Until last summer, police in Connecticut had to provide information about arrests or prove why that information should not be public. But a state Supreme Court ruling in July turned that bedrock principle upside down.
The court basically gave police full power to withhold much detail about arrests until the case is closed, which could take years. The remedy, the court wrote, is legislative and up to the General Assembly.
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Read More… from Support bill to restore public right to arrest details
A state lawmaker says it’s time to subject the governor’s office and the Legislature to Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). State Rep. Brandon Dillon (D-Grand Rapids) says he’ll introduced the bill soon.
“It just didn’t seem to make any sense to continue to allow the governor’s office to not be subject to the same laws as everybody else,” he says. “So in this version of the bill, both the Legislature and the governor would be subject to FOIA.”
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Read More… from Bill Would Subject Governor, Legislature to Freedom of Information Act
The South Carolina House has given key approval to a bill that creates a new court to handle disputes over how government agencies handle open records requests.
The bill approved 90-16 on Wednesday would cut the amount of time agencies can take to answer a request for public records to 10 business days. It also would require agencies to post fee schedules to assure they are not trying to block requests by charging excessive money for copying and research.
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Read More… from Bill creating court to hear FOIA complaints passes House
Congress came tantalizingly close last year to passing a bill to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act, which allows journalists and the public to access federal government records. The legislation, which would have brought more transparency, was blocked in December when the House speaker, John Boehner, refused to hold a vote on the Senate bill with no explanation. Two months later, lawmakers have a second chance.
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Read More… from Opinion: A Stronger Freedom of Information Act
Advocates for greater openness in government were frustrated after Congress failed to update the Freedom of Information Act despite bipartisan support in the House and Senate.
Without a new law, government agencies are likely to continue stonewalling requests for records and other information, said Amy Bennett, assistant director of OpenTheGovernment.org, an advocacy group.
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Read More… from Congress Fails to Revise Government Records Law
Advocates for greater openness in government were frustrated Friday after Congress failed to update the Freedom of Information Act despite bipartisan support in the House and Senate.
Without a new law, government agencies are likely to continue stonewalling requests for records and other information, said Amy Bennett, assistant director of OpenTheGovernment.org, an advocacy group.
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Several federal regulatory agencies expressing concerns about intrusions into their internal decision-making processes have thrown a major roadblock in the path of a bill aimed at easing disclosure of records under the Freedom of Information Act.
Acting on the agencies' criticisms, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) placed a hold on the measure last week just as it appeared on course to swift passage in the Senate.
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