open records law – Page 2 – National Freedom of Information Coalition

County attorney to be prosecuted for allegedly violating Iowa’s open records law

Posted on

An Iowa state board has voted to prosecute the Des Moines County Attorney on accusations that she didn't turn over law enforcement records sought by relatives of a woman killed by a Burlington police officer.

The Hawk Eye reports that the Iowa Public Information Board voted 4-2 at its meeting last week to pursue action against Amy Beavers, saying she violated Iowa's open records law last year by not giving copies of the records to the attorney for Autumn Steele's relatives.

[…]

Editorial: Wisconsin’s open records law needs deadlines and consequences

Posted on

One game that government officials like to play is to pretend they didn't hear you. Kind of like kids when you ask them if they've done their homework or if they could mow the lawn. Ask again, and you might get a grunt, ask a third time and you might be accused of harassment.

I don't know if the state Department of Natural Resources is playing those games with Midwestern Environmental Advocates, but the public interest law firm filed suit last week contending just that.

[…]

Editorial: Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council right to challenge Public Records Board

Posted on

The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council took the right step this week in filing a complaint against the state Public Records Board, alleging violations of the state's open records law. The violations are serious and require a thorough examination by the Dane County district attorney, with whom the complaint was filed.

[…]

Florida performs inventory ahead of open data push

Posted on

Florida’s expansive open records laws have IT leaders preparing a new push to open up the state’s data.

[…]

Virginia reporters school state officials on open records laws

Posted on

State officials in Virginia scrambling to keep documents from the press. The governor’s office directing an agency to misrepresent open records laws. Local reporters pushing back at agency flacks about how to interpret those laws. And a response to a big Freedom of Information Act request from a newspaper that exposed how it all went down behind the scenes.

[…]

MO city attorney disputes Sunshine Law violation

Posted on

Joplin's top legal adviser contends he did not violate the Missouri Sunshine Law when he took an unposted telephone poll Sunday of City Council members on a settlement proposal in the Mike Woolston ethics case.

[…]

Wisconsin Assembly Speaker says he’s not pursuing open records changes despite bill request

Posted on

Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Tuesday that lawmakers will not be pursuing changes to the state's open records law this session, despite a request from his office to have a bill drafted setting different standards for the Legislature.

[…]

Attorneys say ND, MN transparency laws need digital revamp

Posted on

Freedom-of-information advocates say the open records laws in Minnesota and North Dakota are strong but need updating to address ambiguities concerning digital records, such as audio, video, emails and texts, which government officials are using more and more.

[…]

Broad reach of Virginia’s ‘working papers’ exemption unique among open records laws

Posted on

Top Virginia officials frequently rely on an alternative to one of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s alleged methods of secrecy: Rather than use private emails, governors, university presidents and others hide behind state law.

The former secretary of state and presumptive Democratic presidential front-runner stepped into a thicket last week over her use of a private account to conduct official business. If she were the elected leader of Virginia or the top executive at one of the state’s public universities, it wouldn’t have mattered.

[…]

SC House panel advances public records legislation

Posted on

Proposals aimed at ending governmental abuses of the state's open records law advanced Wednesday in the South Carolina House.

Legislation sent to the full House Judiciary Committee would require government entities to respond more quickly to requests, bar them from charging excessive fees, and create a way to settle disputes quickly and cheaply.

"It's designed to clean up the abuses that exist and are in practice today and make it easy for citizens to seek redress," said Rep. Weston Newton, R-Bluffton, the main sponsor.

[…]