Liberty Institute, in partnership with the Washington, D.C. law firm Bancroft PLLC, recently submitted Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to the Internal Revenue Service, the Treasury Department and the State Department on behalf of HaYovel, Inc., a Tennessee-based nonprofit dedicated to the support of small independent farmers in Israel.
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Today the Republican National Committee sent a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to the National Archives and Records Administration in order to find out who was responsible for improperly withholding documents at the William J. Clinton Presidential Library for over a year. The lawful withholding period of the documents expired in January 2013, but no documents were released until February 2014. Many documents have yet to be released. As such, the RNC is requesting copies of any correspondence related to the review, consideration, or withholding of documents.
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Today the Republican National Committee sent a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to the National Archives and Records Administration in order to find out who was responsible for improperly withholding documents at the William J. Clinton Presidential Library for over a year. The lawful withholding period of the documents expired in January 2013, but no documents were released until February 2014. Many documents have yet to be released. As such, the RNC is requesting copies of any correspondence related to the review, consideration, or withholding of documents.
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Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s bill to strengthen Washington state’s open government laws by requiring training for most public officials has passed the Legislature and is on its way to the Governor’s desk.
Ferguson worked with Sen. Joe Fain, R-Auburn, and Rep. Gerry Pollet, D-Seattle, to secure approval of the “Open Government Trainings Act,” Engrossed Senate Bill 5964.
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Read More… from Washington Legislature passes Attorney General’s open government training bill
As Westchester County considers filing a second lawsuit against the federal government over the loss of millions in community development grants, the administration of County Executive Rob Astorino is refusing to disclose the cost of its lengthy legal fights over the county's compliance with a 2009 fair housing settlement.
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Read More… from Westchester won’t divulge cost of legal fight vs. HUD
While Delawareans familiar with the state’s Freedom of Information Act rules may understand guidelines surrounding fees, some may still be surprised once they receive the bill following their request.
A batch of public records requests made to Delaware shore towns showed widely diverging approaches to how much, if at all, a community charges for access to documents.
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A bill to make updates to the state government transparency website happen faster is on its way to Gov. Pat Quinn.
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It plans to increase the number of producers from the current 23 to as many as 35, as well as boost the number of plants each can grow, adding 300 seedlings to the 150 plants now allowed.
That growth on the supply side may well be necessary, because there has certainly been growth on the demand side: There are 10,621 patients enrolled in the program, up more than 1,500 from early last year.
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Read More… from New Mexico’s pot policy needs more transparency
The Wisconsin Legislature is embarked on yet another attack on the state's longtime tradition of open government.
This latest attack, which has support from both sides of the aisle, is a bill that would remove from the state's online records system criminal cases that do not lead to convictions or are overturned on appeal.
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Read More… from Editorial: Bill limiting court information another attack on openness
Once upon a time, Gov. Ella T. Grasso signed into law Connecticut’s pioneering Freedom of Information Act, which established an independent Freedom of Information Commission. This state was in the forefront of the post-Watergate movement for open government. “Secrecy in government is inherently inconsistent with a true democracy,” the General Assembly declared at the time. “The people … do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for them to know.”
But that was long ago, in 1975.
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Read More… from Editorial: Open government: Ella, Dan and John
