california – Page 4 – National Freedom of Information Coalition

California Attorney General backs bill to improve disclosures on police shootings

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California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris wants to require police agencies to file detailed reports about officer-involved shootings to her office electronically, so they can be quickly and easily posted on a state website for public viewing.

Despite the heated national debate over police use of force, no reliable database tracks all police shootings in California, making it difficult for researchers to definitively answer some fundamental questions, including whether minorities are shot at disproportionately higher rates and which departments pull the trigger most often.

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Who gets to see police body camera footage? California lawmakers may decide this year

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With police departments across California continuing to equip their officers with body cameras, state lawmakers are trying again to set rules for their use, including one of the thorniest policy issues: who gets to see the footage and when.

The debate will force legislators to weigh deep transparency and privacy concerns that don’t have clear ideological answers, as is evidenced in the details that have emerged from two competing bills within the Democratic caucus.

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California needs better open data on state government spending, lawmakers say

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California lawmakers this week called for more transparency in state government, noting the federal government, local entities and other states have implemented open data initiatives that provide detailed accountability of how public money is spent.

“I feel like government is just so opaque and so complicated,” Assembly member Ling Ling Chang, R-Diamond Bar, told an audience at Open Data Day held Tuesday in Sacramento. “There’s so many layers of bureaucracy to get the right information,” Chang added.

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Editorial: It’s time to restore police transparency in California

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California has long led the nation in protecting public access to public information, with one glaring exception that took hold in the late 1970s: Police records have become increasingly off limits. The dubious rationale for blocking disclosure is that it is a private matter — and none of the public's business — when a police officer fires a weapon, is found to have lied during an investigation or is disciplined for misconduct.

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California bill would open access to police misconduct records

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Investigations into police shootings and other serious uses of force by law enforcement in California would be made public under new legislation.

Senate Bill 1286, announced Friday by state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would also open access to findings of officer misconduct or job-related dishonesty. Law enforcement personnel records are strictly protected in California.

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California launches new open data portal

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California has launched a new open data portal that details the state’s outstanding $1.5 trillion in debt. The site will allow residents to track proposed and issued debt, cost of issuance, and bond and tax election results. The portal is the latest entrant in a plethora of fragmented open data portals launched across the various arms of California government.

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First 5 California counties partner with OpenGov through Innovate Your State grants

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OpenGov and Innovate Your State today announced that five California counties — Kern, Sutter, Placer, Napa, and Mendocino — have come forward as the first organizations to take advantage of grants offered by Innovate Your State to use the OpenGov platform for financial transparency and performance intelligence.

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New open data laws aid California businesses

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Two recent bills signed by California Gov. Jerry Brown could help businesses grow by making troves of government data available online in easily accessible formats.

A panel comprised of leaders in the public and private sector spoke about the importance of open data Wednesday, applauding the two pieces of legislation signed last month, but agreeing there was more to accomplish. Continue…
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California’s new OpenJustice initiative illuminates criminal justice data

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Transparency. Greater trust. A policy development process that’s rooted in clear, public-facing evidence.

These are some of the goals that governments hope to achieve through the implementation of an open data program. These same goals — achieving greater community trust and developing better evidence-based policy — are often strongly desired by agencies which are part of the criminal justice system as well.

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Editorial: Gov. Brown lets state float further toward shoals of secrecy

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Transparency. Secrecy. Transparency. Secrecy.

Like his general political approach — often portrayed as "paddle left, paddle right" — Gov. Jerry Brown tacks from side to side on questions of open government.

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