transparency – Page 6 – National Freedom of Information Coalition

How ‘the public is priced out of public records’ by Michigan universities

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In Michigan, transparency comes at a cost—and a seemingly arbitrary one at that.

The Society of Professional Journalists chapter at Central Michigan University recently conducted a FOIA audit of the state’s 15 public universities. It asked for a year’s worth of information on expenses from the university presidents and governing boards, and also police reports on campus sexual assaults. The goal: to compare how universities respond to requests for public information, and how much they charge.

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Tennessee bill about officer-involved shootings causes transparency concerns

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Open government advocates are speaking out against an amendment to a bill that would keep investigations into officer-involved shootings closed to the public unless the district attorney for the area the shooting happened in, and the chief officer for the law enforcement agency involved, agree to release the findings.

That could keep investigative findings about an officer involved shooting from the public indefinitely. The amendment is part of a bill that originally required the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to investigate all officer-involved shootings.

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Not too small for transparency

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In 28 years as Elmer Township supervisor, Leonard Brown doesn’t recall ever receiving a Freedom of Information Act request.

Clerk Lisa Schmidt has held her seat for 16 years, and she doesn’t either. It’s something they said likely doesn’t come up in a place their size. Only a few hundred people reside in the Sanilac County township — Brown added likely fewer than 600 — and they said they don’t have the same resources as bigger communities.

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FOI Oklahoma honors three for transparency; city of Norman deemed ‘Black Hole’

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Three Oklahomans were honored Saturday by FOI Oklahoma for their efforts to promote the First Amendment and the free-flow of public information.

Karen Holp, manager of KGOU radio in Norman, was presented the Marian P. Opala First Amendment Award; State Auditor and Inspector Gary Jones received the Sunshine Award; and Ziva Branstetter, of Tulsa, was presented the Ben Blackstock Award.

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New Tennessee law could make requesting public records less confusing

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The Tennessee Legislature has passed a bill that will require nearly every government office across the state to tell citizens how they can get public records.

The measure first directs the open records counsel in the state comptroller’s office to come up with a model public records policy that local government agencies could adapt. The legislation would then require government offices to have a written public records policy by July 17, 2017.

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Changes in New York Assembly aim for more transparency

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The New York State Assembly has passed a reform package to make its daily operations more open and fair, and to provide more transparency, giving the public more ways to see how the lawmaking body operates.

The package comes almost one year after the Democratic majority established a workgroup to recommend how to improve the legislative process, its operations and public participation. That workgroup issued a report with 42 recommendations late last week and the Assembly voted on Monday to adopt those recommendations that required rules changes.

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Op-ed: Here’s how New Mexico can create a more open, ethical legislature

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In 1910, Congress passed the Enabling Act that would allow New Mexico to become a state. The act set forth the terms and conditions that would finally, after nearly 60 years of trying, allow New Mexico to join the Union.

Chief among those requirements was that a constitution be in place. So in October of that year, 100 men gathered in Santa Fe to write one. It was overwhelmingly a conservative group, 71 Republicans from the conservative wing of the party, 28 Democrats and 1 Socialist.

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D.C. Transparency Watch: Appeal needed for NBC4 to get D.C. emails

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Emails went missing the first time D.C. television reporters asked for agency staff communications that could shed light on weak preparations for a sudden snow storm on Jan. 20. And no one is saying why.

As the "News 4 I-Team" reported last week, their first request yielded a total of zero records — none. This of course seemed highly unlikely, as D.C. residents had been howling that night about city streets and roads that were untreated sheets of ice.

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How public must science be? Union of Concerned Scientists would limit disclosures

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The group has been a fierce advocate for transparency, regularly championing investigations that rely on public documents to hold government officials accountable.

But over the past year, the Union of Concerned Scientists, a Cambridge-based advocacy group that represents thousands of scientists around the country, has campaigned to limit the scrutiny of scientists who work for public universities and agencies through public records requests.

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‘Dark money’ disclosure fight heading back to the Texas Legislature

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A top House lawmaker who led the charge to require politically active nonprofits to reveal their donors, a lightning rod issue opposed by Gov. Greg Abbott, says he wants Texas voters to decide the issue at the ballot box.

State Rep. Byron Cook, a Republican from Corsicana who narrowly won re-election earlier this month, said he is planning to propose next legislative session an amendment to the state constitution on the issue of disclosing so-called "dark money" donors.

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