transparency – Page 9 – National Freedom of Information Coalition

Maryland bills seek to boost government transparency, accountability

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Government transparency was the reoccurring theme this week at a Maryland House Health and Government Operations Committee hearing, as lawmakers pushed for the passage of multiple bills that would beef up requirements of the Open Meetings Act.

As it now stands, the Open Meetings Act requires local- and state-level public bodies to hold open sessions in a location that is accessible to attendees, provide the public adequate notice of those sessions, and allow them to view the respective meeting minutes.

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Nebraska officials call for more transparency in bidding of future NU projects

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Some current and former elected officials are calling for more transparency in response to no-bid arrangements the University of Nebraska has used on some of its biggest construction projects.

State Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha, former Gov. Dave Heineman and Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert were among those advocating for transparency and public bidding after an investigative report raised concerns about the university's handling of projects.

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Transparency key to campaign finance reform in Mississippi

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Mississippi politicians are required to regularly file campaign finance reports, and those reports, posted online by the secretary of state, are supposed to show the public details of the money they took in and spent.

But often, none of the above is the case.

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Op-ed: Fine tune, but don’t overhaul Washington state’s Public Records Act

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As the voters said when adopting the Public Records Act in 1972: “The people of this state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies that serve them.”

The people use public records to learn what their government is up to, so they can maintain control.

But under an evolving proposal in the state House of Representatives, records requests that are now answered promptly could languish at the bottom of a pile, and much of what government does could be hidden behind a wall of bureaucracy.

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Oregon Senate passes insurance transparency bill

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The Oregon Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would increase insurance industry transparency.

The bill would allow the Department of Consumer and Business Services to publicly release complaints against insurers.

Under current law, complaints against insurers are not public records, and there is no publicly available official data about how often insurers defend their policyholders in Oregon. Continue…

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Georgia schools may be forced into more transparency

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Georgia school officials may be working with less state control, but lawmakers want them to work more openly, as well.

Two proposals that cleared the state House of Representatives this week would require school administrators to publicly post information about curriculum and finances. Rep. Dave Belton, R-Buckhead, sponsored a measure that requires districts to “make readily accessible” school-level details and documents that are already public information.

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New Mexico Senate committee kills ethics and transparency reform measures

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In less than an hour Tuesday morning, the Senate Rules Committee killed two good-government proposals, helping cement the Senate’s reputation as the place where ethics and transparency legislation goes to die.

One proposal, HJR 5, would have asked voters in November to create a state ethics commission, an idea the New Mexico Legislature has contemplated since 2007.

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Texas to launch data-sharing pilot, aims to deliver services more efficiently

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Texas plans to launch an open-data pilot program that will let state agencies share information and collaborate on providing services to residents.

Although the trial program, set to start in March, is just a test, a key Texas IT official hopes it will turn into a full-fledged program to deliver services more efficiently. The goal of the pilot is to spark connections between agencies.

That is especially needed in Texas, according to Ed Kelly, the statewide data coordinator at the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR).

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Editorial: Montana Democrats did right by opening meeting

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We have to giggle just a little bit.

On one hand, it's amusing that a bunch of media organizations make a big deal anytime a group of leaders, lawmakers or politicians want to hole up for a meeting. Anyone who has ever been to a government meeting knows what a lonely, sleepy proposition that can be.

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Former D.C. AG scores weak transparency, accountability in D.C. prosecutions, calls on Congress for reform

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In a sharp attack on a longstanding limit of the home rule powers of the District of Columbia, former D.C. Attorney General Irving Nathan has called for local prosecution of serious crimes.

The 1973 law allowing some local autonomy for the District also kept some matters out of the hands of the new elected legislature, including changing anything about the longstanding prosecution duties of the U.S. Attorney here.

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