What’s Sunshine Week, you ask?
The journalism associations behind the mid-March event describe Sunshine Week as “a national initiative to promote a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information.” Sunshine is shorthand for the open-meetings and open-records laws that guarantee a governing body is operating in the open.
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Read More… from Editorial: Alabama jumped the gun on Sunshine Week. And that’s just fine by me.
The National Press Club, as part of its participation in Sunshine Week, is hosting a panel discussion the evening of Wednesday, March 19 at 6:30 p.m. on transparency in the District of Columbia.
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Read More… from National Press Club to Host D.C. Open Government Coalition Forum
Taxpayers fund the operations of private prisons in Oklahoma, just as they do state and federal ones — but they largely don’t have access to the same information and records about those private facilities.
A new report argues that private prison operators should be subject to the same level of scrutiny and transparency as state- and federal-run prisons.
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With a deadline for bills to pass one chamber of the Legislature looming next week, there has been little action on several measures meant to create more transparency in government.
A proposal to open judicial records outlining probable cause for search and arrest warrants that initially appeared to have bipartisan support may be watered down considerably after a few prosecutors objected.
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Read More… from In Kansas, Bills to shed light on government remain in dark
More than two centuries ago, the likes of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe established the cornerstones of this great commonwealth and the United States.
They built this commonwealth and nation understanding a fundamental principle — that without transparent and open government accountable to the people, those people cannot be free.
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Since it was launched last year, The Telegraph’s Open Government Project has often highlighted the difficulty of getting access to government records, but this week, we want to acknowledge public servants in Nashua who went the extra mile to bring transparency to their work.
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Read More… from Open Gov’t Project: Branding project records released
Last time we checked in with Garrett Dunwoody, San Mateo County’s Open Data Manager, we talked about cybersecurity as it relates to open data for Cybersecurity Month. We also went over the definitions of open data and open government. Since then he has moved from the county’s Information Services Department and now works out of the County Managers Office on budget, performance, policy, and Open government initiatives. Today, we continue our conversation, but this time focusing on the why of open data and its relationship with open government.
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A Superior Court judge ruled Friday that the state Board of Education violated an open government law for failing to properly respond to a petition by the Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The ACLU and more than 15 other organizations filed suit to require the Board of Education to hold a public hearing on a requirement that links the NECAP test to high school graduation.
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Read More… from Judge rules R.I. Board of Education violated open government law
“Closed-door interactions.” That’s what the American Political Science Association (APSA) has recommended as one way to tackle congressional inaction. An APSA task force suggests that less transparency in government has clear and actionable benefits which can bolster the ability of Congress to resolve difficult policy issues.
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Read More… from Is Open Government a Barrier to Legislative Action?
While opposed by open-government advocates, a Senate bill advanced in the state Legislature this week – with amendments – to allow county council members to jointly attend any meetings or presentations without violating the state's Sunshine Law, as long as the gathering is open to the public.
An amended Senate Bill 2962 passed out of the Senate Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs Committee on Tuesday. Among those on the committee, which voted unanimously in favor, was panel Vice Chairwoman and South and West Maui Sen. Roz Baker.
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Read More… from In Hawaii, open-government advocates are alarmed at advancing legislation
