The New York State Freedom of Information Law states:
"The legislature hereby finds that a free society is maintained when government is responsive and responsible to the public, and when the public is aware of governmental actions. The more open a government is with its citizenry, the greater the understanding and participation of the public in government."
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A state Supreme Court judge has ruled that the state needs to make public statistical information on the number of assault weapons registered in New York.
The April 30 ruling was disclosed today by the Shooters Committee on Public Education, a gun-rights group that sued last year after the state refused to release the details. State Police claimed the information was not public under a gun-control law passed in January 2013.
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Read More… from Gun group wins lawsuit against NY to disclose gun records
The Center for Technology in Government at the University at Albany, State University of New York has recently partnered with SAP to produce a research paper on opening government data.
“Open government is about a commitment to ensuring that citizens, the private sector civil society and government itself has a full understanding of what’s going on in government, so they can actively engage in the process of governing,” says Centre Director Theresa Pardo, in the video ‘Best Run Cities’.
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Read More… from Governments partner with SAP for open government and open data successes
An incredible amount of money ó about $140 billion ó is on the line. Teacher evaluations, tighter ethics laws for lawmakers, higher education and school funding, environmental cleanup money and much more are all getting hashed out behind closed doors in Albany these days.
It is an unseemly, sullied process, rarely leading to the best deal.
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Read More… from Editorial: Budget or no budget, process still stinks in NY State
Automatically deleting email after 90 days could lead to the accidental disposal of important records, the head of New York's Committee on Open Government told Capital, as the Cuomo administration presses ahead with its controversial new policy.
Robert Freeman, who has worked for the committee since it was founded in 1974, said there shouldn't be a fixed time governing when records are saved or discarded.
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Read More… from Open government leader warns against email deletion policy
The Niagara County Legislature has passed a resolution requiring members of the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency to file financial disclosures that would be publicly accessible through Freedom of Information Law requests.
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Five years ago, a taxpayer watchdog invoked the state Freedom of Information Law and started a court battle for access to the names of retired public employees who are collecting pensions, along with the amounts of their payments.
The litigation drags on, despite a ruling by New York’s highest court that the information is public. As it clearly is under the law. As it must be in order for the public to scrutinize New York’s vast, increasingly expensive public retirement systems.
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The other day, a local woman approached a Gazette editor and regaled him with tales of her experience trying to get information from a local government.
She complained that her request for information wasn't honored in a timely manner, that government officials kept pushing back the date of when they said the information would be available, and then threatened her if she continued to badger them.
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