When it comes to the open meeting law, state officials say, the 11 miles separating an out-of-town hotel and St. Anthony City Hall can make all the difference. The state Department of Administration has found that St. Anthony city officials violated the state’s open-meeting law in January when they held their annual planning retreat outside […]
Read More… from Minnesota: St. Anthony’s out-of-town retreat violated state law
A frustrated D.C. Council in 2016 ordered a new analysis of school-by-school enrollment, growth plans and needed building upgrades. The dream — to end years of obscure renovation decisions by writing into law the data required, the priorities to rank needs, and plenty of public participation. Results were due in fall 2017 to help with […]
Louisiana’s lawmakers are considering ways to lock away more information from public view this session, proposing a list of public records exemptions that would chip away at people’s rights to see information from government agencies. The number and breadth of exemptions filed for consideration represent an uptick, raising concerns that public officials are working to […]
Read More… from Louisiana legislators considering new list of public records exemptions
The New York Post has settled a landmark lawsuit charging that the city Department of Education routinely violated the state Freedom of Information Law. Under the settlement, the DOE not only turned over public records it had withheld for up to 20 months, but agreed to reform what The Post called a “pattern and practice” […]
New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal has announced an initiative to improve relations between the public and law enforcement, including meetings or town halls with community leaders, groups, and those in law enforcement to address concerns and issues. The initiative, called “The 21 County 21 Century Community Policing Project,” will include a minimum of […]
TALLAHASSEE — Some Florida lawmakers received better grades this year when it came to transparency in government, but erosion of the state’s famed “Sunshine Laws” continued with more exemptions passed. Lawmakers passed 12 bills creating new exemptions this year, including measures to block access to building plans for health care facilities; U.S. Census Bureau address […]
Read More… from Erosion of Sunshine Laws in Florida continued over past year
The Bureau of the Fiscal Service on Thursday unveiled the new Data Lab, part of the relaunch of USAspending.gov, a key part of the government’s congressionally mandated transparency efforts. It can be hard to wrap your head around $500 billion in contract spending across 2,000 accounts, but that was the charge given to the bureau: […]
The Montana Board of Regents does not plan to reconsider an agreement governing access to University of Montana Foundation records, even though an open records lawyer considers the new policy a violation of the Montana Constitution and its right to know protections. Earlier this year, the regents approved an updated contract between the University of […]
TOPEKA — Vowing to make state government more transparent to the public, Gov. Jeff Colyer signed executive orders on Thursday aimed at increasing access to open records, open meeting information, official correspondence, and data about how well state agencies are performing. “We want to start letting people know what’s happening in Kansas government,” he said […]
Read More… from Kansas Gov. Colyer signs executive orders to increase transparency
By Jeffrey A. Roberts CFOIC Executive Director After trying for three years to make the state judicial branch subject to the Colorado Open Records Act, Rep. Polly Lawrence finally notched a victory Thursday when a legislative committee passed an extremely limited version of her perennial bill. “It certainly doesn’t go as far as I’d like, […]
