Break the state’s laws, and a citizen can expect anything from a speeding ticket to an arrest warrant.
But when an agency within New York’s $118 billion state government fails to follow a portion of the state’s own open-records law, it leads to a much different result: nothing.
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Read More… from New York State offices ignore freedom of information laws
Ever wonder what local government does behind closed doors at open meetings? If so, a bill currently being reviewed by state representatives aims to bring more transparency to executive sessions.
The bill was introduced by state Rep. Rick Saccone, a Republican representing Allegheny and Washington counties.
“I talked to people around the state and there’s great support,” Saccone said Wednesday during a public hearing before the House State Government Committee. “Everyone seems to see the need to reform executive session.”
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Read More… from Allegheny County legislator seeks to make changes to Sunshine Act
As Westchester County considers filing a second lawsuit against the federal government over the loss of millions in community development grants, the administration of County Executive Rob Astorino is refusing to disclose the cost of its lengthy legal fights over the county's compliance with a 2009 fair housing settlement.
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Read More… from Westchester won’t divulge cost of legal fight vs. HUD
The Saratoga Springs Housing Authority may have hit on a novel way to get back at its critics — a hit in their wallets.
John Kaufmann, one of the housing authority’s most persistent critics, was recently hit with a bill for $394.25, after the SSHA responded voluminously to what he thought was a reasonable Freedom of Information Law request for documents.
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Read More… from Housing Authority hands critic big bill for photocopies
In the aftermath of a political scandal that rocked the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a New York state senator has introduced a bill that would subject the agency to freedom of information law requests from the public.
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Read More… from N.Y. Senator’s bill would subject Port Authority to FOIL laws
While there was a lot of hype about a report that the NYPD is testing Google Glass, in the short-term a policy-shift toward more accessible NYPD data has the potential to be more consequential for New Yorkers at large.
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Read More… from More Transparency on Agenda for NYPD and New York City Council
Last January, Ann Coulter expressed her anger about The (Westchester County, N.Y.) Journal-News’ gun-permit map, which it assembled from public records. “I want them for Manhattan!” Coulter told Sean Hannity. “I want to know how many rich liberals with their bodyguards have gun permits.”
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Read More… from From Poynter: FOIA lessons from Gawker Editor John Cook
SEATTLE — Socrata (www.socrata.com), a Seattle-based cloud software company focused exclusively on democratizing access to government data, today announced a partnership with New York City to make it dramatically easier and more cost effective for cities, counties and states to transparently disseminate their spending data.
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Read More… from Socrata and New York City Ring In New Year with Open Checkbook Collaboration
From The Journal News
The public’s right to know how government operates — and how it spends taxpayers’ money — supersedes local laws that pledge “confidentiality” and aim to protect the “privacy” of public officials.
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Read More… from Editorial: More local compliance on FOI laws needed
From Times Union:
Looking for records from Andrew Cuomo's tenure as attorney general? Good luck.
Fifteen months after leaving the Department of Law, Cuomo has sent almost nothing to the State Archives, designated by state law as the final resting place for every attorney general's papers.
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Read More… from A request to review Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s records as attorney general is delayed
