For decades, the Hoosier State Press Association has fought a war on two fronts to preserve the concept of publication of public notices to inform citizens of actions taken or contemplated by state and local government units. One front is the General Assembly, where bills are filed that weaken or eliminate public notice advertising publication […]
Read More… from Public notice publication could face challenge from judiciary
OLYMPIA — Even as the bitterness from last year’s public-records showdown continues to linger, a state lawmaker from Seattle is sponsoring new legislation to open up some of the Legislature’s records. Unlike last year’s ill-fated public-records proposal — loathed by the public and vetoed by Gov. Jay Inslee — Sen. Jamie Pedersen’s new proposal would not […]
A Florida police chief’s decision not to release the names of some of the five women killed in a bank shooting this week represents the first high-profile test of a law being enacted in several states that pits victim privacy against the public’s right to know. The police chief in Sebring declined to release the […]
Read More… from Decision to withhold Sebring bank victims’ names tests new Florida privacy law
Sen. John A. Sapien, District 9, (Bernalillo and Sandoval) has introduced a bill in the New Mexico Senate that would significantly change the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) – requiring New Mexicans to pay substantially more for electronic copies of public records. Under SB 442, New Mexicans would be required to pay […]
Read More… from Alarming Anti-Transparency Bill Introduced in N.M. Senate
TRAVERSE CITY — When it comes to the deets on public officials in the five-county Grand Traverse area, it’s a toss-up. Government-issued email? Or personal email? While there are no hard and fast rules, nearly all county and city employees and elected officials in the Record-Eagle’s five-county coverage area that includes Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, […]
One of the biggest contrasts in public access to state and local governments in Iowa came into focus last week, and Iowans should be concerned by what occurred. A bit of context: Iowans have long had the right to sit in on almost every meeting of state government policy-making and governing boards and on meetings […]
Read More… from Column from IFOIC: Making laws shouldn’t be about lawmakers’ convenience
A secret 2017 lawsuit over Racine public records that the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel exposed last fall has finally been unsealed, for the most part, after news media and open records advocates intervened. Late last week, Sandra Weidner v. the City of Racine suddenly appeared on the state’s online court records system, or CCAP, along with a general docket […]
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The Republican-controlled Iowa House defended its decision Friday to deny press credentials to an influential liberal blogger who has covered the Legislature for years, a position that could invite legal action. Laura Belin, who operates the Bleeding Heartland blog, said the House chief clerk hasn’t cited any valid reason for the […]
Read More… from Iowa House denying press credentials to influential blogger
LANSING, Mich (WLNS) – Former MSU interim president John Engler is the new poster boy for renewed legislative efforts to include the governor and legislature under the state’s 40 year old Freedom Of Information Law. Democratic state Sen. Jeremy Moss thinks John Engler is a perfect example of how the Freedom of Information Act […]
Read More… from Skubick: Legislature takes another look at Freedom of Information Act
