is coming at an ever-increasing price as authorities set fees and hourly charges that often prevent information from flowing.
Though some states have taken steps to limit the fees, many have not:
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Read More… from Big costs to see public documents hinder access
Sunshine Sunday kicks off Sunshine Week in the Sunshine State. That should produce enough glare to require sunglasses as politicians boast about their open meetings, accessible records and public debates. Then why so many dark clouds on the horizon?
The concept of government in the sunshine is straightforward. Every public agency has to open nearly all of its meetings, allow relevant documents to be examined and copied, and let citizens hear the debate that informs important decisions, especially when tax dollars are at stake.
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On his first day in the White House six years ago, President Obama promised that his administration would “usher in a new era of open government,” making it easier than ever to obtain information from federal agencies.
That is not how it has turned out at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
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Read More… from Why customs officials struggle to fulfill Obama’s open-government promise
Thursday was the first day in more than a month lawmakers could file bills, as the General Assembly has been on a six-week recess.
In advance of the session set to resume Tuesday, several items came in Thursday afternoon.
House Bill 42, sponsored by Rep. John Kowalko, D-Newark, removes the Freedom of Information Act exemption from the state’s two main universities.
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Read More… from Bill would strip universities of their FoIA exemptions
The Justice Department wants every federal employee to understand their role when it comes to the Freedom of Information Act.
So as Sunshine Week is set to begin March 16, DoJ is reinforcing that concept through a set of new tools and training.
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Read More… from New DoJ training reinforces the shared responsibility of FOIA
Newspapers were once the dominant force in dislodging documents and other records from reluctant federal government agencies, but a new crop of media players, advocacy groups and corporate interests now drive the release of information.
The Freedom of Information Act of 1966 was first envisioned as a tool for traditional media to seek documents, data and information they deemed important to the public's interest. It also was meant to allow ordinary Americans to seek information from the federal government about themselves.
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Read More… from New players join newspapers in using FOIA requests
A top freedom-of-information expert isn’t buying Hillary Clinton’s explanation of why she set up her own email system to conduct official State Department business, calling it “laughable.”
Daniel Metcalfe, who advised White House administrations on interpreting the Freedom of Information Act from 1981 to 2007, told The Canadian Press that the former secretary of state acted “contrary to both the letter and the spirit of the law.”
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Read More… from Freedom of Information Act expert: Clinton’s email system ‘laughable’
It was a simple request of a government agency.
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy wanted 21/2 months' of price data collected by the state Liquor Control Commission.
The information was available and would fit on a flash drive, Michael LaFaive, the center's director of the Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative was told, if he had one on hand. He didn't. Continue>>>
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Read More… from Reforms to improve Michigan public record access
The University has yet to release dozens of documents related to the U.S. Department of Education’s ongoing Title IX investigation of the University, which were requested and paid for in part by The Michigan Daily over two months ago.
The Daily made a request to the University in December under the purview of the state’s Freedom of Information Act, and paid one of two $445 fees in January for the collection of documents related to sexual misconduct — including written complaints, e-mails from administrators and witness statements, among other documents.
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Read More… from University declines to estimate timeline for FOIA documents
In the typical legislative session, a lot of important work is quietly undertaken outside the glare of attention granted to those high-profile and politically charged issues that grab the lion’s share of news coverage. Such is the case with some meaningful changes to Utah’s records laws that will encourage greater government transparency.
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