transparency – Page 27 – National Freedom of Information Coalition

READER’S VIEWS: Governments need to be transparent

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The more transparent and open governments can be, the better for everyone. To most people, transparency has to do with disclosure. Providing information about an issue, event, project, policy, program etc. and then providing a way for people to find and view that information.

Typically, that would suffice. However, when the term is applied in our system of government that particular definition does not go far enough to meet the publicís (expected) definition of transparency. In a democratic government, transparency should be defined as disclosure and discussion.

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This Week in Transparency: Shenanigans at the CIA, open-source FOIA reform, and more

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State Open Government Activist is 2014 Freedom of Information Hall of Famer

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NEWS RELEASE

September 5, 2014
For immediate release
Contact: Hyde Post, President, NFOIC
hyde.post@gmail.com· 404.216.2661 or 573.882.4856

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WeGov – Our name for this trend is “We-government”

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All over the world, groups and individuals are using technology in a variety of innovative ways to increase government transparency, fight corruption, open data, hack on civic problems, strengthen economic development, address environmental problems, improve public health and education, and advance the conditions of women and children.

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Cherokee Chief Calls For Strengthening Tribe’s FOIA

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Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker opened the monthly Tribal Council meeting last week with a call for more transparency in government and strengthening of the tribe’s Freedom of Information Act, according to a tribe news release.

A Tribal Council work group will review potential changes to the law, then share its findings at the council’s Rules Committee meeting on May 28.

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Op-Ed: Right to know compromised

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For decades Vermont has been at the bottom of the list of states for the public’s right to know the truth about government operations, records and meetings.

Two years ago, with the strong support of Gov. Peter Shumlin, Secretary of State Jim Condos and others, the Legislature passed a new public records law that improved public access to government documents. Since then, the state has seen steady improvements in its rankings for open government.

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Editorial: Expand public access

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Short of rewriting the Virginia Constitution, there is no better way to recast the relationship between citizens and state government than overhauling the Freedom of Information Act. The law enables oversight of officials who operate on the people's behalf, spends public money and should be subject to scrutiny.

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Transparency main focus in California secretary of state race

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A string of legal cases against lawmakers that include two Democrats facing political corruption charges has magnified the usually quiet race for the office overseeing California elections and campaign fundraising.

Candidates vying to become secretary of state are offering competing plans to inject transparency and restore public faith in government.

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California Measure to make initiatives more transparent advances

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A bill that would bring greater transparency to California’s century-old ballot initiative system was approved on Tuesday, April 22, by lawmakers on the State Senate’s Elections Committee. The Ballot Initiative Transparency Act, SB1253, authored by Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg (D – Sacramento) was approved on a 4-to-1 vote and moves forward to the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

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Data Act Moves Forward: Transparency Closer to Becoming a Reality for Millions of Citizens

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A big data transformation is evolving apace in government agencies across the United States, and federal organizations will soon join the movement as the historic Data Act has just cleared a major milestone. Teradata Corp. (NYSE: TDC), the analytic data platforms, marketing applications and services company, announced today that supporters of the legislation will gather one week from today, April 29, for the inaugural Data Transparency Summit at Union Market in Washington, sponsored by the Data Transparency Coalition.

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