The open government track at the 2014 Texas Tribune Festival featured panel discussions on what legislators should disclose, open records, state budget transparency and "dark money" vs. donor privacy. Listen to audio from each session:
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Read More… from The Texas Tribune 2014 TribuneFest: Audio From the Open Government Track
Mary Burke was succinct. She used a single word ó"Yes" ó to answer four of six questions from the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council about open government.
The Democratic candidate for governor responded affirmatively when asked if she would… Burke, a Madison School Board member making her first run for statewide office, also said in her written responses that the Legislature should be subject to the state's open meetings law, though she continues to believe party caucuses should be able to meet in secret. Why?
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Read More… from Wisconsin gubernatorial candidates talk about open government
Sitting in a modestly furnished conference room in the Wallace Building, with a bay window view of the State Capitol behind him, Bill Monroe reflects on the workload he expected in the first year with the state's Public Information Board.
The board was created by the state to handle complaints and violations related to open meetings and open records laws, and Monroe served as its chairman from its inception in 2012, including the first year when it had no funding.
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Read More… from Iowa agency ensures open government, transparency
A review of the Internal Revenue Service's compliance with the Freedom of Information Act found the agency intentionally withheld or failed to "adequately search" for requested information in hundreds of cases.
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Read More… from IRS withheld information from hundreds of FOIAs
Whether Iowa's public records law should be amended to make public the reasons that government employees are fired sparked debate in a roundtable discussion Thursday at The Des Moines Register.
Advocates like Gov. Terry Branstad say citizens have a right to learn of a government worker's wrongdoing as a matter of public safety. Opponents like Sen. Matt McCoy worry changing the law would violate a person's privacy, unfairly jeopardize a fired worker's chances of future employment and potentially open the state to ongoing rounds of litigation.
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Read More… from No agreement on whether personnel files should be made public
Secrecy is the enemy of good government. Fortunately, here in Colorado, we have developed a strong tradition of transparency and open government so that citizens can see how their tax dollars are being used.
In the early 1970s, over the objections of many in government, we passed laws to make government records open for public review and required meetings to be open for all to see under the Open Meetings Law, which is part of the Colorado Sunshine Law.
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Read More… from Yes on Proposition 104: Shed light on teachers union negotiations
Hang around the nation's capital long enough and inevitably even the most grizzled newsroom veteran reads something so utterly wrong that he is left speechless.
Such a moment arrived for this ink-stained wretch Thursday while reading a Washington Post op-ed by Bipartisan Policy Center President Jason Grumet. His piece included this declaration about post-Watergate reforms designed to bring government out from behind closed doors:
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Read More… from Transparency critics are peddling public ignorance to ‘fix’ government
In a case involving a Freedom of Information Act request for information related to government policies and procedures for law enforcement use of cell phone tracking, a federal judge has ordered the release of records, which the Justice Department sought to keep secret by claiming they would 'alert law violators'- otherwise known as criminals- to how to evade detection.
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