National Freedom of Information Coalition
Protecting Your Right to Open Government

Author: NFOIC

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Posts by NFOIC

Guest View: Technology, the key to transparency in government

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The Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association and its leader, Robert Ambrogi, deserve our thanks for their fight to open more of our state and local government to public inspection ("Guest View: A ray of hope for the Public Records Law," March 18). Government works best when it's most transparent. I have been proud to have joined Bob and the MNPA, Common Cause, MASSPIRG and others in that fight. While we have won several important victories, there remains much to accomplish.

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Our View: Flunking the open legislature test

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Massachusetts takes pride in liberal politics and technological prowess. But when it comes to government transparency and using technology to connect citizens with government, Beacon Hill has nothing to be proud of.

The state has had terrible difficulty getting its new Heath Care Connector website working, despite years of experience operating an online health insurance exchange, but that’s a topic for another day.

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Editorial: No time limits on call for open government

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Sunshine Week, a push for transparency in government, is drawing to a close. And that's why we choose to highlight it at its end.

The demand for open government must not be reserved to a limited time frame. Indeed, it must be an all-day, every day effort — and not just on the part of media, though we are the ones who champion it.

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Part 3 Des Moines Investigation: Iowa’s secret settlements to be discussed in closed meetings

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Gov. Terry Branstad’s work group in charge of investigating secret settlements to former state employees has already formed — and plans to meet behind closed doors, the governor’s spokesman said Tuesday.

Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds announced the formation of the work group Monday in response to a Des Moines Register investigation that found the Republican Branstad administration had paid more than $280,000 to six former employees, most who allege they were fired for their ties to Democrats.

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City of Jax website, most transparent in Florida

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Mayor Alvin Brown says he's beefing up the city's website to put more information about city government at the fingertips of citizens.

Earlier this week, the City of Jacksonville was recognized by the First Amendment Foundation for having the most transparent city website in Florida. Meanwhile, on Thursday, Brown announced the launch of www.coj.net/transparency.

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Bill To Standardize Government Data Management And Security Passes First Senate Committee

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The Florida Senate Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability unanimously approved Senate Bill 782, Government Data Practices. Sponsored by Senator Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg), the bill is intended to move the state toward a more uniform approach to the security, collection, maintenance, disposal and sharing of data.

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Opinion: Student Journalists Prod officials about open government

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As part of national Sunshine Week, members of the Madison student and professional chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists fanned out across the capital city, handing out fortune cookies.

We dropped a handful in the offices of elected officials, from the Madison School Board to Gov. Scott Walker, as well as to some unelected boards such as the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents.

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Editorial: Citizen activists deserve most credit for forcing open government

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You know Sunshine Week is here by the obligatory blitz of editorials in newspapers owned by companies that spend loftily on corporate digs and six-figure bonuses for their executives.

They do this while mostly ignoring the need for taking government to task – and court – for its glaring disregard for conducting business in the open.

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