Sunshine Week will be observed across the nation this week. The week shines a spotlight on the important role open government and citizen accountability play in our democracy. Open meetings and open records are the tools that enable the public to know what their government is doing, or not doing, in the name of the […]
It may be a bit of an understatement to say that government services are scattered online. Of course, it certainly varies by jurisdiction, but more often than not, residents of a given city must visit disparate websites to find digital services. For example, this could entail visiting one site to pay a parking ticket; another […]
Read More… from Evergov Wants to Make Local Government Services More Searchable
To the editor: Sunshine Week is a nationwide effort to foster dialogue on the importance of transparency in government, freedom of information, and open government at all levels. It occurs around the birthday of James Madison, the fourth president of the U.S. and author of the First Amendment to the Constitution, and is scheduled for […]
The Jacksonville Ethics Commission wants to begin investigating and imposing penalties for non-criminal violations of Florida’s open government laws, an idea gaining traction inside City Hall after a State Attorney’s Office investigation found City Council members regularly spoke privately on the phone but failed to uncover evidence that met the high threshold necessary to file […]
Read More… from Jacksonville’s ethics commission wants to enforce open government laws
Legislation that proposes new restrictions to the commonwealth’s open records law would make Kentucky one of only a handful of states that prevents nonresidents from obtaining public documents there, according to national experts. House Bill 387 started out as a proposal to limit citizens’ access to records related to businesses seeking financial incentives from the government […]
Read More… from Experts say Kentucky bill to block open records access ‘really scary’
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers is refusing to release a letter written to him by former Gov. Scott Walker just before he left office in January, saying that because it was personal it is not subject to the state’s open records law. Evers should be ashamed of himself for not releasing the […]
Read More… from Evers refuses AP request for letter Walker left him
In a shocking effort by the Kentucky Legislature to undermine government transparency and accountability, Rep. Jason Petrie (R-Elkton) has introduced HB 387, which aims to make it harder for Kentuckians to know how their tax dollars are being used by the commonwealth to lure and incentivize businesses to locate there. What’s worse (if not knowing […]
Read More… from Open government is under attack in Kentucky (again)
M.A. Hansen carried a sign to a rally on the Douglas County Courthouse lawn Tuesday afternoon that said “Where’s the Transparency?” The answer on the back of the sign said, “There is no transparency.” Although their specific concerns varied, a shared belief that the Douglas County Board of Commissioners isn’t transparent about its decisions drew […]
Read More… from Citizens call for transparency in county government at courthouse rally Tuesday
Presidents granted broad exemption under state’s Freedom of Information Act The state of Virginia offers public university presidents broad protection from public oversight, granting them extensive exemptions under the state’s Freedom of Information Act. Legislative attempts to remove this exemption have failed. The Virginia Freedom of Information Act “ensures the people of the Commonwealth ready access to […]
Read More… from How Virginia shields university presidents from public oversight
Dewey commissioners learned Feb. 9 that a January vote to standardize and lower copying fees for public documents also hiked fees for FOIA requests 150 percent. At council’s Jan. 21 meeting, commissioners adopted an ordinance to amend copying fees for administrative and police documents from $1 to 25 cents per page. At the time, Town […]
Read More… from Commissioners hike Dewey freedom of information fee 150 percent
