“Closed-door interactions.” That’s what the American Political Science Association (APSA) has recommended as one way to tackle congressional inaction. An APSA task force suggests that less transparency in government has clear and actionable benefits which can bolster the ability of Congress to resolve difficult policy issues.
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Read More… from Is Open Government a Barrier to Legislative Action?
While opposed by open-government advocates, a Senate bill advanced in the state Legislature this week – with amendments – to allow county council members to jointly attend any meetings or presentations without violating the state's Sunshine Law, as long as the gathering is open to the public.
An amended Senate Bill 2962 passed out of the Senate Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs Committee on Tuesday. Among those on the committee, which voted unanimously in favor, was panel Vice Chairwoman and South and West Maui Sen. Roz Baker.
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Read More… from In Hawaii, open-government advocates are alarmed at advancing legislation
Some semi-good news to report here. EPIC (Electronic Privacy Information Center) has received a settlement from the NSA in its long-running lawsuit (dating back to late 2012) against the agency for its withholding of documents related Presidential Directive 54, a national security directive on cybersecurity.
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The open source movement can trace its beginnings to a famous strategy session held in Palo Alto, CA in February 1998, where the term "open source" was coined. That meeting led to the Open Source Definition, to advocacy for the use of open source software, and, fairly quickly, to worldwide recognition of open source principles.
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Read More… from The drive to open data provides opportunities for tech community
A call to open more state lawmaking to view won near-unanimous Miami-Dade commission approval last week. It was so on target that you’d wish they meant it.
Unfortunately, it was all a clumsy swat at Tallahassee by commissioners who feel burdened by having to meet in public rather than a closed back room.
Commissioners called on the state House and Senate to change rules so legislators can’t pair off to cut deals. Both state chambers ban meetings of three or more legislators but not pairs.
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Read More… from Heed county’s sham request: broaden open government
WASHINGTON — Since last year’s revelations about the National Security Agency’s massive communications data dragnets, the spy agency has been inundated with requests from Americans and others wanting to know if it has files on them. All of them are being turned down.
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Read More… from NSA denies all requests for personal information
While there was a lot of hype about a report that the NYPD is testing Google Glass, in the short-term a policy-shift toward more accessible NYPD data has the potential to be more consequential for New Yorkers at large.
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Read More… from More Transparency on Agenda for NYPD and New York City Council
Leaders of Latin America have called for more transparency in governments, as it is the key to building trust between the state and its citizens.
In a session moderated by Sultan Bin Saaed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, representatives of Latin America discussed the future outlook for service innovation and the next generation of government service design and delivery, on the second day of the Government Summit.
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