National Freedom of Information Coalition
Protecting Your Right to Open Government

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Rhode Island AG cites agencies for open meetings violations

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Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin has sued two state agencies in R.I. Superior Court, asserting they violated open government regulations.

On Friday, Kilmartin filed separate complaints against the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation and the Rhode Island State Properties Committee. Kilmartin cites the DBR for a reckless violation of the Access to Public Records Act (APRA) when the agency failed to respond to a July 10, 2013, reporter’s request.

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Judge Rules Florida Legislature Gerrymandered U.S. House Districts

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A Florida circuit court judge ruled the state legislature’s redistricting of U.S. congressional seats violated the Florida Constitution.

Judge Terry P. Lewis of the Second Circuit Court in Tallahassee ruled the boundaries drawn by Florida’s legislature amounted to a “secret, organized campaign to subvert the supposedly open and transparent redistricting process.”

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Coalition Seeks Open Government

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President Barack Obama promised to create “a new era of openness” on the first day of his first term. It’s a sad irony that his administration has continued the 20-year trend of being less and less open to journalists. It has prosecuted leaks and leakers, threatened journalists with jail, denied credentials, and established policies that restrict federal officials from talking to reporters.

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Op-Ed: Sunstein: Let Public Officials Work in Private

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Senators Patrick Leahy of Vermont and John Cornyn of Texas, leaders of the Judiciary Committee, have long shown an admirable commitment to open government, and their recent bill to amend the Freedom of Information Act is winning a ton of praise. Some of its reforms make sense, but, unfortunately, its key provision is a horrible idea. By reducing the protection now given to deliberations within the executive branch, it would have a chilling effect on those discussions.
 

Blog: Leahy-Cornyn Bipartisan FOIA Reform Doesn’t Go Far Enough; Congress Should Exempt EPA from FOIA b(5)

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Regulating is an inherently legislative exercise, in that it entails the promulgation of rules that control private behavior. Indeed, most policy now is rendered via regulation, thanks to the geometric growth of the executive branch during the post-war years.*

However, unlike legislators in congress, executive agency bureaucrats are unaccountable to the electorate. As a result, there’s a danger that executive agencies are effectuating policy absent a popular mandate and away from the public eye.

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Blog: Openness Effort Trumps Partisan Gridlock in Congress

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You can probably count on the fingers of one hand the issues on which there is bipartisan agreement in Congress. Fortunately, strengthening Freedom of Information (FOIA) is one of them.

Earlier this year, the House unanimously approved a FOIA reform bill sponsored by Republican Rep. Darrell Issa (CA), chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Democrats, Elijah Cummings (MD), the committee’s ranking member, and Mike Quigley (IL).

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Connecticut Supreme Court ruling restricts release of arrest information

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The state Supreme Court issued a ruling Monday that restricts the amount of information police are required to release about arrests, prompting fears among advocates of open government that the public will not have access to important information about crimes.

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