Illinois legislators introduced the bipartisan Taxpayer Receipt Act on Wednesday, which would provide all taxpayers with itemized receipts detailing where taxpayers' dollars will be spent, as well as how much money the federal government is borrowing in their name.
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The movement to publish open government data has attracted increased attention through initiatives such as the Open Government Partnership,the new Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data — a coalition of over 70 organisations including the governments of the US and Mexico — and the International Open Data Charter.
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Read More… from Editorial: 5 things governments must consider when committing to open data
When federal agencies make grants or design new regulations, they often rely on panels of experts — including industry representatives — for counsel. But knowing precisely what these government-created advisory committees are pushing has been shrouded in secrecy: A new congressional report shows that most of the committee meetings are now held behind closed doors.
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Read More… from REPORT: Most federal advisory committee meetings now held in secret
Frustrated by the lack of legislative oversight in Kentucky's struggling pension systems, two Republican lawmakers say they are introducing a bill to make the agencies more transparent.
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Read More… from Kentucky legislators propose transparency measures for troubled state pensions
A coalition of public watchdog groups, civil rights advocates and Massachusetts newspaper publishers is calling for quick action on legislation aimed at overhauling a state public records law they say hasn't been updated in more than 40 years.
Momentum for a public records bill that appeared headed for a vote in the Legislature has slowed. At the end of September, House Speaker Robert DeLeo said he expected the Massachusetts House to vote on the measure within a week or two.
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Read More… from Supporters of public records overhaul await Beacon Hill vote
Perhaps no other process of government that has such a significant impact on people’s lives is as opaque and less understood as establishing the rules for land use.
To systematically evaluate how land use decisions get made and how they might impact people and communities, more transparency and data is needed around the local zoning process. Continue…
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Read More… from Editorial: Can transparency, open data help fix the land zoning process?
The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado has launched Mobile Justice Colorado, a new police accountability tool that empowers Coloradans to witness and record police interactions and to submit cell phone videos of civil rights abuses directly to the ACLU of Colorado, so they cannot be deleted or destroyed.
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Florida lawmakers are calling for more transparency at state colleges and universities funded with donations.
Florida law allows public schools to keep secret the way they spend private money, one reason the University of Central Florida and coach George O'Leary faced criticism for not releasing terms of his contract. They didn't have to because O'Leary was paid with private money.
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Read More… from Florida lawmakers seek transparency in college funding, donations
The public will get its first look Thursday at a working version of https://beta.fec.gov, which tries to make it simpler to figure out who is funding elections and how politicians are spending donors’ money.
Among the many changes: The new version can be viewed on any size screen, allowing users to view campaign-finance data on their mobile phones and tablets. Continue…
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Read More… from FEC overhauls website to make it easier to track campaign money
Nestled firmly in a bill passed last week by the Pennsylvania Senate is a long list of reporting requirements that, if passed by the House and signed by the governor, would force the University of Pittsburgh and the three other state-related universities to disclose data ranging from minutes of meetings to ratios of course credits awarded to various types of students.
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Read More… from Bill to broaden state open records law passes PA Senate
