From Des Moines Register:
The state of Iowa will pay $30,500 in legal fees accumulated by a newspaper in a lawsuit over access to records from the University of Iowa.
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Read More… from State panel OKs $30,500 payment to newspaper for legal fees in open-records suit
A few state FOIA and local open government news items selected from many of interest that we might or might not have drawn attention to earlier in the week:
Open meeting law needs looser definition
MASSACHUSETTS—At the risk of sounding like a geezer, I want to tell you a little about what it was like reporting on local government before there was such a thing as an open meeting law.
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From KCRG-TV9:
DES MOINES—Gov. Terry Branstad says he will sign a bill into law, changing the state's open meetings and records laws and creating a nine-member Iowa Public Information Board.
Branstad scheduled a signing ceremony for Thursday afternoon.
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Read More… from Branstad Expected to Sign Open Records Law Thursday
From TheHawkEye.com:
The Iowa Senate unanimously approved an overhaul of the state's open meetings and records law Monday in a plan designed to offer greater public access to government.
The plan now goes to Gov. Terry Branstad, who has been supportive of the concept but hasn't signed off on details. The proposal comes after years of debate about enforcing laws giving the public access to government meetings and records.
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From DesMoinesRegister.com:
Iowa is getting a new state agency dedicated to enforcement of open government.
The Senate on Monday approved the bill, Senate File 430, on a 49-0 vote, sending the legislation to Gov. Terry Branstad, who championed the bill as one of his top legislative priorities this year.
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From Press-Citizen:
You think a government board is trying to skirt the open meetings law by recessing for hours or days at a time, rather than posting the time and location for a new meeting 24 hours in advance. What do you do?
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From Radio Iowa:
An effort to put more teeth in Iowa’s “sunshine” laws is on Governor Branstad’s “must-do” list for legislators. “We feel strongly that’s something that’s needed,” Branstad says. “We need an enforcement mechanism for the open meetings/open records law. They should not adjourn without doing that.”
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Read More… from Legislature moves toward tougher open records law
A few open government and FOIA news items selected from many of interest that we might or might not have drawn attention to earlier. Be sure to check out Sunshine Week 2012 News while you're at it.
Hacking as a Civic Duty
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