After three years and a losing court fight, the D.C. Council is nearing agreement on releasing records requested by activists concerning the controversial McMillan Reservoir development deal.
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Tag: DC Open Government Coalition
Press Release from DCOGC: Review of D.C. Office of Administrative Hearings Recommends Public Online Access to Dockets, Decisions
From the DC Open Governent Coalition:
For 20,000 appeals filed each year from decisions in dozens of District agencies, from trash tickets to school suspensions, unemployment denials and Food Stamp or Medicaid errors, the only way to check on your case is by calling the clerk’s office at the central appeals office or visiting in person downtown at Judiciary Square—a special chore for the thirty percent of customers from Virginia and Maryland.
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DCOGC Press Release: Reporters Say They Can Live With Federal Plan to Post All Records Released Under FOIA – With Delay
Results reported August 30 showed a large majority of reporters answering a survey by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and who use the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in their work support plans due in the new year that will require federal agencies to post online all records released.
Of the 107 responding, 83 per cent supported the idea, though 58 per cent did so only on condition that general release was delayed as much as a month to protect against competitors scooping the original requester.
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D.C., Md., Va. advocates oppose WMATA safety board secrecy
Transparency advocatees from D.C., Maryland and Virginia jointly urged legislators to ensure the public and news media have access to meetings and documents of the Metrorail Safety Commission proposed to oversee the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (“WMATA”). The D.C. Open Government Coalition; the Maryland, Delaware, D.C. Press Association; and Virginia Coalition for Open Government sent letters Aug. 18 to key lawmakers in the three jurisdictions seeking amendments to a proposed interstate compact to establish the safety commission.
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More D.C. Open Meetings Act Enforcement: Education Funding “Working Group” Told to Meet in Public
In a July 21, 2016, opinion, the D.C. Office of Open Government directed the District's Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) to end plans for months of private meetings of a school funding “working group” of officials and the public called for by law.
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FOIA Lawsuits Seek Records of Trump Hotel Deal — Including Closing Parts of “America’s Main Street”
Court challenges filed August 3 cite the “stubborn refusal” of District of Columbia and federal agencies to release records of the deal with the Trump Organization, developer of the Old Post Office Building at 12th St. and Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.
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Transparency Advocates Unsuccessful As D.C. Council Adds Only Small Changes In New Charter School Legislation
Legislation to shore up oversight of charter schools’ finances went quietly through the D.C. Council this June, though without requirements for the schools to follow open meetings and public records laws as advocates urged at the bill’s public hearing almost a year ago.
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Open Government Reports Can’t Be Found If You Ask D.C. Agency Staff — Auditor Finds in Live Tests
Asking by telephone and email for agencies’ reports on transparency, as part of a test of District of Columbia agencies’ public service, the D.C. Auditor found worse knowledge and courtesy than in a raft of other tests (such as calling to learn about a benefit or have a pothole patched).
The Auditor’s June 27 report called the results ”not encouraging.” Continue…
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D.C. Council Can’t Claim FOIA “Speech or Debate” Exemption
The D.C. high court ruled June 9 that an obscure law doesn’t work as an almost total exemption for the D.C. Council from the broad public access requirements of the District’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), extended by the Council to cover itself in 2000.
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