From Santa Fe New Mexican: (Oct 1, 2013) A government that works in the dark is little good for citizens.
That’s why the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government was formed back in 1989. Its purpose is simple: to keep the light shining on the actions of public officials who might prefer to do business behind closed doors.
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From Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition: Restricting access to court records in the Aurora movie theater shooting case would “serve no constructive purpose” and significantly impair the public’s understanding of issues of national importance involving violence and mental health, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press argued Wednesday in a letter co-signed by the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition.
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From NJ.com: As hundreds of thousands of federal workers were sent home amid the first federal government shutdown since the 1990s, so too did many of the databases that provide government transparency and allow researchers to understand the social and economic fabric of the United States.
Because of a lack of staffing or because they were deemed non-essential services, much of the statistical information kept by the federal government will remain dormant as long as the shut down continues, if it hasn’t disappeared entirely.
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Read More… from As shutdown commences, federal open government databases go dark or dormant
From NorthJersey.com: A group of parents has sued the Northern Valley Regional Board of Education, claiming it did not comply with state open-records law by providing access to some documentation of official discussion about a random drug-testing policy.
Bruce Rosen of Florham Park, the attorney representing the parents, claimed the district violated the Open Public Records Act because it did not give the requested information in a timely manner and when it was finally delivered, important documents were withheld.
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From The Tennessean: A public records battle between the city of Hendersonville and a group of citizens requesting hundreds of pages of documents has prompted the state to weigh in — on the side of the residents.
That means the city will have to reapprove a new records policy. It passed a resolution establishing fees for labor and copying in July, but an opinion from Elisha Hodge of the state’s Office of Open Records Counsel says aldermen must instead pass an ordinance for the changes to become law, as the city charter requires.
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Read More… from State open records expert says city law needs do-over
From Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council: State Sen. Leah Vukmir, R-Wauwatosa, is making a novel legal argument to dodge a public records request. It’s one that, carried to its logical extreme, could neuter Wisconsin’s Public Records Law.
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Read More… from Your Right to Know: Vukmir wrong on records law
From News Leader: A recent Ohio Supreme Court ruling is a reaffirmation of the need for public records to remain exactly that — public — unless there is a clear and compelling reason for them to remain confidential.
The high court ruled unanimously in a case involving the Ohio Highway Patrol that the burden of proof lies with the custodian of public records, in this case the patrol, in demonstrating that any information withheld from the public is, indeed, exempt from disclosure under the Ohio Public Records Act.
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Read More… from Opinion: Ohio Supreme Court ruling a victory for open records
From LSU Reveille: As the lawsuit brought against the University by The Advocate and NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune moves to the next phase of the legal process, critics have lined up to attack the University’s methods of carrying on with the case.
The main point of criticism has been the University’s accumulation of fees relating to the lawsuit, totaling more than $140,000 between attorney fees and penalties owed to the plaintiffs and contempt of court fines owed to the court.
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Read More… from LSU criticized for handling of public records lawsuit
From TimesOnline.com: HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania State Police are going to court to fight a state lawmaker’s open-records request.
State Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-32, South Union Township, has been seeking the number of troopers assigned to the Uniontown station through the state’s right-to-know law since early June. The lawmaker is concerned the trooper level there is too low, and he wants to use the information to push for more police funding.
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Read More… from Penn. state police take open-records dispute to court
