Author: NFOIC

DENVER (AP) — Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed legislation Friday designed to shed light on the conclusions of internal police investigations into alleged officer misconduct by making investigation documents available to the public. The law allows citizens to obtain records of internal affairs investigations, with proper redactions protecting witnesses, victims and others who aren’t the subject […]

Read More… from Law extends Colorado open records to internal police probes

A group of House Republican lawmakers filed legislation this week to create a state Journalism Ethics Board to develop “canons of ethics” for journalists in Georgia.  The measure was sponsored by Rep. Andy Welch, R-McDonough, a lawyer who has expressed frustration with what he saw as bias from a TV reporter who asked him questions about legislation […]

Read More… from Georgia House Republicans file bill to create state Journalism Ethics Board

In March, for the second year in a row, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker issued an executive order regarding the state’s open records law. It notes that “the American republic and the State of Wisconsin were founded on the basis of broad accountability of government to the people.” And it declares that “the free flow of information from […]

Read More… from COLUMN: Your Right to Know: Walker’s order on records is welcome

TROY, N.Y. — Troy City Council President Carmella Mantello announced a City Council Informational Meeting Wed., April 10, 2019, at 6 p.m. at the Lansingburgh Boys & Girls Club. “This is a great opportunity for Troy folks to meet all Council members, the Mayor, and supervisors and department heads all in one room. Folks will […]

Read More… from Troy City Council bringing government on the road

Local governments must maintain certain financial records, but not all make it easy for taxpayers to obtain it. A bill headed to the Illinois House floor would put local government financial records online. Budgets, audits, lobbyist contracts and other local government records should be easy for taxpayers to obtain, but too often they are not. State […]

Read More… from How Local Government Spends Your Taxes Soon May Be A Click Away

Sumter School District’s Board of Trustees has provided no emails, text messages or other documentation of complaints from school parents or teachers pertaining to transition difficulties at R.E. Davis College Preparatory Academy this year. The Sumter Item asked to review any such documents in a Freedom of Information Act request from more than a month […]

Read More… from FOIA: No documented complaints about Sumter’s R.E. Davis

AUGUSTA, Maine — Former Maine Gov. Paul LePage pardoned his late mentor’s grandson in the final days of his second four-year term, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press that detail pardons for crimes including drug trafficking, tax evasion and embezzlement of public funds. The secretary of state recently released a list of 112 […]

Read More… from APNewsBreak: Ex-governor pardoned late mentor’s grandson

In 2018, Fairfax County received 8,469 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests — an average of 34 requests per working day.  And the volume and complexity of FOIA requests that the county receives continue to increase. To address the growing demand, the county established a central FOIA office and adopted a new FOIA policy that aims to balance […]

Read More… from FOIA Office Responds to Thousands of Requests for Public Records

EDGEWATER — While the State Attorney’s Office sniffs around possible Sunshine Law violations, a News-Journal investigation found elected officials likely violated their own city charter when they voted to reinstate a city employee and possibly broke public records laws when they deleted fiery Facebook posts about city issues, experts say. But what prevents city officials from breaking […]

Read More… from Edgewater’s ‘Family Affair’ government leads to possible City Council violations

DENVER — This week, the Denver Fire Department dispatch communications begun encrypting its radio channels. The department is following the move dozens of agencies across Colorado have already taken to restrict radio traffic as a safety and privacy precaution. Protecting safety and privacy The Aurora Police Department has been encrypting its radio traffic for about three years. […]

Read More… from More police departments are encrypting their scanners, raising freedom of information concerns