A three judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has ruled that the National Security Agency properly used a glomar response in denying a request for information about a 2010 cyberattack of Google users in China. The AP has more here. The UPI reports on a decision by Judge Gladys Kessler of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia finding that a draft CIA report on the Bay of Pigs is entitled to Exemption 5 protection 30 years after it being written.
Freedom of Information
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Most Topular Stories
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Case Roundup
The FOIA blog14 May 2012 | 8:10 am -
FAC, EFF and Wired win unsealing of documents in hip-hop website seizure case
First Amendment Coalition15 May 2012 | 11:24 pmBY DEBORAH FRUIN–A federal district court in Los Angeles has unsealed records related to a government shutdown of a music blog/website, Dajaz1.com, for suspicion of copyright piracy. The unsealing had been requested by FAC, Wired, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Using a forfeiture authority usually invoked to seize cars and houses in drug cases, federal authorities had seized the hip hop website, then avoided a hearing in the matter and refused to give an explanation for over a year while the website was shutdown. After 13 months, the government dropped the case, returning the… -
Nampa Man Awarded 2012 Max Dalton Open Government Award
IDOG12 May 2012 | 11:19 amA Nampa man who went to the Idaho Supreme Court to get records associated with former Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney John Bujak has been named the recipient of the 2012 Max Dalton Open Government Award sponsored by the Idaho Newspaper Foundation. From the Idaho Newspaper Association -
Did OpenSecrets.org Foil A Chinese Propaganda Hit?
OpenSecrets Blog15 May 2012 | 2:57 pmTensions between China and the United States have been high lately, particularly since the blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng fled to the U.S. embassy -- a drama that current U.S. Ambassador to China Gary F. Locke played a prominent role in defusing.But Locke's high-profile role was not appreciated by Chinese authorities, and since the drama began unfolding several weeks ago, he's been under attack by several prominent government-controlled media outlets.On Monday, when a commenter asked about Locke's personal wealth, editors at the Beijing Daily took the opportunity to take another dig at… -
Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group: Super PAC profile: Ending Spending aids Palin-endorsed Senate hopeful in Nebraska
Sunlight Foundation Transparency Ecosystem15 May 2012 | 2:27 pmA Florida-based super PAC that made more than $1 million in contributions in 2010, almost all of it underwritten by the former CEO of online brokerage TD Ameritrade, is emerging as a factor in Tuesday's Republican Senate primary in Nebraska. In the three days before the election, the Ending Spending Action Fund has dumped almost $255,000 into the race to help Deb Fischer, a state senator who has suddenly turned an already-heated contest for the GOP Senate nomination into a three-way race. The group has not yet disclosed any donors this year, but in the 2010 campaign cycle, $1.16 million…
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The FOIA blog
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Case Roundup
14 May 2012 | 8:10 amA three judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has ruled that the National Security Agency properly used a glomar response in denying a request for information about a 2010 cyberattack of Google users in China. The AP has more here. The UPI reports on a decision by Judge Gladys Kessler of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia finding that a draft CIA report on the Bay of Pigs is entitled to Exemption 5 protection 30 years after it being written. -
FOIA Suit Filed Over Meetings Between the EPA and White House
10 May 2012 | 8:38 amThe Environmental Integrity Project has filed a lawsuit concerning a request made for records concerning meetings between the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and the EPA. The Hill has more on the suit here. -
IRS Identity Theft and Collateral Damage to the FOIA
9 May 2012 | 9:29 amThe IRS has a serious problem -- criminals are filing fake tax returns in increasing numbers and victimizing American taxpayers. One of the ways this is being done by using the Social Security Master Death List and filing fake tax returns on newly deceased individuals -- often children. ABC News has more on this issue here. The collateral damage to this problem may be a restriction in information available throught the FOIA. Because deceased individuals have no privacy interests, the Social Security Administration was forced to release its Master Death index years… -
DOJ Trying to Figure Out Response to Unseal Watergate Records
6 May 2012 | 3:21 pmThe Blog of the Legal Times has this on a request from a historian to United States District Court for the District of Columbia Chief Judge Royce Lamberth to unseal illegal wiretaps relating to Watergate. The Department of Justice has asked for two more weeks to frame a response. Hopefully, they'll figure out a way to bless the unsealing of these records. -
Jonathon Pollard Sues For His Pre-Sentencing Report Documents
2 May 2012 | 11:22 amJonathon Pollard, who was sentenced to prison in 1987 for spying against the United States has filed a FOIA lawsuit in the Southern District of New York. Pollard's requests made in 2010 went to the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Defense. Neither Defense nor Justice made a final decision on the records.
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First Amendment Coalition
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FAC, EFF and Wired win unsealing of documents in hip-hop website seizure case
15 May 2012 | 11:24 pmBY DEBORAH FRUIN–A federal district court in Los Angeles has unsealed records related to a government shutdown of a music blog/website, Dajaz1.com, for suspicion of copyright piracy. The unsealing had been requested by FAC, Wired, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Using a forfeiture authority usually invoked to seize cars and houses in drug cases, federal authorities had seized the hip hop website, then avoided a hearing in the matter and refused to give an explanation for over a year while the website was shutdown. After 13 months, the government dropped the case, returning the… -
A&A: Yelp violates right to freedom of speech by “filtering” good reviews out, leaving bad ones in!
15 May 2012 | 8:27 pmQ: My reputation has been attacked by a few Yelpers, who never used my services, or met me. However, my concern is that right now about 75% of my positive reviews are “filtered” while all the negatives mostly stay at the top! Apparently, Yelp is not interested in real experience of those who really use my services. At the same time negative reviews posted for some businesses are filtered in large number. For me the whole thing started when a Yelp employee called and suggested that advertising with them would let them to control my negative reviews. I said I didn’t… -
A&A: Is it legal to sell public records for profit?
15 May 2012 | 8:08 pmQ: Can a person request records under the CA Public Records Act and then make money off of the re-distribution of these records? For example, can the records be put on a website that has advertising or can the records be outright sold? Clearly people could still request the records directly from the agency if they wished to avoid the profit-seeking website. A: As a general matter, the Public Records act is requestor-neutral. That is, the agency, with certain exceptions, must treat all requesters the same. For that reason, the Act expressly bars “limitations on access to a public record… -
A&A: Parents not invited to meeting that resulted in removing their autistic student from public school
15 May 2012 | 8:02 pmQ: A group of parents circulated a petition to remove my autistic son from a public school. They submitted this petition to a Board of Education member. There were a series of email exchanges between the parents and Board member. At the parents’ email requests, the Board Member arranged a meeting with himself, the Superintendent, and a large group of parents in a forum at the school district’s office to discuss my son, and behaviors resulting from his disability. This group of parents included parents from the PTA Board at the school site. Invited to this group forum were also the… -
A&A: City gone wild with continual Brown Act and CPRA violations
15 May 2012 | 7:47 pmQ: At last night’s city council meeting one city councilperson was censored by having his microphone turned off in the middle of his public comments. He was talking about how the city has lost millions [like the city of Bell] and given away millions more as favors to certain council and city staff friends. Actions are being taken by the city manager to sue this same outspoken city councilman over his asking questions about contract steering by the city finance director. Multiple PRA public document requests by our newspaper have been denied – some for three years. The city police chief is…
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IDOG
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Nampa Man Awarded 2012 Max Dalton Open Government Award
12 May 2012 | 11:19 amA Nampa man who went to the Idaho Supreme Court to get records associated with former Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney John Bujak has been named the recipient of the 2012 Max Dalton Open Government Award sponsored by the Idaho Newspaper Foundation. From the Idaho Newspaper Association -
T.F. Council Candidate Interviews to Remain Closed
3 May 2012 | 7:53 pmThe public and press won’t be allowed to sit in as candidates interview for the open Twin Falls City Council seat. The public normally elects city council members to serve two-year terms. But when a mid-term vacancy opens, a city’s mayor can appoint someone to the seat. That person will serve until the next general election. From the Twin Falls Times-News -
Do Business Incentives Create Jobs? Idaho Is One Of 13 States In The Dark
2 May 2012 | 7:54 pmThe state of Idaho will give up an estimated $845 million this year in the form of tax credits and exemptions. And only a select few at the Idaho Tax Commission know exactly where that money goes. Idaho’s law is pretty clear, individual and business tax information is confidential. Tax returns, specifically, are confidential under federal law. But some states have set up reporting requirements for businesses to disclose which state-specific incentives they’re using (think tax credits and exemptions), and how much those are worth. Idaho isn’t one of those states. From State Impact Idaho -
GOP chair sues online commenter
26 Apr 2012 | 9:28 amKootenai County GOP Central Committee Chairman Tina Jacobson has filed a lawsuit against a Huckleberries Online commenter who goes by the pseudonym “almostinnocentbystander.” Jacobson's lawsuit names as defendant “John Doe” and/or “Jane Doe.” The Spokesman-Review is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit. From Huckleberries Online/The Spokesman-Review -
The state secret Wayne Hoffman let slip
23 Apr 2012 | 3:25 pmSought or not, Wayne Hoffman has earned your gratitude. The director of the right-wing Idaho Freedom Foundation is credited with exposing the inner workings of Idaho's new closed Republican Primary election. Editorial from the Lewiston Tribune
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OpenSecrets Blog
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Did OpenSecrets.org Foil A Chinese Propaganda Hit?
15 May 2012 | 2:57 pmTensions between China and the United States have been high lately, particularly since the blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng fled to the U.S. embassy -- a drama that current U.S. Ambassador to China Gary F. Locke played a prominent role in defusing.But Locke's high-profile role was not appreciated by Chinese authorities, and since the drama began unfolding several weeks ago, he's been under attack by several prominent government-controlled media outlets.On Monday, when a commenter asked about Locke's personal wealth, editors at the Beijing Daily took the opportunity to take another dig at… -
Violence Against Women Act Focus of Heavy Lobbying
15 May 2012 | 1:33 pmThis week the House is debating the reauthorization of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, and there seems to be little danger of a relapse of the relative bipartisanship that occurred at the end of April, when the Senate approved its version of the bill.By the time of that vote, 15 Republicans joined the entire Democratic caucus in passing the legislation, which is not to say that the two sides were singing in harmony from the start. And things are worse over on the other side of the Capitol. Even before things got tense, 44 organizations were registered to lobby on the bill as of March 31… -
Ron Paul's Unorthodox Fundraising
15 May 2012 | 11:26 amRon Paul's announcement Monday effectively ending his presidential bid brought the end of a quiet campaign that nevertheless raised more money -- $36.7 million as of March 31-- than that of any Republican candidate other than Mitt Romney.About 45 percent of Paul's money came from small donors -- those giving $200 or less. The Federal Election Commission doesn't require disclosure of the identities of those individuals. But Paul supporters who went over that threshhold have a distinct identity. For starters, they are overwhelmingly male -- about 82.8… -
Obama Bundlers Include Many Who Are LGBT
14 May 2012 | 4:08 pmTicket sales for tonight's gala fundraiser hosted by Ricky Martin at New York's Rubin Museum of Art were selling fine before last week, but there were still a fair number left. Then on Monday, Obama announced his support for gay marriage. The remaining tickets, which went for a minimum of $5,000 apiece, sold out within 24 hours. "There was a tremendous response," said one fundraiser.That was hardly the message the Obama campaign wanted to project. By the end of last week, campaign staffers were discouraging some of its more prominent LGBT fundraisers from speaking with the press. The concern,… -
OpenSecrets Blog's PolitiQuizz: Attack of the 'Death Star'
14 May 2012 | 2:45 pmIt's election season. For politicians, that means two things: campaigning and fundraising. But for most Americans, it only means one: ads, ads, ads. And in this, the first presidential election since Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission -- wherein the U.S. Supreme Court overturned decades-long prohibitions on the ability of corporations, unions and other groups to pour millions into independent expenditures -- hundreds of super PACs are dominating the airwaves.But are they really? Yes and no.As of this writing, only 81 of the 535 super PACs that have received the Federal Election…
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Sunlight Foundation Transparency Ecosystem
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Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group: Super PAC profile: Ending Spending aids Palin-endorsed Senate hopeful in Nebraska
15 May 2012 | 2:27 pmA Florida-based super PAC that made more than $1 million in contributions in 2010, almost all of it underwritten by the former CEO of online brokerage TD Ameritrade, is emerging as a factor in Tuesday's Republican Senate primary in Nebraska. In the three days before the election, the Ending Spending Action Fund has dumped almost $255,000 into the race to help Deb Fischer, a state senator who has suddenly turned an already-heated contest for the GOP Senate nomination into a three-way race. The group has not yet disclosed any donors this year, but in the 2010 campaign cycle, $1.16 million… -
Sunlight Foundation: Survey finds attack ads work, though better on some voters than others
15 May 2012 | 2:07 pmIf the early campaign-season barrage of negative advertising is any indicator, the 2012 election is going to be a decidedly uncivil one. According to the Wesleyan Media Project, 70% of advertising in the current presidential campaign has been negative – as compared to just 9% at this stage four years ago. But just how well do these negative ads work? Historically, political science research has had a hard time uncovering much evidence for their effectiveness. But recent research is more and more finding that they do indeed move voters. A recent survey by Arizona State professors Kim L. -
Sunlight Foundation: Courts See the Light on Transparency
15 May 2012 | 1:31 pmYesterday, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals demonstrated that it gets the need for greater transparency of money in politics. In a victory for transparency advocates, the court denied a motion to stay a lower court ruling that requires comprehensive disclosure of “electioneering communications.” In non-lawyer language, that means that nonprofit groups like the Chamber of Commerce, Crossroads GPS and Priorities USA that want to run political ads right before an election will have to disclose their donors. The case is Van Hollen v. FEC and the issue is whether the… -
Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group: JPMorgan better at hedging political bets than financial investments?
15 May 2012 | 11:42 amJPMorgan Chase & Co. may have lost a $2 billion dollar bet on the markets, but the investment giant's campaign contributions show a much more conservative approach, featuring mega contributions to both political parties -- and both of this year's leading presidential candidates. The company and its employees have been generous donors to political campaigns, totaling over $21 million since 1991, according to Influence Explorer. The Center for Responsive Politics lists the storied bank as one of President Obama's top 2008 donors; his haul that year made him the top recipient of… -
Sunlight Foundation: 2Day in #OpenGov 5/15/2012
15 May 2012 | 11:26 amNEWS ROUNDUP Government Running against corruption: Three candidates in upcoming congressional primaries are basing their campaigns on fighting corruption and money in politics. (Republic Report) The Road less transparent: Some observers are concerned that travel limitations imposed by the OMB could lead to less transparency by limiting agency interaction with the public. (Federal Computer Week) State and Local Live Free and consider open source: New Hampshire's CIO expects the state to reap benefits of a law, signed in February, that requires state agencies to consider open source options…
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Deeplinks
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This Week in Internet Censorship: India, Iran, Brazil, Russia, and More
15 May 2012 | 7:27 pmIran Continues March Towards “Halal Internet” This past weekend, Iran’s minister of telecommunications announced that domestic institutions including banks, telecom companies, insurance firms, and universities are now prohibited from dealing with emails that do not come from an “.ir” domain name. This means that customers who use foreign email clients such as Gmail, Yahoo!, and Hotmail will have to switch to domestic Iranian accounts, which are subject to Iranian legal jurisdiction. While the announcement suggests that the use of foreign email clients leaves Iranian data vulnerable… -
TPP: Internet Freedom Activists Protest Secret Trade Agreement Being Negotiated This Week
14 May 2012 | 6:06 pmThe U.S. content industry will try anything to preserve its profit margin and power over the creative content market at the expense of the Internet. They will use any tactic that circumvents democratic processes to make new rules for the Internet that favor their interests and not the interests of Internet users or the technical community that actually builds the Internet as we know it. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is yet another example of these tactics. The TPP is a secretive plurilateral1 agreement that includes provisions dealing with intellectual property, including online… -
DHS Considers Collecting DNA From Kids; DEA and US Marshals Already Do
14 May 2012 | 3:45 pmDocuments just released by US Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) in response to one of EFF’s Freedom of Information Act requests show that DHS is considering collecting DNA from kids ages 14 and up—and is exploring expanding its regulations to allow collection from kids younger than that. The proposal appears to be working its way through DHS in the wake of regulations from the Department of Justice that require all federal agencies—including DHS and its components such as ICE—to collect DNA from individuals arrested for federal crimes as well as “from non-United States… -
Global Network Initiative Gets an Inside Look at Tech Firms’ Human Rights Practices
11 May 2012 | 2:53 pmOn April 18, the Global Network Initiative (GNI) released its annual report documenting third-party assessments conducted in 2011 and 2012 for GNI’s three founding corporate participants: Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft. GNI was formed to bring major Internet companies together with human rights organizations to improve practices around human rights, privacy and freedom of expression on the Internet. In the past year, GNI expanded to include two more corporate participants—Evoca and Websense—and Facebook has recently joined the organization as an observing member. GNI has also added seven… -
NY Twitter Decision Fails to Recognize Content and Location Data Require a Warrant
11 May 2012 | 12:57 pmA New York judge's broad opinion, ordering Twitter to comply with a subpoena (PDF) and turn over account information about one of its users arrested for disorderly conduct in connection with an Occupy Wall Street protest, is worse the deeper you dig into it. The judge ruled (PDF) that the user, Malcolm Harris, lost ownership of his tweets once he posted them online, and therefore had no legal standing to challenge the subpoena. This decision prompted several worried responses, including our own, because our Fourth Amendment privacy rights should not be surrendered simply…
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The Fine Print: blog posts from OMBWatch
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Secret Trans-Pacific Trade Agreement Could Undermine U.S. Health and Safety Standards
11 May 2012 | 7:12 pmOn May 8, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a regional trade agreement between the United States and Asia-Pacific countries, kicked off a new round of negotiations. These talks will be held in secret with the text of the trade agreement hidden from the public. However, if approved, the agreement would create legally binding obligations on federal, state, and local governments, which could undermine domestic environmental and health laws. In other words, the agreement has the potential to impact the lives of millions of Americans. For example, the TPP could threaten the U.S. Public Health Service… -
New Executive Order Ignores the Mission of Federal Regulatory Agencies
11 May 2012 | 11:35 amA new executive order, "Identifying and Reducing Regulatory Burdens," was issued yesterday, focusing exclusively on reducing the costs of regulations to businesses. This is the latest in a series of "aggressive efforts" to reform the regulatory system by cutting these costs. On Jan. 18, 2011, President Obama issued Executive Order 13563, "Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review," instructing federal agencies to develop plans to review existing regulations to identify rules that are "outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome, and to… -
Department of Interior’s Proposed Fracking Guidelines Disappoint
4 May 2012 | 6:45 pmFor months, we've been waiting for the U.S. Department of the Interior to issue standards for natural gas drilling and extraction on federal land and tribal land. The proposed rule was finally released on May 4 and it is very disappointing. The rule sets standards for the controversial drilling process known as fracking (hydraulic fracturing) and the hope was that the federal government would create a "best practices" standard to ensure safe drilling practices and ongoing monitoring to protect the purity of the water and land around the well sites. This did not happen. To start on a… -
International Regulatory Cooperation: Will Harmonization Protect the Public or Prioritize Corporate Profits?
3 May 2012 | 8:00 amA May 1 Executive Order on international regulatory cooperation has raised questions about how regulatory agencies set their priorities. Regulatory cooperation is neither a particularly new idea, nor an inherently bad one – but if not handled carefully, it could undercut the public protections on which Americans depend. <!--break--> It shouldn't shock anyone to hear that we are living in an increasingly interdependent world. Consider only the FDA: in 2009, it was responsible for overseeing imports from more than 300,000 drug facilities, totaling $2 trillion worth of products from 150… -
Maybe It's Time for a Moratorium on Bad Ideas in the House of Representatives
27 Apr 2012 | 5:03 pmImagine for a moment that you're in the last few weeks of your current job. Your final goal is to complete an important, long-term project that you've been working on for several years. Finishing this project will be a major milestone and will benefit people both inside and outside your organization. Suddenly, your employer makes a new policy: people aren't allowed to complete projects during their last few weeks with the organization. You'd probably be confused, even furious, and rightfully so, because all of your hard work would have been for nothing. A policy…
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Open-Government Blog
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MRSC Writes About Co-Mediation
11 May 2012 | 9:55 pmThe Municipal Research Service Center, a resource service for local governments, writes this about the co-mediation performed by Open Government Mediations. -
Olympian Editorial on Executive Privilege Case
3 May 2012 | 12:04 pmThe Olympian writes this editorial on the Supreme Court's consideration of Gov. Gregoire's claim that governors have an "executive privilege" that allows them to withhold public records. -
Public Records Lead to Acquittals of Innocent People
2 May 2012 | 11:00 amI've been saying this for years...Hat tip to Mark for sending this in. -
State Supreme Court to Hear "Executive Privilege" Public Records Case
25 Apr 2012 | 10:57 amThe Washington State Supreme Court accepted review of Freedom Foundation v. Gregoire. The case will determine if the Governor has a constitutional-based "executive privilege" allowing her office to withhold public records that would otherwise be disclosable under the Public Records Act. This is a big one.The case was brought by the Freedom Foundation. -
Iowa Now Has Open-Gov't Mediation Agency
24 Apr 2012 | 11:41 amWhat a terrific idea. Good for Iowa. Looks like they've done what OG-MED is doing in Washington State (via the private sector).
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Local Open Government Blog
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Friday LOG Links - May 4
4 May 2012 | 7:33 pmNew federal proposal might be great for transparency, but rough on local government wallets. The DATA Act passed the House and heads to the Senate soon. [Governing.com] Florida Guv provides a "sunburst" of executive emails, available online between 24 hours and one week after creation. [Palm Beach Post] Utah rolls out new ombudsman to help manage public records issues. [Deseret News] More open government? Oui! Quebec releases report on transparency initiatives. [Montreal Gazette] TSA has more delays than O'Hare Airport in winter, takes just four years for FOIA response. -
The Little Things Matter: Public Records Suit Dismissed for Failure to Properly Serve County Auditor
1 May 2012 | 2:41 pmIn an unpublished opinion, the Washington Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a public records suit due to the requester’s failure to properly serve the Pierce County Auditor. The requester, Larry Day, requested records from the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s office relating to its prosecution of Day. The Prosecuting Attorney’s Office withheld a number of documents as attorney work product. Day subsequently filed a complaint under the Public Records Act naming the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office as the defendant. Day also served a copy of the complaint on… -
Washington Supreme Court Requires State Patrol to Disclose Accident Records
12 Apr 2012 | 3:33 pmThe Washington Supreme Court ruled today that the State Patrol cannot evade disclosure of public accident records using a federal statute and separate agreement with the State Department of Transportation. The decision affirms a 2010 decision from the Court of Appeals, Division II. The Supreme Court's analysis mirrored that of both the trial court and the Court of Appeals in requiring the State Patrol to disclose requested records related to bike accidents on Seattle's Montlake Bridge. The State Patrol cannot hide behind a memorandum of understanding with the State Department of… -
To Boldly Go Where No Record Has Gone Before!
9 Apr 2012 | 6:39 pmIn a blog post today, NASA rolled out Version 2.0 of its Open Government Plan, aiming for an unprecedented level of transparency among large government agencies. The space agency already has numerous datasets available for public use and is working to make its computer code similarly open. The "flagship initiative" is redesigning nasa.gov to integrate search, video, and social media while building "an accessible, participatory and transparent web environment based on open and interoperable standards." Maybe the most interesting of NASA's plans are its… -
Washington Gets a Great Ranking, but Don't Look Under the Hood
5 Apr 2012 | 5:11 pmWashington placed 3rd in the nation in a recent investigation of “State Integrity,” sponsored by the Center for Public Integrity, in collaboration with Global Integrity, and Public Radio International. www.stateintegrity.org/ This is great news for Washington, but better news without studying the details. Grades were based on various factors including: accountability at all three branches of government, public access to information, civil service management, internal auditing, pension fund management, insurance commissions, political financing, budgeting, procurement,…
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Kentucky Open Government Blog
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Appeals court allows Christian County cops to keep identifying information on police reports secret
23 Apr 2012 | 7:25 pmThe Kentucky Court of Appeals has ruled that the City of Hopkinsville can "withhold home addresses, telephone numbers and driver’s license numbers of people listed in arrest reports and criminal complaints," including people charged with crimes, crime victims, and witnesses in criminal cases, the Kentucky New Era reports. Mayor Dan Kemp told the newspaper he did not interpret the decision to apply to closed cases, but writer Jennifer P. Brown noted, "The ruling makes no distinction between police cases that are open or closed."The case began when the New Era asked city police for records… -
Paul objects to FCC proposal to make stations put political advertising information online
7 Apr 2012 | 6:00 pmMany elements of the Tea Party have been outspoken in favor of government transparency, but for the U.S. senators most identified with the movement, that does not extend to making political television expenses more accessible to the public.Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky (right), Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Mike Lee of Utah "have asked the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider its proposal to have TV stations put their political files online," reports John Eggerton of Multichannel News. They were joined by Roy Blunt of Missouri and John Boozman of… -
Harrodsburg police officer stingy with information about fatal traffic accident
6 Apr 2012 | 1:10 pmFive days after a traffic accident killed a prominent Mercer County farmer who was driving his tractor, a Harrodsburg police officer refused to release most details about it, citing moral grounds and a promise to the family of the 21-year-old driver of the other vehicle that "he would keep their son’s name out of the media until after his investigation was complete," Todd Kleffman of the Advocate-Messenger in Danville reported Wednesday.Only under orders from Police Chief Billy Whitenack did Officer Jeff Pearce identify the 21-year-old as William Phillips of Boyle County. Pearce still… -
Bill that would limit release of child-abuse information appears to be dead with one day left
1 Apr 2012 | 12:45 pmA bill that could increase secrecy of child-abuse records at the Cabinet for Health and Family Services failed to win passage on the next-to-last day of the legislative session and appears to be dead. "Senate Majority Leader Robert Stivers, a Manchester Republican, said some senators had questions about the bill and it appears unlikely to pass," Deborah Yetter of The Courier-Journal reports.Senate Bill 126, originally a social-work licensing bill, includes in its Section 10 provisions of House Bill 200 to "create an outside panel of experts to review child deaths… -
Legislature OKs bill to let county clerks to charge 50 cents a copy, ban scanners, cameras and such
31 Mar 2012 | 2:57 pmThe Kentucky General Assembly has passed and sent to Gov. Steve Beshear a bill that would allow county clerks to charge 50 cents for a copy of any record they have and to ban devices that could be used to make electronic copies in their offices.The bill would overturn current law, based on the Open Records Act and an attorney general's decision, that limits the cost of copies to the direct cost of producing them, generally no more than 10 cents per page. It would also allow clerks to ban "scanners, cameras, computers, personal copiers, or other devices that may be used by an individual…
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Sunlight Foundation Blog
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Survey finds attack ads work, though better on some voters than others
15 May 2012 | 2:07 pmIf the early campaign-season barrage of negative advertising is any indicator, the 2012 election is going to be a decidedly uncivil one. According to the Wesleyan Media Project, 70% of advertising in the current presidential campaign has been negative – as compared to just 9% at this stage four years ago. But just how well do these negative ads work? Historically, political science research has had a hard time uncovering much evidence for their effectiveness. But recent research is more and more finding that they do indeed move voters. A recent survey by Arizona State professors Kim L. -
Courts See the Light on Transparency
15 May 2012 | 1:31 pmYesterday, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals demonstrated that it gets the need for greater transparency of money in politics. In a victory for transparency advocates, the court denied a motion to stay a lower court ruling that requires comprehensive disclosure of “electioneering communications.” In non-lawyer language, that means that nonprofit groups like the Chamber of Commerce, Crossroads GPS and Priorities USA that want to run political ads right before an election will have to disclose their donors. The case is Van Hollen v. FEC and the issue is whether the… -
2Day in #OpenGov 5/15/2012
15 May 2012 | 11:26 amNEWS ROUNDUP Government Running against corruption: Three candidates in upcoming congressional primaries are basing their campaigns on fighting corruption and money in politics. (Republic Report) The Road less transparent: Some observers are concerned that travel limitations imposed by the OMB could lead to less transparency by limiting agency interaction with the public. (Federal Computer Week) State and Local Live Free and consider open source: New Hampshire's CIO expects the state to reap benefits of a law, signed in February, that requires state agencies to consider open source options… -
Connecticut Legislature Takes on Campaign Finance Disclosure
15 May 2012 | 10:18 amA Connecticut bill has been making the rounds in transparency circles recently: HB 5556, a toothy, bipartisan approach to corporate and union campaign financial disclosure, introduced as the state’s response to Citizens United. It quickly passed the CT House 94 - 57 and the Senate 20 - 15 on May 8th, and now all eyes are on Governor Dan Malloy to see whether he’ll veto the bill or sign it into law this week. Although Malloy authored the original text, the bill has been significantly beefed up since it left his office and entered the Government Administration and Elections Committee -- so… -
Open Government and Florida's Project Sunburst
14 May 2012 | 5:00 pmDisclaimer: The opinions expressed by the guest blogger and those providing comments are theirs alone and do not reflect the opinions of the Sunlight Foundation or any employee thereof. Sunlight Foundation is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information within the guest blog. Florida has been known to have some of the most impressive open government practices. But a few recent changes threatened to shake the people’s foundation of their right to know. Our guest blogger Barbara Petersen is here today to share the Sunshine State’s new initiatives on opening up their…
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The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) Blog
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Air Force Talking Points on the F-22 Raptor
15 May 2012 | 3:37 pmBy BRYAN RAHIJA Wondering about the Air Force's game plan for addressing all those concerns about the F-22? Check out this set of talking points, dated May 12. Some of this doc might look like the same old story. But one point worth noting is that it looks like the Air Force is back to pinning the tragic F-22 crash in November 2010 on the pilot. Bryan Rahija is POGO's blog editor. -
Open NDAA: Our Window of Opportunity to Shine a Light on the Defense Budget
15 May 2012 | 12:06 pmBy SUZANNE DERSHOWITZ TAKE ACTION Call your Senator and demand an open NDAA This week marks a pivotal moment in the campaign to open the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and shine a light on the defense budget. The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) deliberated on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2013 last week. This massive defense spending bill gets marked up in the open on the House side. The Committee posts the bill online in advance, and the debate and voting process are open to the public via live webcast. Here’s the problem: the Senate… -
Congress Shows Support for F-22 Whistleblowers, Air Force Doesn't Go Far Enough
15 May 2012 | 10:52 amSen. Mark Warner (D-VA) By DANA LIEBELSON Congressional support for the two pilots who disclosed grave health problems with the F-22 Raptor fighter jet is picking up steam. Thanks in part to these efforts, the Air Force has publicly promised to protect these top pilots from retaliation; however, it still has not rescinded a letter of reprimand sent to one of the pilots, nor taken adequate steps to address the health allegations, despite the fact that additional pilots have come forward echoing the concerns. Last week at a hearing held by a Senate Armed Services subcommittee, General… -
Morning Smoke: Justice Department Doesn't Know How Many Executive Were Convicted in Wake of Financial Crisis
15 May 2012 | 9:41 amMORNING SMOKE Where there's smoke, there's fire. POGO's Morning Smoke is a collection of the freshest investigations, scoops, and opinions related to the world of government oversight. Have a story you'd like to see included? Contact POGO's blog editor Financial Sector Oversight Missing: Stats on Crisis ConvictionsJean Eaglesham, The Wall Street Journal Flawed Dimon: The JPMorgan Chase fiasco reveals the huge structural flaws that persist on Wall StreetEliot Spitzer, Slate Senator Presses SEC Over Decision to Put Investigator on LeaveRobert Schmidt,… -
Morning Smoke: Defense Contractors May Soon Share Classified Cybersecurity Info
14 May 2012 | 10:16 amMORNING SMOKE Where there's smoke, there's fire. POGO's Morning Smoke is a collection of the freshest investigations, scoops, and opinions related to the world of government oversight. Have a story you'd like to see included? Contact POGO's blog editor National Security Pentagon Expands Cybersecurity ExchangeGopal Ratnam and Tony Capaccio, The Washington Post Unholy Parternships Between Telecoms & Government Spy Agencies: Have We Learned Nothing?Jesselyn Radack, Government Accountability Project Air Force Adds Safety Restrictions for F-22 JetW.J. Hennigan, The…
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Sunlight Labs blog
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The Tech Behind TransparencyCamp
10 May 2012 | 9:28 amTransparencyCamp, Sunlight's open government unconference, is one of the few chances the Labs gets each year to go crazy with tech. Our goal is to use technology to enhance the conference experience and set the expectation for the type of "maker" culture we have here at Sunlight. Read on to find out some of the technology that makes TransparencyCamp run. Web and Mobile Sites Transparency Camp is somewhat of a hybrid unconference. A small number of sessions are planned in advance and we try to keep the session board as-is once it is initially set. One reason for this is that we have the… -
Labs Update: May 2012
9 May 2012 | 9:13 amLike a phoenix rising from its ashes on a monthly basis, it's Labs Update time! TransparencyCamp 2012 It may be cliché to say, but TransparencyCamp 2012 was the best TCamp ever! GROUP HUG! We doubled attendance from last year with over 400 attendees from 26 US states and 27 countries. Anything I write here won't do the awesomeness of the event any justice so just watch the video: TransparencyCamp wouldn't have been possible without the effort and expertise of the entire Sunlight Foundation staff, but I want to highlight the work of our newest designer, Amy Cesal. Event branding was her first… -
Scout, in Open Beta
24 Apr 2012 | 2:12 pmWe're opening a new tool to the public today for beta testing, called Scout. Scout is an alert system for the things you care about in state and national government. It covers Congress, regulations across the whole executive branch, and legislation in all 50 states. You can set up notifications for new things that match keyword searches. Or, if you find a particular bill you want to keep up with, we can notify you whenever anything interesting happens to it -- or is about to. Just to emphasize, this is a beta - it functions well and looks good, but we're really hoping to hear from the… -
Shouldn't Robots Be Doing My Taxes By Now?
17 Apr 2012 | 9:39 amIt's Tax Day, and if you're a software developer, I'll bet you find it as mystifying as I do. Not the actual tax preparation (mine are still pleasantly straightforward, I'm happy to say), but the general awfulness of the experience. Why am I responsible for collecting PDFs (or worse, paper) from a half-dozen institutions, then manually reentering that data? Why am I paying a vendor $50 for what amounts to some unit tests and an electronic transaction or two? It makes no sense. Government uses technology for a lot of things, and some of those things are very hard [insert requisite reference to… -
Data for Better Bill Searching
10 Apr 2012 | 10:34 amI've put up a dataset on Github that maps popular search terms to bills in Congress. It's a simple, 5-column CSV designed to help people create better search engines that take in user input to search for bills. The idea is that this will be useful to, and get contributions from, the community of people out there working with legislation and building tools around them. It's humble - I started it out with a mere 7 rows, assigning the keywords "Obamacare", "SOPA", "PIPA", and "PPACA" to the appropriate bills. There are certainly more good candidates than that, so please contribute via pull…
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FOI Oklahoma
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Sperry school district won't release board's agenda packets until after meetings
10 May 2012 | 2:11 pmDocuments given to Sperry school board members for meetings won't be available to the public until the day after meetings, the superintendent told a former board member in a recent letter. "As you know from being on the board, such packets sometimes have confidential information meant only for board members and they must be vetted before any release to the public," Superintendent Brian D. Beagles wrote to Cindy Wilson on April 26. (Read the letter: pages 1 and 2.) Beagles said he would remove any confidential documents by 1 p.m. the day after school board meetings and… -
OHP says Driver's Privacy Protection Act blocks release of blood-alcohol test results
4 May 2012 | 12:04 pmThe Oklahoma Highway Patrol recently told a newspaper that blood-alcohol test results can't be released because of a federal statute blocking access to personal information on driver's licenses. But an attorney general opinion and court cases in other states indicate that the Driver's Privacy Protection Act does not prohibit the release of such information. In refusing the request, the OHP cited two state statutes: 51 O.S. §24A.5(1)(c), which exempts "personal information within driver records as defined by the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, 18 United States Code, Sections… -
State Supreme Court denies district attorney's petition for standing but appeal still pending
4 May 2012 | 11:32 amThe state Supreme Court last week denied a district attorney's petition declaring he has the right to appeal a district judge's order that Bartlesville police provide the local newspaper with a copy of hospital surveillance video that led to the arrest of two officers in December. But the one-line order agreed to by all the justices didn't offer an explanation. And Washington County District Attorney Kevin Buchanan already has appealed District Judge Curtis L. DeLapp's decision. The Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise this week filed a motion asking the court to dismiss… -
Skiatook trustees not listing specific items of business for executive sessions to discuss economic development
25 Apr 2012 | 5:50 pmSkiatook's Board of Trustees has discussed economic development behind closed doors in three of its four most recent meetings. None of the agendas specified an item of business for the executive sessions even though an attorney general opinion in late November indicated that they should. (2011 OK AG 22) In the opinion, Attorney General Scott Pruitt said city councils and other public bodies, not just nonprofit foundations, could conduct executive sessions to discuss economic development. (See OKLA. STAT. tit. 25, § 307(B)(10)) But, Pruitt added, "This does not end our… -
OCCC officials cite FERPA, HIPAA, ADA as reasons for not releasing information in police records; seem to violate Clery Act by taking weeks to provide crime reports
20 Apr 2012 | 1:39 pmOklahoma City Community College's campus newspaper has detailed in a two-part series several apparent violations of the state Open Records Act and the federal Clery Act by school officials. Last week, The Pioneer reported that OCCC officials have cited three federal statutes -- the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act, the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act -- as reasons for not releasing police records. National experts disagreed that those statute prohibit the release of information by campus police. For…
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Secrecy News
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NATO Summit Meeting in Chicago, and More from CRS
15 May 2012 | 10:47 amThe North Atlantic Treaty Organization will hold its 2012 summit meeting in Chicago on May 20-21. The meeting, hosted by President Obama, will be closed to the public. The assembled heads of state are expected to discuss the future of the conflict in Afghanistan; NATO defense issues, including the possible reconsideration of the role of nuclear weapons in NATO; and other matters. A preview of the NATO summit meeting was presented in a new report from the Congressional Research Service. See NATO’s Chicago Summit, May 14, 2012. Other new and updated CRS reports that were obtained by… -
NSA Declassifies Secret Document After Publishing It
14 May 2012 | 9:00 amThe National Security Agency last week invoked a rarely-used authority in order to declassify a classified document that was mistakenly posted on the NSA website with all of its classified passages intact. The article is a historical study entitled Maybe You Had to Be There: The SIGINT on Thirteen Soviet Shootdowns of U.S. Reconnaissance Aircraft. It was written by Michael L. Peterson and was originally published in the classified journal Cryptologic Quarterly in 1993. Late in the afternoon of May 11 (not May 9 as stated on the NSA website), the NSA published a formally declassified version… -
Understanding China’s Political System, and More from CRS
14 May 2012 | 8:55 amNew and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has instructed CRS not to make publicly available include the following. Understanding China’s Political System, May 10, 2012 Youth and the Labor Force: Background and Trends, May 10, 2012 Vulnerable Youth: Employment and Job Training Programs, May 11, 2012 Pakistan’s Nuclear Weapons: Proliferation and Security Issues, May 10, 2012 Comparison of Rights in Military Commission Trials and Trials in Federal Criminal Court, May 9, 2012 Immigration-Related Worksite Enforcement: Performance Measures, May 10,… -
Same-Sex Marriages: Legal Issues (CRS)
10 May 2012 | 10:28 amThe laws and policies governing same-sex marriages were exhaustively surveyed in a newly updated report from the Congressional Research Service. See Same-Sex Marriages: Legal Issues, May 9, 2012. -
Pentagon Moves to Combat the “Insider Threat”
9 May 2012 | 10:46 amThe Department of Defense has issued a new Instruction defining its response to the “insider threat” from Department personnel who engage in unauthorized disclosures of information or other activities deemed harmful to national security. The new Instruction assigns responsibilities and authorities for systematically detecting “anomalous” employee behavior that may be an indication of an insider threat. An insider threat is defined as “A person with authorized access, who uses that access, wittingly or unwittingly, to harm national security interests or national…
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Public Records Search
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InteliGator Review- Perform Instant Background Check
16 May 2012 | 4:11 amDo you intend conducting a full background check? There are various reasons why you or an individual would want to find a background check. You may be looking for criminal records of a person you are trying to do business with. It could be that you want to run a driver’s license records search on someone or lookup the marriage records of your partner. It could just be anything that prompts looking up background check. So where do you conduct this search online? Well, you can not use Google or any of the other search engines as they can not be of any help to you in this case. You won’t… -
Checking Medical Malpractice Doctors Records
21 Nov 2011 | 10:55 amDoctors play a very dominant role in our lives, and their credibility goes a long way in ensuring we live our lives to the fullest on earth. It is essential conduct Medical Malpractice Doctors Records search, to help protect your family from negligent and quack doctors who parade themselves as professionals. The challenge is how do we know that he is capable and he can be trusted? Every year, there are cases of doctor malpractice that occur not juts only in some hospitals but all over the world. There are records that can prove that even doctors make mistakes and commit errors so the public… -
Performing a Doctor Background Check
18 Nov 2011 | 11:10 amPerforming a Doctor Back Check is the first thing you need to do once you get a procedure from a doctor, this would help you ascertain the history of the doctors’ medical practice. It is important to know if the doctor is certified by the medical board and has maintained a clean medical record over the years. There are ways you can check to ascertain his or her record history. You can go to your local medical board office to look up the doctor’s records, this can be difficult and time consuming, or you rather search online for the data you want to see. It is always better to be safe than… -
How to Do a License Plate Number Lookup
13 Nov 2011 | 3:40 amThere are various reasons why you might be conducting a license plate number lookup, it could be that you have been a victim of a hit and run driver, or maybe you are about recruiting a driver for your business or to carry your kids to and from school, you sure do need to carry out a plate number lookup. The good thing is you are on the right page that would help in your search. The first one is there are private investigators that will perform this kind of search for you but they will charge you around $200 or so. This can be a fast and effective way to get the information you want and if… -
License Plate Number Search – How to Find License Plate Numbers
11 Nov 2011 | 3:33 amAre you looking for or curious about knowing about the owner of the vehicle of a certain license plate or license tag number? Then you should carry out license plate number search, but before you begin your search, it is good you know from the start that there is no free database website online that offers such records. Never mind, this site would help you in your search, below are several methods you can use to conduct a reverse license plate number search online, guess this would help your search. The first method is to hire a private investigator. Find your local phone book and turn to the…
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WordPress.com News
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Stay In The Conversation
15 May 2012 | 6:01 pmIt’s now much easier for you and your commenters to keep track of the conversations you’re involved in across WordPress.com. Some recent tests have shown that by subscribing commenters to new comments by default, they are more likely to stay engaged and come back and comment more on your blog. With that knowledge, we’ve changed the default comment following behavior to help you get more conversations going on your blog. We made the initial changes last week and after great feedback from you we just launched an update. Here’s how it works: By default, posting a comment… -
Look at These Gorgeous Blogs
15 May 2012 | 1:05 pmWe’ve added a user showcase where you can view stunning customizations made by people just like you. From complete redesigns with CSS to adding pizzazz with Custom Fonts to clever use of options like background and header, this showcase will spark your imagination and inspire creativity. Discover details about what each showcase blog is doing with WordPress.com themes and customizations by clicking a thumbnail to see a colophon-style list of credits on the left. We’ve also updated footer links so blog owners can show off the types of customizations they’ve made and visitors can… -
Photo Blogging 101, Part 1
14 May 2012 | 10:00 amSpring is in the air. With the weather warming up, now is a great time to get started on a photo blog. Creating a photo blog is a wonderful introduction to blogging on WordPress.com or an opportunity to refresh your current site. Ready to get started? You can sign up for a new blog right over here. Getting started Photo blogs, sometimes called phlogs, use pictures instead of words. While many photo bloggers choose a type of photo that they want to focus on, such as portraits, others use their photo blog to document their life’s events. Photo blogs come in a variety of styles, including… -
New Themes: Just Desserts and Oxygen
10 May 2012 | 8:11 amHappy Thursday! We’ve added some exciting new themes to our ever-growing collection, and we’re happy to tell you all about them. First out of the oven is…Just Desserts. Yep, that’s a theme! Designed by Andy Rutledge, Just Desserts is a deliciously stylish premium theme that’s perfect for blogs centered on food. With its responsive, single-column layout and unique presentation of images and posts on the front page, Just Desserts gives you a delectable canvas on which your mouthwatering photos and text can really shine — even when viewed on smaller mobile devices… -
Find Friends Who Use WordPress
1 May 2012 | 2:32 pmAre you curious to see how your friends are using WordPress? Give the new and improved Friend Finder a try to connect with your Twitter, Facebook, and Google contacts who have WordPress sites! After authorizing WordPress.com to use your Twitter, Facebook, or Google account to find your friends (don’t worry — none of this account information is saved!) you’ll see a list of people you know who have WordPress sites. Click Follow and each time your friend publishes a new post it will show up in your Reader under Blogs I Follow. If you have multiple blogs, make sure to set the…
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FOI Oklahoma
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Sperry school district won't release board's agenda packets until after meetings
10 May 2012 | 2:11 pmDocuments given to Sperry school board members for meetings won't be available to the public until the day after meetings, the superintendent told a former board member in a recent letter. "As you know from being on the board, such packets sometimes have confidential information meant only for board members and they must be vetted before any release to the public," Superintendent Brian D. Beagles wrote to Cindy Wilson on April 26. (Read the letter: pages 1 and 2.) Beagles said he would remove any confidential documents by 1 p.m. the day after school board meetings and… -
OHP says Driver's Privacy Protection Act blocks release of blood-alcohol test results
4 May 2012 | 12:04 pmThe Oklahoma Highway Patrol recently told a newspaper that blood-alcohol test results can't be released because of a federal statute blocking access to personal information on driver's licenses. But an attorney general opinion and court cases in other states indicate that the Driver's Privacy Protection Act does not prohibit the release of such information. In refusing the request, the OHP cited two state statutes: 51 O.S. §24A.5(1)(c), which exempts "personal information within driver records as defined by the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, 18 United States Code, Sections… -
State Supreme Court denies district attorney's petition for standing but appeal still pending
4 May 2012 | 11:32 amThe state Supreme Court last week denied a district attorney's petition declaring he has the right to appeal a district judge's order that Bartlesville police provide the local newspaper with a copy of hospital surveillance video that led to the arrest of two officers in December. But the one-line order agreed to by all the justices didn't offer an explanation. And Washington County District Attorney Kevin Buchanan already has appealed District Judge Curtis L. DeLapp's decision. The Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise this week filed a motion asking the court to dismiss… -
Skiatook trustees not listing specific items of business for executive sessions to discuss economic development
25 Apr 2012 | 5:50 pmSkiatook's Board of Trustees has discussed economic development behind closed doors in three of its four most recent meetings. None of the agendas specified an item of business for the executive sessions even though an attorney general opinion in late November indicated that they should. (2011 OK AG 22) In the opinion, Attorney General Scott Pruitt said city councils and other public bodies, not just nonprofit foundations, could conduct executive sessions to discuss economic development. (See OKLA. STAT. tit. 25, § 307(B)(10)) But, Pruitt added, "This does not end our… -
OCCC officials cite FERPA, HIPAA, ADA as reasons for not releasing information in police records; seem to violate Clery Act by taking weeks to provide crime reports
20 Apr 2012 | 1:39 pmOklahoma City Community College's campus newspaper has detailed in a two-part series several apparent violations of the state Open Records Act and the federal Clery Act by school officials. Last week, The Pioneer reported that OCCC officials have cited three federal statutes -- the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act, the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act -- as reasons for not releasing police records. National experts disagreed that those statute prohibit the release of information by campus police. For…
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FOI Oklahoma
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Sperry school district won't release board's agenda packets until after meetings
10 May 2012 | 2:11 pmDocuments given to Sperry school board members for meetings won't be available to the public until the day after meetings, the superintendent told a former board member in a recent letter. "As you know from being on the board, such packets sometimes have confidential information meant only for board members and they must be vetted before any release to the public," Superintendent Brian D. Beagles wrote to Cindy Wilson on April 26. (Read the letter: pages 1 and 2.) Beagles said he would remove any confidential documents by 1 p.m. the day after school board meetings and… -
OHP says Driver's Privacy Protection Act blocks release of blood-alcohol test results
4 May 2012 | 12:04 pmThe Oklahoma Highway Patrol recently told a newspaper that blood-alcohol test results can't be released because of a federal statute blocking access to personal information on driver's licenses. But an attorney general opinion and court cases in other states indicate that the Driver's Privacy Protection Act does not prohibit the release of such information. In refusing the request, the OHP cited two state statutes: 51 O.S. §24A.5(1)(c), which exempts "personal information within driver records as defined by the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, 18 United States Code, Sections… -
State Supreme Court denies district attorney's petition for standing but appeal still pending
4 May 2012 | 11:32 amThe state Supreme Court last week denied a district attorney's petition declaring he has the right to appeal a district judge's order that Bartlesville police provide the local newspaper with a copy of hospital surveillance video that led to the arrest of two officers in December. But the one-line order agreed to by all the justices didn't offer an explanation. And Washington County District Attorney Kevin Buchanan already has appealed District Judge Curtis L. DeLapp's decision. The Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise this week filed a motion asking the court to dismiss… -
Skiatook trustees not listing specific items of business for executive sessions to discuss economic development
25 Apr 2012 | 5:50 pmSkiatook's Board of Trustees has discussed economic development behind closed doors in three of its four most recent meetings. None of the agendas specified an item of business for the executive sessions even though an attorney general opinion in late November indicated that they should. (2011 OK AG 22) In the opinion, Attorney General Scott Pruitt said city councils and other public bodies, not just nonprofit foundations, could conduct executive sessions to discuss economic development. (See OKLA. STAT. tit. 25, § 307(B)(10)) But, Pruitt added, "This does not end our… -
OCCC officials cite FERPA, HIPAA, ADA as reasons for not releasing information in police records; seem to violate Clery Act by taking weeks to provide crime reports
20 Apr 2012 | 1:39 pmOklahoma City Community College's campus newspaper has detailed in a two-part series several apparent violations of the state Open Records Act and the federal Clery Act by school officials. Last week, The Pioneer reported that OCCC officials have cited three federal statutes -- the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act, the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act -- as reasons for not releasing police records. National experts disagreed that those statute prohibit the release of information by campus police. For…
