ALBANY–A bill shortening the time a state agency can take to appeal a Freedom of Information Law decision passed the Senate on Monday, three months after passing the Assembly.
The measure, sponsored by Senator Michael Ranzenhofer, a Republican from Western New York, and Assemblyman David Buchwald, a Westchester Democrat, passed both houses unanimously.
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Read More… from New York: Shorter FOIL appeal process passes Senate
Advocates for reform of DC Jail reported Thursday (11) on six recommendations about facilities and programs, but they save the seventh to blast the District government for how hard it had been to track down facts about the Jail and the privately-run annex, CTF.
"Public records are difficult to obtain," wrote the authors. "The process for obtaining public records regarding the District's correctional system is complex, time-consuming, occasionally befuddling, and sometimes fruitless."
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A new era of transparency in West Virginia begins today, as revisions to the state’s Freedom of Information Act officially become enacted.
“All West Virginians benefit from these changes to the state’s Freedom of Information Act,” said Don Smith, executive director of the West Virginia Press Association
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Read More… from West Virginia: Officials say new information law provides more transparency
At the Treasury Department, the memo came down from the deputy executive secretary, Wally Adeyemo, in December of 2009. Going forward, the memo stated, “sensitive information” requested under the Freedom of Information Act was to be reviewed not only by career FOIA officials but also by a committee of political appointees, including Adeyemo and representatives from the public-affairs, legislative-affairs, and general counsel’s office, before release.
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Read More… from The Obama Administration’s Newly Political Approach to FOIAs
SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Attorney General’s Office has finally determined that the now-dissolved Ford-Iroquois Public Health Department improperly denied a Freedom of Information Act request filed nearly two years ago by the Paxton Record.
The weekly newspaper based in Paxton, Ill., filed its FOIA request with the health department that served Ford and Iroquois counties on Sept. 25, 2013, almost a year before the bi-county agency was dissolved.
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Read More… from Illinois AG’s office sides with Paxton Record in FOIA complaint
Federal lawmakers are once again considering the first major changes to the Freedom of Information Act since 2007 after similar efforts stalled late last year.
John Gavin, a financial analyst based in Plymouth, is paying close attention to how the debate goes. That's because his business relies in large part on information gleaned from FOIA requests submitted to the SEC.
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Read More… from Freedom of Information Act: Why you should care about potential changes
The Coalition Wednesday (3) wrote Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (also the other Members and the Mayor), asking that a section of the massive budget support bill for the coming year be dropped before the upcoming final vote for lack of any public input.
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New documents shed light on a quiet campaign by federal agencies to shape legislation that would strengthen the Freedom of Information Act.
Emails between staff for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and congressional aides, obtained by Greenwire under FOIA, show financial regulators' heightened interest in and attempts to change S. 337 and H.R. 653, two bills moving on Capitol Hill that would reform the public records law. Continue>>>
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Read More… from FEDERAL AGENCIES: Behind the scenes, regulators try to shape FOIA bill
HEARING PURPOSE:
This hearing will examine the processes agencies use to meet FOIA’s legal requirements and explore barriers to effective and efficient compliance from the FOIA officer’s perspective. The Committee will hear from the witnesses tasked with implementing FOIA at several agencies that need to improve response efforts. View live streaming here
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HEARING PURPOSE:
To examine the use of FOIA requests as a tool for government transparency and explore barriers to accessing public documents from the user’s perspective. The Committee will hear from witnesses that use FOIA in news reporting, academic research, and to conduct government oversight. View live streaming here
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