Diversity is a terrible thing. Before dashing off an email criticizing me, I’m not talking diversity of race, gender or ethnicity, which I wholeheartedly support. I’m talking about diversity among public records laws. Consider these national disparities in public records requests. A Pennsylvania citizen requests a criminal investigative record under its state’s Right to Know […]
Read More… from US Open Public Records Laws in Desperate Need for Unity
The ongoing assault by Ohio Republican lawmakers on public records laws and those who fight for citizen access to records shows no signs of slowing down.
House Republicans tried to use the state's two-year budget this month to shield themselves and state officials from new citizen-initiated records audits being conducted by Ohio Auditor Dave Yost, a Republican who refreshingly doesn't follow the party line 100 percent of the time.
[…]
Ohio House Republicans have put language into the state budget plan that would shield them and other state officials from audits that would determine whether they are following public-records laws.
State Auditor Dave Yost, a fellow Republican, says the language is nothing less than a direct attack on the authority of his office.
[…]
IN EARLY December, President Obama announced a series of measures aimed at closing the gap between citizens and law enforcement. One of those measures was a plan to distribute $263 million in funding for agencies to purchase body cameras that can be used during police interactions with citizens.
[…]
Read More… from Opinion: When governments open their files, the public benefits
