Author: NFOIC
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Posts by NFOIC
U.S. Tells Court That Documents From Torture Investigation Should Remain Secret
The Obama administration has urged a court to reject a request to disclose thousands of pages of documents from a Justice Department investigation into the torture of detainees by the Central Intelligence Agency, including summaries of interviews with about 100 witnesses and documents explaining why in the end no charges were filed.
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Amendments to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act for Voluminous Requests and Online Postings
HB 3796 will help ease the burden on public bodies when responding to large Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and will allow requesters to be directed to websites for information already posted online.
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The Clock’s Ticking on Freedom of Information Reform
One of the remaining dramas as the lame-duck Congressional session slouches to a close is whether House Speaker John Boehner will allow a vote on an important reform measure aimed at strengthening the Freedom of Information Act. That’s the law that allows journalists and the public to access federal government records.
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Editorial: Who’s trying to kill FOIA reform now? Bankers!
We're getting word (from here, among various other places) that the widely supported FOIA Improvement Act — which is staring down the clock of death in the House — has inspired a flood of last-second lobbying by anonymous banking interests. Wait, what?
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AIS FOIA Request Provides Inside Look at OCR Investigative Tactics
State Dept. stonewalls Hillary Clinton’s files from AP’s FOIA request
The State Department has failed to turn over government documents covering Hillary Rodham Clinton's tenure as secretary of state that The Associated Press and others requested under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act ahead of her presumptive presidential campaign. They include one request AP made four years ago and others pending for more than one year.
The agency already has missed deadlines it set for itself to turn over the material.
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Editorial: Senate passes Freedom of Information Act expansion; now the House must act
The House must act by the time it adjourns Thursday if the bill is to become law this year. We urge the House to pass it.
According to The Washington Post, "The measure would also limit a FOIA exemption that allows the government to withhold records that are subject to executive privilege or that are part of sensitive decision-making processes. It would requiring agencies to release the information after 25 years.''
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Opinion: A victory for open government
Government transparency is a favorite — and necessary — topic of the fourth estate. The push and pull for a more open government is constant here in Vermont and across the nation.
On Monday, a victory in this battle was won as the Senate passed The FOIA Improvement Act of 2014, a bill aimed at easing disclosure of records under the Freedom of Information Act. The bill was introduced by Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
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Open government advocate: Hold meetings when more residents are able to attend
Of the 28 official Danville boards and commissions listed on the city’s website, about half of them hold meetings during work-day hours — while open to the public, most people with daytime jobs would find them difficult to attend.
Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, said while her organization does not have a “best practices” stance on what time government bodies should hold their meetings at the most convenient times possible for the largest number of people.
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