Read the latest newsletter of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to helping Coloradans understand and use their rights of access to the records and proceedings of government and the judiciary. Continue… […]
Voting Tuesday (15) for a measure to place the beleaguered Office of Open Government squarely under the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability (BEGA), the Council abandoned the concept of “an independent agency to promote open governance in the District of Columbia” that it enacted eight years ago. The office enforces open meetings and open records laws […]
Read More… from D.C. Council Votes to End Independence of Open Government Watchdog
(FRANKFORT, Ky.) — A Franklin Circuit Court judge has ruled in favor of the Bluegrass Institute Center for Open Government’s claim that the Kentucky House of Representatives illegally conducted a closed meeting to discuss public pension reform. Judge Thomas D. Wingate rejected the House’s claim that a closed meeting of a quorum of members last summer to […]
Those attending public meetings at the Lackawanna County Administration Building may bring and use their cellphones, Sheriff Mark McAndrew clarified Monday. Calling it an issue of safety and security, McAndrew unilaterally implemented policy earlier this year requiring all who enter the Administration Building — with exceptions for judges, employees, law enforcement officials and certain others […]
A judge is deciding whether Brigham Young University’s police department should be required to comply with Utah’s open records laws. The law enforcement arm of the private university, owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has contended that it is exempt from state records laws — and the Utah Records Committee agreed. […]
The Federal Election Commission could begin demanding more information about the vendors and consultants political committees pay, thanks to a federal appeals court decision Friday. The impact of the decision — which could have implications for how precisely political committees such as President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign and the Democratic National Committee have to detail their spending — will rest […]
Read More… from Politicos beware: Court ruling could prompt more transparent campaign spending
A 48-page newsprint candidate-endorsement publication mailed to voters statewide is exempt from campaign finance reporting rules under Idaho law because it qualifies as a newspaper, the Idaho Attorney General’s office has ruled. That’s because Idaho law is narrower than federal law, wrote Deputy Attorney General Brian Kane, classifying such publications as newspapers as long as […]
Read More… from ‘The Idahoan’ ruled exempt from Sunshine Law, qualified as a ‘newspaper’
If you want to know how much your local government is spending on private lobbyists to lobby the Legislature, the Florida House has a web page devoted to disclosing it. But though House Speaker Richard Corcoran promised the web page would provide “transformational” transparency, the House forgot one thing: to post all the data. Records obtained by […]
Read More… from Florida ethics rule to make government spending more transparent not enforced
AUSTIN (KXAN) – The city of Austin will receive a report Tuesday on how open and transparent it is when it comes to some major decisions that impact residents’ tax dollars. The report is from an independent organization called Open Government Partnership. It tracks governments around the world. A local researcher spent the last year examining five […]
Read More… from New report examines transparency at Austin City Hall
(CNN) — Starting this month, if you get stopped by a police officer in New York City and are not arrested, you may be handed a business card that will explain how to request officers’ body camera footage of the stop. It’s all part of the Right to Know Act, a new law designed to increase transparency […]
