The blog of the Legal Times has the government's reply brief in the Osama Bin Laden death photo's FOIA litigation. The government is saying that the records are classified and are properly withheld pursuant to FOIA exemptions 1 and 3. Judicial Watch, the plaintiff, will file its reply (they cross-moved for summary judgment and get another opportunity to respond) next month. Once that happens, the district court will issue an opinion.
Freedom of Information
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Most Topular Stories
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Government Files Reply Brief in Bin Laden Death Photo Litigation
The FOIA blog26 Jan 2012 | 4:55 pm -
A&A: Accessing contracts to sub-consultants on public projects
First Amendment Coalition27 Jan 2012 | 6:00 amQ: We are trying to obtain records from an engineering contractor on a multi-billion dollar project they have with the state. In addition, we are seeking contracts, correspondence, etc. pertaining to the project between this engineering firm and multiple sub-consultants they have hired. Will FOIA allow us to obtain contracts between prime consultants and their sub-consultants? What about sub-consultants to sub-consultants? How many layers down does FOIA cover, assuming all of the work relates to the State’s main project. To whom should the FOIA request be made? A: It sounds like you are… -
Court: Bujak’s trust account records were public record
IDOG6 Jan 2012 | 9:35 amThe Idaho Supreme Court, in a ruling filed Thursday, said financial documents related to John Bujak's contract with the city of Nampa for prosecuting services were indeed public record. From the Idaho Press-Tribune -
EXCLUSIVE: Obama Campaign Refunding Money Donated by Federal Lobbyists
OpenSecrets Blog27 Jan 2012 | 3:22 pmPresident Barack Obama's re-election campaign is refunding the donations of five registered federal lobbyists who gave to the committee last year, OpenSecrets Blog has learned. Some of these refunds were triggered after OpenSecrets Blog brought the contributions to the campaign's attention. The Obama campaign has pledged to refuse contributions from lobbyists, continuing a policy it set during the 2008 campaign.Research by the Center for Responsive Politics indicates the Obama campaign accepted a total of $2,250 from five federally registered lobbyists between April and September. The… -
Sunlight Foundation's Political Party Time: SOPA Fundraisers
Sunlight Foundation Transparency Ecosystem27 Jan 2012 | 7:35 pmMotion Picture Association of America Chairman Chris Dodd set off a firestorm of criticism last week when he suggested that Hollywood would withhold campaign money from President Obama and lawmakers who don’t toe the Hollywood line on online piracy. Losing support of the entertainment industry would not be insignificant for the president: In 2011, DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg gave $2 million to Priorities USA, the super PAC backing Obama. Another major bankroller is Harvey Weinstein, co-founder of Miramax Films, who along with Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour last August…
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The FOIA blog
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Government Files Reply Brief in Bin Laden Death Photo Litigation
26 Jan 2012 | 4:55 pmThe blog of the Legal Times has the government's reply brief in the Osama Bin Laden death photo's FOIA litigation. The government is saying that the records are classified and are properly withheld pursuant to FOIA exemptions 1 and 3. Judicial Watch, the plaintiff, will file its reply (they cross-moved for summary judgment and get another opportunity to respond) next month. Once that happens, the district court will issue an opinion. -
Candidate Transparency: It's Probably Not Going To Get Better For FOIA
26 Jan 2012 | 6:51 amFox News has this article on transparency; the summary of the article is if Romney or Gingrich wins, they won't even promise to increase government transparency and if Obama is re-elected he will talk a good game but things will be like they currently are. There are some candid quotes in the article; especially from Thomas Fitton, the President of Judicial Watch. I really doubt that FOIA and open government are much of a campaign issue this year, especially since there is no money to really fund the initiatives that need to be done to improve FOIA Operations at the agency… -
Court Rules Privacy Act Exemptions Are Retroactive
25 Jan 2012 | 10:22 amJudge Richard Seeborg of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California has ruled that regulations issued in 2010 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection are retroactive to FOIA/Privacy Act requests made prior to their issuance. The issue came about in a lawsuit filed in Hasbrouk v. CBP. A detailed accounting of the request, along with the order, can be found on Mr. Hasbrouk's blog, Papers, Please! The Court also found that the personal identifiers used by CBP to retrieve information on travelers may be withheld pursuant to FOIA Exemption… -
Cert Denied in Mug Shot Case
23 Jan 2012 | 9:40 amThe Supreme Court has denied cert in the eleventh circuit decision that allowed for the withholding of mug shots -- the Sixth Circuit currently requires that they be released. -
VA Releases Information on Live Vets to Ancestry.Com
23 Jan 2012 | 7:50 amMilitary.com reports that the Veteran's Administration accidently released information on 2200 living veterans to Ancestry.com in 2011. According to the story, the VA was only supposed to release information on deceased veterans -- however, information on living veterans was also accidently released. Veterans who had their information released will be notified by the VA and provided certain services such as credit monitoring. An investigation into the incident is ongoing -- hopefully this will not happen again as it does not help either the requester community (agencies will…
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First Amendment Coalition
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A&A: Accessing contracts to sub-consultants on public projects
27 Jan 2012 | 6:00 amQ: We are trying to obtain records from an engineering contractor on a multi-billion dollar project they have with the state. In addition, we are seeking contracts, correspondence, etc. pertaining to the project between this engineering firm and multiple sub-consultants they have hired. Will FOIA allow us to obtain contracts between prime consultants and their sub-consultants? What about sub-consultants to sub-consultants? How many layers down does FOIA cover, assuming all of the work relates to the State’s main project. To whom should the FOIA request be made? A: It sounds like you are… -
Citizen sources base for new reporting unit by Public Insight Network
26 Jan 2012 | 4:01 pmThe Public Insight Network (PIN) is launching its own reporting unit to produce original stories tapping into its huge database of 130,000 citizen sources. Citizens across America and recently South Africa have been reporting their experiences to the PIN database. Reporters can use the sources to write stories on such topics as foreclosures or the presidential primaries. -db From the Nieman Journalism Lab, January 25, 2012, by Andrew Phelps. Full story -
Acai diet pill promoters lose millions in settlement with FCC over fake news stories
26 Jan 2012 | 2:20 pmThe Federal Trade Commission won a $4 million settlement against marketers of the Acai diet pill who made false claims about the pill’s effectiveness that included reference to fake news stories. The promoters will only pay $500,000, the value of their tangible assets. -db From the Los Angeles Times, January 25, 2012, by Matt Stevens. Full story -
Family sues Hustler for $20 million for publishing nude photos after death
26 Jan 2012 | 1:48 pmA grieving family is suing Hustler Magazine for $20 million after the magazine published nude photos of a model who was murdered by her husband. Hustler is claiming that the model was a public figure and newsworthy. -db From the Daily Mail, January 26, 2012, by Daily Mail Reporter. Full story -
Auto safety firm sues for records of government investigation of sudden acceleration
26 Jan 2012 | 1:24 pmSafety Research and Strategies is suing the federal government for details of their investigation into the sudden acceleration of a Prius last year. Federal regulators have found no evidence that electronic systems were the cause of the unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles, but Safety Research is not satisfied with that conclusion. -db From The New York Times, January 24, 2012, by Bill Vlasic. Full story
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IDOG
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Court: Bujak’s trust account records were public record
6 Jan 2012 | 9:35 amThe Idaho Supreme Court, in a ruling filed Thursday, said financial documents related to John Bujak's contract with the city of Nampa for prosecuting services were indeed public record. From the Idaho Press-Tribune -
Judge: Public Can’t See Idaho Prison Settlement
16 Dec 2011 | 9:51 amA federal judge has refused to unseal a settlement agreement between an Idaho inmate and a private prison company involving allegations of rampant violence at a lockup near Boise known as "Gladiator School." From the Associated Press -
Idaho Supreme Court will decide Bujak documents case
10 Dec 2011 | 3:20 pmIf Bob Henry prevails on appeal in his public records lawsuit against Canyon County, the result could end up helping the county in a separate Bujak-related legal struggle. From the Idaho Statesman -
Lewiston open government seminar an eye-opener for crowd of 50
9 Dec 2011 | 11:33 amAt the IDOG open government seminar in Lewiston on Thursday night, A.L. “Butch” Alford, owner of the Lewiston Tribune and a charter board member of IDOG, told a crowd of 50, “Our mission is to foster open government, supervised by an informed and engaged citizenry. We believe we all benefit when the public, the media and government officials are fully aware of the public's rights to access government information and observe the conduct of the public's business.” Added Alford, “Tonight's mission is to enlighten the public, government officials from all levels, and the press.” From… -
Moscow crowd learns about open meetings, public records laws
8 Dec 2011 | 11:59 amDespite stiff competition - a hard-fought UI basketball game against the Washington State Cougars and the downtown holiday lights parade - nearly 40 people turned out last night for IDOG's open government seminar in the ornate, wood-paneled, hundred-year-old City Council chambers at Moscow City Hall. Those attending included the mayor, city and county attorneys, reporters and editors, academics and clerks, elected officials, interested citizens and agency staffers who deal with open records and meetings questions daily. The session was co-sponsored by the Moscow-Pullman Daily News. From Eye…
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OpenSecrets Blog
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EXCLUSIVE: Obama Campaign Refunding Money Donated by Federal Lobbyists
27 Jan 2012 | 3:22 pmPresident Barack Obama's re-election campaign is refunding the donations of five registered federal lobbyists who gave to the committee last year, OpenSecrets Blog has learned. Some of these refunds were triggered after OpenSecrets Blog brought the contributions to the campaign's attention. The Obama campaign has pledged to refuse contributions from lobbyists, continuing a policy it set during the 2008 campaign.Research by the Center for Responsive Politics indicates the Obama campaign accepted a total of $2,250 from five federally registered lobbyists between April and September. The… -
SOPA and PIPA Spur Lobbying Spike
26 Jan 2012 | 12:02 pmSOPA and PIPA appear to have been very, very good for K Street. Companies that lobbied on the two bills spent at least $104.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, more than double the $49.3 million they laid out in the previous quarter, according to research by the Center for Responsive Politics.Likewise, the number of clients represented by lobbyists who worked on the issues of intellectual property enforcement and online piracy -- the ones central to the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House (H.R.3261) and its Senate companion, the Protect Intellectual Property Act (S.968) -- increased by… -
Lobbying Expenditures Slump in 2011
26 Jan 2012 | 9:00 amFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: Viveca Novak, 202-354-0111 Michael Beckel, 202-354-0108 or press@crp.orgThe nation’s economy may be slowly rebounding, but during 2011, the economic engine of K Street sputtered. Overall expenditures on lobbying were down for the first time in more than a decade, according to research by the Center for Responsive Politics.More… -
Spending by Super PACs Shows Deep Differences
25 Jan 2012 | 2:34 pmWho's been funding the presidential super PACs since last June is largely a mystery, and will remain so until next week. But how the groups have been spending their money is a different story, thanks to legal requirements that expenditures over a certain threshhold be disclosed quickly. And the super PACs, just like the candidates they support or oppose, have shown deep differences in how they're allocating their money to get their messages across, according to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis of the expenditures. The pro-Mitt Romney committee Restore Our Future, for example,… -
Meet the Bundlers Behind the Money
25 Jan 2012 | 9:30 amIn 2007, then-Sen. Barack Obama proposed legislation that would have required all presidential candidates to disclose information about supporters who raised at least $50,000 for their campaigns during the two-year period prior to Election Day. That legislation was never adopted, but as a presidential candidate Obama voluntarily released certain information about his top fundraisers.Obama has continued that practice as he revs the financial engine of his re-election campaign. Between April and the end of September, the Obama campaign released the names of 357 bundlers who had collected at…
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Sunlight Foundation Transparency Ecosystem
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Sunlight Foundation's Political Party Time: SOPA Fundraisers
27 Jan 2012 | 7:35 pmMotion Picture Association of America Chairman Chris Dodd set off a firestorm of criticism last week when he suggested that Hollywood would withhold campaign money from President Obama and lawmakers who don’t toe the Hollywood line on online piracy. Losing support of the entertainment industry would not be insignificant for the president: In 2011, DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg gave $2 million to Priorities USA, the super PAC backing Obama. Another major bankroller is Harvey Weinstein, co-founder of Miramax Films, who along with Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour last August… -
Sunlight Foundation: Sunlight Weekly Roundup: “Initiatives for 'open government' either improve access or hinder it."
27 Jan 2012 | 4:02 pmWhile summarizing the changes Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst hopes to implement with the Senate Select Committee on Open Government, Curt Olsen reminds, “Initiatives for 'open government' either improve access or hinder it." Olsen maintains that each change should be watched carefully, as, “ State lawmakers can pass laws that enhance openness and transparency or they can pass laws that cause mischief and erect a new hurdle for taxpayers to have access to government." The proposed changes include: “The use of new technologies and future technological advances as relates to… -
Sunlight Foundation: Close the lobbying loopholes
27 Jan 2012 | 12:15 pmToday NPR's Planet Money team aired a story about disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s legal lobbying activities (as few of those as there may have been), highlighting how problematic even currently legal lobbying practices are. Also today, the New York Times pointed out some of the huge loopholes in current lobbying law -- Newt Gingrich, for example, isn’t actually a lobbyist, he just spends lots of his time talking to lawmakers about how policy should be made. Y’know, as a historian. The powerful (and corrupting, as we saw with Abramoff) influence of special interest money in… -
Sunlight Foundation: 2Day in #OpenGov 1/27/2012
27 Jan 2012 | 11:02 amPolicy Fellow Matt Rumsey wrote this post. Here is the week's last look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Government It is being reported that Federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra will announce his resignation today. Chopra has served as CTO since 2009. (Fed Scoop) The Senate is prepared to act on the STOCK act next week. The act, which President Obama indicated he would sign during his State of the Union Address, aims to ban insider trading by… -
Sunlight Foundation: Only a Smarter Congress Can Make Better Internet Policy
26 Jan 2012 | 2:01 pmRecent calls for technologists to hire lobbyists to educate Washington on internet issues miss a significant part of the big picture. Congress makes bad technology decisions because it has dismantled its ability to evaluate policy issues. While public mobilization and lobbying efforts can affect decision-making through political pressure, lobbying to educate congress on technology issues is like trying to teach a fish to sing. The congressional technology lobotomy arose from two fateful decisions. First, Congress closed down its specialized office of nonpartisan technology experts in 1995,…
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Deeplinks
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Interview with Ann Cavoukian, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, Canada
27 Jan 2012 | 6:43 pmThis January 28marks International PrivacyDay. Different countriesaroundtheworld are celebrating this day with their own events. This year, we are honoring the day by calling attention to recent international privacy threats and interviewing data protection authorities, government officials, and activists to gain insight into various aspects of privacy rights and related legislation in their own respective countries. We interviewed Ann Cavoukian, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, Canada. Commissioner Cavoukian has dedicated herself to speaking out against the Canadian "lawful… -
This Week in Internet Censorship: Ethiopian Blogger Sentenced, Tunisians and Polish Keep Up Fight for Free Expression
27 Jan 2012 | 4:26 pmEthiopian blogger smacked with life sentence According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Ethiopian blogger Elias Kifle was handed a life sentence in absentia this week for his coverage of banned opposition groups. Kifle, who lives in the United States, is editor of the Washington-based opposition website Ethiopian Review and was previously handed a life sentence, in 2007, on charges of treason. Kifle was sentenced along with columnist Reeyot Alemu and editor Woubshet Taye, both of whom live and work in Ethiopia and received 14-year prison sentences. EFF condemns the decision by the… -
What Does Twitter’s Country-by-Country Takedown System Mean for Freedom of Expression?
27 Jan 2012 | 2:09 pmYesterday, Twitter announced in a blog post that it was launching a system that would allow the company to take down content on a country-by-country basis, as opposed to taking it down across the Twitter system. The Internet immediately exploded with allegations of censorship, conspiracy theories about Twitter’s Saudi investors and automated content filtering, and calls for a January 28 protest. One thing is clear: there is widespread confusion over Twitter's new policy and what its implications are for freedom of expression all over the world. Let’s get one thing out of the way: Twitter… -
We Have Every Right to Be Furious About ACTA
27 Jan 2012 | 10:55 amIf there’s one thing that encapsulates what’s wrong with the way government functions today, ACTA is it. You wouldn’t know it from the name, but the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement is a plurilateral agreement designed to broaden and extend existing intellectual property (IP) enforcement laws to the Internet. While it was only negotiated between a few countries,1 it has global consequences. First because it will create new rules for the Internet, and second, because its standards will be applied to other countries through the U.S.’s annual Special 301 process. Negotiated in secret,… -
Under Obama, the Freedom of Information Act is Still in Shackles
26 Jan 2012 | 8:15 pmThree years ago this past weekend, on his first full day in office, President Barack Obama issued his now infamous memo on transparency and open government, which was supposed to fulfill his campaign promise to lead the “most transparent administration in history.” Instead, his administration has been just as secretive—if not more so—than his predecessors, and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has become the prime example of his administration’s lack of progress. In 2009, Obama made FOIA reform the centerpiece of his open government agenda. “My Administration is committed to…
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The Fine Print: blog posts from OMBWatch
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State of the Union's Call for Tax Fairness is a Good Start
26 Jan 2012 | 10:26 am<!--break--> “The state of the union is getting stronger.” That is how President Obama characterized the current state of the union. But, as we wrote in our State of the Union preview on Tuesday, we still have a long way to go before the economy is back on its feet. In our article, we recommended doing away with the looming budget cuts, increasing taxes on capital gains and financial transactions, and using the additional revenue to pay for more infrastructure projects and public protections. So what fiscal issues did Obama talk about in his speech on Tuesday? One of the main themes of… -
President Obama: You Had Me Until Fracking
25 Jan 2012 | 2:31 pmIn last night’s State of the Union address, President Obama reiterated his support for the development of clean energy sources that will create jobs and protect the environment. But while developing clean energy is essential for moving us into the 21st century energy marketplace, the way we build our clean energy future also matters. We must develop energy without harming public health and the environment. A natural gas extraction process, commonly referred to as fracking, was cited in last night’s State of the Union as an example of clean energy. But using fracking to extract… -
Rushing To a Full Stop: Obama Gets It Right When He Talks About the Keystone Pipeline
18 Jan 2012 | 3:00 pmRejecting the Keystone XL pipeline this afternoon, President Obama blamed a short-circuited process that didn't allow the State Department to gather all the information it would have needed to consider before approving the permit. <!--break--> In a statement, Obama said that "the rushed and arbitrary deadline insisted on by Congressional Republicans prevented a full assessment of the pipeline’s impact, especially the health and safety of the American people, as well as our environment." Last November, he explained it this way: "Because this permit… -
IRS: Tax Gap Stands at Nearly Half a Trillion
18 Jan 2012 | 12:58 pm<!--break--> Earlier this month, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released an updated analysis of the tax gap – the difference between the total amount in federal taxes owed by people and businesses, and the total paid. What did the IRS find? In 2006, the most recent year for which information is available, Americans underpaid their taxes by $450 billion. Extended over a decade, this could represent a shortfall of trillions, robbing the country of needed funds for infrastructure and other investments. The last time the IRS put together an analysis of the tax gap – issued in 2006 and… -
The EPA Shines a Light on Transparency: Makes Greenhouse Gas Data Publically Available for the First Time
12 Jan 2012 | 8:54 amOn Jan. 11, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released greenhouse gas (GHG) data to the public for the first time. Through an online tool, the public will be able to access critical air pollution data. With this new data, the public can hold industry accountable to ensure that emitters take responsibility for the way they are contributing to climate change. The online tool presents 2010 GHG data from 6,700 large facilities around the country in nine industry groups, including suppliers of certain fossil fuels and industrial gases. The public will be able to use the data to…
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Open-Government Blog
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AZ Gov. Letter to President--Not a Public Record?
27 Jan 2012 | 8:49 amGov. Jan Brewer, a Republican, wrote a handwritten letter to President Obama on her gubernatorial letterhead. Apparently the letter is "feisty" (we don't care about the politics of the letter). The USA Today story says:"When The Arizona Republic requested a copy, Brewer's spokesman, Matthew Benson, said no copies existed and the letter was 'personal, handwritten' correspondence not subject to open-records laws."To the credit of Gov. Brewer's staff, they released a copy when they found out a copy had been made.Oh, come on. A governor in a political dispute with the President doesn't make a… -
FBI Hiding FOIA Documents
17 Jan 2012 | 6:19 pmThis explains a lot. It describes the FBI's apparent practice of "blacklisting" requested records and not providing them.Hat tip to Jim for sending this to us. -
SB 6351: Terrible, Terrible Bill
17 Jan 2012 | 3:17 pmJust as we predicted, government agencies would attempt to amend RCW 42.56.565, the statute allowing a court order to prevent an agency from responding to an inmate's public records request, and then apply it to ... any public records request.They did it. They have introduced SB 6351.That's right: requestors like you are just like inmates under this bill.Attorney General Rob McKenna will hopefully oppose SB 6351. -
Olympian Editorial on Need to Record Executive Sessions
17 Jan 2012 | 2:33 pmThis editorial from The Olympian describes why the Legislature should pass SB 6109. -
HB 2572: Requiring PRA and OPMA Training for State and Local Gov'ts
17 Jan 2012 | 2:28 pmThis is a great idea.
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Local Open Government Blog
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Clarifying Records Request Clarifications - All Clear? Court of Appeals Rules Confused County was Reasonably Confused
23 Jan 2012 | 7:02 pmToday’s Washington Court of Appeals decision in Levy v. Snohomish County stems from Inmate Percy Levy’s less-than-clear records request to the County Prosecutor’s office: “While pending trial back in 2002… my attorney provided me with a statement made by my co-defendant Breena Johnson. I want a copy of that statement.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, the designated public records officer sought clarification from Levy, because the records officer was neither Levy nor his attorney. Today’s decision again points out that agencies managing public records… -
Tri-City Herald Reports on Massive Document Production in Response to Request from Annexation Opponent
28 Dec 2011 | 4:38 pmThe ongoing controversy over a City of Pasco annexation authorized by legislation adopted by the State Legislature in 2009 (ESSB 5808), has resulted in broad requests for City public records. The requests are so expansive as to cause substantial delay in production of the public records. This is not an unusual occurrence, as the Public Records Act (PRA) is regularly used as a political tool against public agencies. This approach is completely permissible under Washington law, as a requester need not identify the purpose for the records request. Washington has regularly recognized that the… -
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin Urges County Commissioners and Sheriff to Meet in Public
12 Dec 2011 | 2:32 pmIn an editorial on December 9, 2011, the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin commented as follows: Dec. 09 -- The budget discussion between Sheriff John Turner and the three county commissioners got heated this week when it veered off course. Instead of focusing on the specifics of the budget, the meeting became a debate over whether commissioners Gregg Loney, Greg Tompkins and Perry Dozier should meet individually with Turner and his command staff to discuss and develop strategic plans for the Sheriff's Office. It is simply not the job of the county commissioners to help develop strategic plans… -
Everett School Board Plans a Meeting About Meetings
28 Nov 2011 | 1:26 pmOn November 25, 2011, Sharon Salyer of The Herald reported on Everett School Board planning to hold a forum early next year to discuss open government. The following is a reprint of the article in full: Controversy has swirled around the Everett School Board all year over openness and transparency. The school board now plans to hold a forum early next year to have outside experts discuss issues such as the state Open Public Meetings Act and the steps involved in getting records from government agencies. Ed Petersen, school board president, suggested during a meeting… -
Oregon's Public Employee Retirement System Changes Rules to Allow Public Disclosure
21 Nov 2011 | 5:48 pmOn Friday, Ted Sickinger of The Oregonian reported on changes to the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System that allow public disclosure of individual members' information. The following is a reprint of the article in full: The board of directors of Oregon's public employee retirement system voted 3-to-1 Friday to change its rules to allow the public disclosure of members' individual benefits. The administrative rule change reflects a legal settlement that PERS reached earlier this year to release benefit information to The Oregonian and the Statesman Journal in Salem on Nov. 21 for…
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UK Freedom of Information Blog
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Briefing on the future of the FOI Act
12 Jan 2012 | 4:50 am2 pm Wednesday 18 January 2012Campaign for Freedom of Information, 16 Baldwins Gardens, London EC1N 7RJThe Freedom of Information Act is being reviewed by a parliamentary committee which is likely to recommend changes to the law. This could be an important opportunity to improve the Act. But there will also be significant pressure for new restrictions from public authorities concerned about the cost of dealing with FOI requests or lobbying for new exemptions.If you would like to contribute to the exercise, it is important to act quickly. The deadline for submitting evidence to the committee… -
Course on Scottish Information Commissioner Decisions
9 Jan 2012 | 10:58 amThe Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland is providing a half-day training course on 'Scottish Information Commissioner Decisions' in Glasgow on 20 March 2012 and Aberdeen on 21 March 2012.The course is aimed at FOI practitioners and those with a good working knowledge of the legislation. It highlights the latest developments in the way the exemptions, public interest test and the legislation's procedural requirements are being interpreted. The course is presented by the Campaign's direction, Maurice Frankel, who has worked in the field for 27 years. It will cover the most… -
No need for more Cabinet secrecy
20 Dec 2011 | 12:50 pmThe Campaign for Freedom of Information has written to The Times responding to comments made by Sir Gus O'Donnell, the outgoing Cabinet Secretary, that the Freedom of Information Act should be amended to provide greater protection for cabinet discussions. In an interview [£], Sir Gus told the newspaper he was a "massive believer in transparency" but "the bit that I'm really against in freedom of information is that bit where it reduces the quality of governance, so I want there to be a safe space."An edited version [£] of the letter appeared in The Times on 20 December 2011. -
MoJ discloses further details about extension of FOI
19 Dec 2011 | 5:23 amFollowing a FOI request by the Campaign for Freedom of Information (see earlier post), the Ministry of Justice have disclosed further details about the bodies they are consulting on FOI coverage.In addition to the 25 bodies announced on 7 January 2011, the list includes over 150 'awarding bodies', and over 200 harbour authorities. A list of all the bodies can be downloaded as an Excel spreadsheet here.The MoJ have also provided a list of the bodies they believe are likely to be brought within the scope of the Act by the amendment to the definition of 'publicly owned company' that is being… -
Guidance on private email accounts welcomed
15 Dec 2011 | 10:22 amThe Campaign for Freedom of Information welcomed today’s guidance from the Information Commissioner confirming that emails dealing with public authority business sent using officials’ private email accounts are subject to the Freedom of Information Act. The guidance points out that the same is true regardless of where information dealing with official business is held. This is because the Act applies not only to information held by a public authority but also to information held by “another person on behalf of the authority”.The Campaign’s director Maurice Frankel said: “It's been…
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Kentucky Open Government Blog
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Beshear and child-welfare officials appeal records decision, say it is too broad, look to legislature
27 Jan 2012 | 4:47 pmOn the day the state was supposed to release unadulterated records on deaths and near deaths from child abuse, under a court order, it filed an appeal to stop the process. And though Gov. Steve Beshear had ordered the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to release the records, yesterday he sided with its officials, saying in an op-ed piece sent to Kentucky newspapers he did not "think the judge's order was protective enough" of informants who often want to remain secret, such as relatives, health-care providers, teachers and law-enforcement officials. (Getty Images photo)“You teach in a… -
Journalists, child-protection officials debate their differing approaches to Ky. child abuse problem
22 Jan 2012 | 9:17 pmIn a state that has led the nation in deaths of children from abuse and neglect, Kentucky journalists and the officials who must protect children agree that more public attention needs to be focused on the issue.But they don’t agree on how to do it, and have been fighting expensive battles in court over it, because their professions have sharply divergent views on what kind of information the state should have to release.“The profession of social work is based on confidentiality,” the state’s top child-protection official told reporters, editors and publishers during a panel… -
Making agency more open gets top priority from attendees at Ky. Summit to End Child Abuse Deaths
15 Jan 2012 | 11:54 am"Eliminating secrecy at the Cabinet for Health and Family Services was the top vote-getter" among 250 "judges, lawmakers, child advocates and social workers" in a packed house at the Kentucky Summit to End Child Abuse Deaths yesterday in Louisville, reports Deborah Yetter of The Courier-Journal.The top recommendations, as listed by Linda Blackford of the Lexington Herald-Leader, were to increase: Improve transparency and accountability at the cabinet; Increase funds for proven and effective services such court appointed advocates, substance abuse programs, in-home services and… -
Judges like bill to open juvenile courts, but it would make reporters' notes subject to inspection
13 Jan 2012 | 9:09 amFamily Court judges told a legislative committee yesterday that Kentucky's juvenile courts should be made open, to improve scrutiny of the state's bedraggled system of child protection, and endorsed a bill to start that. But the state's leading news-media lawyer, who has been fighting to open the system, objected to a provision in the bill that would make notes taken by anyone in court subject to inspection by the judge. For the story from Beth Musgrave of the Lexington Herald-Leader, click here. -
Nominate a local open-govermnent hero for national recognition during Sunshine Week
28 Dec 2011 | 11:56 amFor the observance of Sunshine Week, March 11-17, you are invited to nominate individuals who have played significant roles in fighting for government transparency. Get the nomination form here. All nominations must be received by Feb. 20.The 2012 Local Hero will win an expense-paid trip to the American Society of News Editors convention April 2-4 in Washington. Second- and third-place winners will receive $500 and $250, respectively. ASNE and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press sponsor Sunshine Week. For more information and the free materials available to all participants,…
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Sunlight Foundation Blog
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Sunlight Weekly Roundup: “Initiatives for 'open government' either improve access or hinder it."
27 Jan 2012 | 4:02 pmWhile summarizing the changes Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst hopes to implement with the Senate Select Committee on Open Government, Curt Olsen reminds, “Initiatives for 'open government' either improve access or hinder it." Olsen maintains that each change should be watched carefully, as, “ State lawmakers can pass laws that enhance openness and transparency or they can pass laws that cause mischief and erect a new hurdle for taxpayers to have access to government." The proposed changes include: “The use of new technologies and future technological advances as relates to… -
Close the lobbying loopholes
27 Jan 2012 | 12:15 pmToday NPR's Planet Money team aired a story about disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s legal lobbying activities (as few of those as there may have been), highlighting how problematic even currently legal lobbying practices are. Also today, the New York Times pointed out some of the huge loopholes in current lobbying law -- Newt Gingrich, for example, isn’t actually a lobbyist, he just spends lots of his time talking to lawmakers about how policy should be made. Y’know, as a historian. The powerful (and corrupting, as we saw with Abramoff) influence of special interest money in… -
2Day in #OpenGov 1/27/2012
27 Jan 2012 | 11:02 amPolicy Fellow Matt Rumsey wrote this post. Here is the week's last look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Government It is being reported that Federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra will announce his resignation today. Chopra has served as CTO since 2009. (Fed Scoop) The Senate is prepared to act on the STOCK act next week. The act, which President Obama indicated he would sign during his State of the Union Address, aims to ban insider trading by… -
Only a Smarter Congress Can Make Better Internet Policy
26 Jan 2012 | 2:01 pmRecent calls for technologists to hire lobbyists to educate Washington on internet issues miss a significant part of the big picture. Congress makes bad technology decisions because it has dismantled its ability to evaluate policy issues. While public mobilization and lobbying efforts can affect decision-making through political pressure, lobbying to educate congress on technology issues is like trying to teach a fish to sing. The congressional technology lobotomy arose from two fateful decisions. First, Congress closed down its specialized office of nonpartisan technology experts in 1995,… -
Tools for Transparency: URL Builder for Google Analytics
26 Jan 2012 | 1:39 pmThe Google Analytics URL Builder is a simple tool that helps you track traffic statistics for specific campaign related links. The tool works by adding parameters to a link from a page on your site that you then track using Google Analytics. When running an advertising or social media campaign, this is incredibly handy for tracking your ROI. I'll walk you through how I used the URL builder for this past Tuesday's Sunlight Live coverage of the State of the Union address. Below is a screenshot of the URL builder. In the first field, you enter the main URL you want to track. In this case,…
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The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) Blog
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FOIA Friday: The Fracking New York Times - How Industry and the Government Reacted to an Expose
27 Jan 2012 | 12:43 pmFOIA FRIDAY This week's document: Internal emails from the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration responding to a New York Times article on fraking. Document dates: June and July, 2011 Every Friday, POGO will strive to make one document available that we or others have obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), especially documents that have not previously been posted online. Some of these documents will be more important than others, some may only be of historical interest— although relevance is in the eye of the beholder. POGO is doing this to… -
Six Americans Obama and Holder Charged Under the Espionage Act (and One Bonus Whistleblower)
27 Jan 2012 | 9:00 amBy DANA LIEBELSON Though rare, U.S. presidents have attempted to use the World War I-era Espionage Act to silence Americans from leaking information to the media for decades. It is a charge that is as controversial, as it is grave. This is the law the Nixon administration infamously invoked when attempting to bar the media from continuing to publish the classified Pentagon Papers—the second largest leak of classified information to the press in the U.S., after Wikileaks. Nixon of course, was unsuccessful, and his shattered reputation never recovered. But guess what? The Nixon… -
Morning Smoke: Senate to Vote on Insider-Trading Bill
27 Jan 2012 | 8:53 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 Oversight Senate to Take Up Insider-Trading Bill Peter Schroeder, The Hill The Incredibly Shrinking Bill for TARPSuzy Khimm, The Washington Post How Allen Stanford Kept the SEC at BayMurray Waas, Reuters Charlie Rose Talks to the SEC's Robert KhuzamiCharlie Rose, Businessweek National Security… -
Un-Do Influence: Fear the Facepalm!
26 Jan 2012 | 11:24 amRatings Guide 4 = Stupefying example of everything that's wrong with the system. 3 = Outrageous; shameless, even. 2 = Worthy of rebuke. 1 = Even if there's no conflict of interest, appearances matter. By JOE NEWMAN From Wikipedia: A facepalm (sometimes also face-palm or face palm) is the physical gesture of placing one's hand flat across one's face or lowering one's face into one's hand or hands. The gesture is found in many cultures as a display of frustration, embarrassment, shock, or surprise. Our facepalm ratings are intended to shine a light on the people… -
More DoD Investigations of Allegations of U.S. Contractor-Fueled Human Trafficking
26 Jan 2012 | 10:38 amBy NICK SCHWELLENBACH It appears that Fiscal Year 2011 saw more Defense Department criminal investigations of alleged human trafficking by its contractor supply chain than in any one of the last five years, according to a Pentagon inspector general report publicly released today (it is dated January 17). All three investigations involved or allegedly involved U.S. government contractors or subcontractors in Southwest Asia: Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan. Here’s how the inspector general describes the three cases in its report: The U.S. Army investigated an allegation that Philippine women…
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Sunlight Labs blog
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Don't Use Zip Codes Unless You Have To
19 Jan 2012 | 10:19 amMany of us in the labs found it thrilling to watch the internet community unite around opposition to the SOPA and PIPA bills yesterday. Even more gratifying was seeing how many participating websites used our APIs to help visitors find their elected representatives. This kind of use is exactly why we built those tools, and why we'll always make them freely available to anyone who wants to make government more accessible to its citizens. Still, I'd be lying if I said we don't occasionally wince when we see someone using our services in a less-than-ideal way. It's completely understandable,… -
Broadcasters' Public Files Should Be Published Online (and it's absurd that we're even having this conversation)
17 Jan 2012 | 11:11 amLuigi passed along a couple of links to a great/infuriating On the Media segment about the new rules the FCC is considering related to the online disclosure of political ad purchases. To run through the issue quickly: every broadcast station is required to keep a "public file" of paper records related to campaign ad purchases. These records show basic information about how an ad was purchased, who bought it and when it aired. As the name implies, the file is available for public inspection, but only if you show up at the station and ask for it. The FCC has proposed a rule that would require… -
The FEC's New Mobile Site Could Use Some Work
3 Jan 2012 | 4:10 pmLast Friday the Federal Election Commission announced the launch of a new mobile interface. You should try it for yourself at http://fec.gov/mobile/. The site declares itself to be a beta, which I suspect you'll agree is something of an understatement. Let's call a spade a spade: there's no use pretending this is good. To begin with, there are obvious superficial problems: graphs lack units, graphics have been resized in a lossy way, and the damn thing doesn't work on most Android devices. Worse, there are substantive errors. Look at Herman Cain's cash on hand. Why are debts listed as a share… -
The data behind Capitol words
21 Dec 2011 | 9:06 amLast Monday we launched an update to our Capitol Words project, which indexes and tokenizes the Congressional Record daily. With the launch behind us and the dust starting to settle, I'd like to walk through how we get from raw text to attributed, searchable quotations, and provide some examples of how you can interact with the data directly. Before delving into how it works, though, it's important to acknowledge the myriad developers whose work on this project has made it possible. I'm only the most recent steward of the site; the bulk of the data legwork for this iteration was handled by… -
House Approves Sweeping Open Data Standards
19 Dec 2011 | 12:24 pmAt a Friday hearing, the House of Representatives significantly raised the bar on open data by passing a resolution requiring that a wide variety of crucial House legislative information be published online, in open formats, and at permanent predictable URLs. Daniel Schuman covered this on the Sunlight Foundation blog on Friday. The new standards create a new central website, run by the Clerk of the House, that will host all House bills, resolutions, amendments, and conference reports. These documents will be online on January 1, 2012, and will be in XML. Beyond that, the standards require…
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FOI Oklahoma
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Okemah city attorney tells council that appointing new member is emergency and can be done even though agenda doesn't list such an action
27 Jan 2012 | 11:07 amThe Okemah City Council appointed a new member Monday night even though such an action wasn't on the agenda, the Okemah News Leader reported. Council members took that action after City Attorney Bruce Coker said they could declare an "emergency" based on the possibility of not having a quorum to conduct business at their next meeting if one was absent, the newspaper reported. The five-member council was already down to four before the mayor resigned last week. Monday night's agenda listed the "discussion and possible action to begin search and application process to appoint a new council… -
Not all DHS commission committee meetings to be open to public
26 Jan 2012 | 1:53 pmThe Budget and Rules committees of the statewide commission overseeing the state Department of Human Services will meet publicly and comply with Open Meeting Act requirements, the Tulsa World reported Monday. "We are a public agency serving more of the public than any other agency and need to be as open as possible. It's all about the public, not about us," said Brad Yarbrough, chairman of the Oklahoma Commission for Human Services. That's a big step forward for a public body that wasn't too keen on open government until Yarbrough was appointed chairman by Gov. Mary Fallin in the fall. But… -
Plaintiffs appeal Washington County judge's decision that Oklahomans aren't entitled to sue to enforce Open Meeting Act unless specifically harmed by alleged violation
24 Jan 2012 | 3:46 pmOklahoma's Supreme Court is being asked to decide if residents may sue to enforce the state Open Meeting Act without having been specifically harmed by the public body's alleged violation. Joel Rabin and Sharon Hurst are appealing a Washington County judge's dismissal of their lawsuit alleging an Open Meeting Act violation by the Bartlesville Redevelopment Authority. In November, Associate District Judge Russell Vaclaw said Rabin and Hurst made no claims that "their personal, contractual, or proprietary interests were affected by any decision by the BRTA in an executive session. Nor is there… -
Cash prizes to be awarded in FOI essay contest for Oklahoma college students
23 Jan 2012 | 3:01 pmOklahoma college students are invited to enter FOI Oklahoma’s second annual freedom of information essay contest. Any college student may enter by writing an essay of about 500 words on one of the following topics: How have you used Oklahoma’s Open Meeting and Open Records laws to encourage and facilitate an informed citizenry’s participation in government? How do violations of Oklahoma’s Open Meeting and Open Records laws by public universities and colleges diminish public confidence in higher education? Are Oklahoma’s Open Meeting and Open Records laws adequately enforced to… -
No more electronic records from county clerks if state legislator, some clerks have their way
23 Jan 2012 | 12:02 pmOklahoma's county clerks would no longer have to provide electronic records in that format, under a House bill filed Thursday. House Bill 2605 is from Rep. Gus Blackwell, a Republican representing the Oklahoma Panhandle. The bill amends a 1989 statute applying to county clerks by adding, "Nothing in this section shall require the clerk to provide any record by electronic means." That covers a lot of important public records. County clerks keep the records of proceedings of the county commissions, county excise boards, county boards of equalizations and county boards overseeing tax roll…
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Secrecy News
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New Leak Case Relies on 1982 Law on Intelligence Identities
25 Jan 2012 | 10:53 amFormer CIA officer John Kiriakou this week became the latest person to be charged under the Espionage Act with unauthorized disclosures of classified information. But unlike the previous defendants, Mr. Kiriakou was also charged with violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act for allegedly disclosing the identity of a covert intelligence officer to a journalist. The Intelligence Identities Protection Act was enacted in 1982 to combat the efforts of Philip Agee and his colleagues to expose CIA personnel around the world. The Act made it a felony to reveal the names of… -
Domestic Use of Drones is Well Underway
25 Jan 2012 | 10:47 amThe use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) within the United States is certain to increase in the years to come, as a new Army policy has recently made clear. (“Army Foresees Expanded Use of Drones in U.S. Airspace,” Secrecy News, January 19.) But in fact the use of unmanned aircraft or drones within U.S. airspace has already advanced to a degree that is not widely recognized. As of 2010, the Federal Aviation Administration had already issued hundreds of “certificates of authorization” (COAs) for the domestic use of drones. “Right now, today as we sit here, we… -
Presidential Signing Statements, and More from CRS
25 Jan 2012 | 10:42 amPresident Obama has used “signing statements” to take exception to provisions of law enacted by Congress with significantly less frequency than did President George W. Bush. He has also abandoned reference to the “unitary executive” concept that was favored by the Bush Administration. In most other respects, however, the Obama Administration’s use of signing statements is consistent and continuous with recent past practice, according to a newly updated report from the Congressional Research Service. The report reviewed the basis for signing statements, their… -
Court Says Review of Security Clearance Dispute is “Prohibited”
23 Jan 2012 | 10:53 amA government agency’s decision to revoke an employee’s security clearance cannot be reviewed by a federal court even if the decision is based on ethnic discrimination or religious prejudice or other unconstitutional grounds, a court said last week. Judge James C. Cacheris of the Eastern District of Virginia dismissed a lawsuit brought by Mahmoud M. Hegab, a budget analyst at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). Mr. Hegab alleged that his security clearance had been revoked by NGA “based solely on [his] wife’s religion, Islam, her constitutionally… -
Afghanistan Casualties, and More from CRS
23 Jan 2012 | 10:46 amNew or updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include the following (all pdf). Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians, January 18, 2012 FY2012 National Defense Authorization Act: Selected Military Personnel Policy Issues, January 5, 2012 Spectrum Policy in the Age of Broadband: Issues for Congress, January 5, 2012 The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Terrorism Investigations, December 28, 2011 Economic Downturns and Crime, December 19, 2011
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WordPress.com News
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Chrome Users: Try the WordPress.com Extension
27 Jan 2012 | 1:54 pmWant to receive WordPress.com notifications instantly, even when you’re not on WordPress.com? Add the new WordPress.com extension for Chrome and as soon as you get a new follower or a new like on one of your posts, a notification will appear in your browser: Simply click the icon to view your latest WordPress.com notifications: Start following new blogs without visiting WordPress.com The Chrome extension also makes it easy to follow sites from your WordPress.com account by displaying a Follow button whenever you’re browsing a site that has an RSS feed. Clicking the Follow button… -
Your Stats Have a New Home
26 Jan 2012 | 10:46 amAre you addicted to checking your site stats? You are not alone. The stats dashboard has always been one of the most popular admin screens. It’s gratifying to know that people are visiting your place online. With the WordPress.com front page evolving into a one-stop shop for posting, exploring, following and reading blogs, it seemed natural to put your blog stats there, too. Stats are becoming more and more about interacting with your readers and other bloggers. You’ll still see your summary stats and chart on your main dashboard, and the full stats page in your dashboard will… -
Reblogging is Back!
22 Jan 2012 | 1:27 pmAs we mentioned last week, you can like and reblog posts directly from your reader, which displays a stream of all the updates published on all the blogs you follow from your WordPress.com account. We’ve also brought the reblog button back to the toolbar that appears at the top of the screen when you’re logged into WordPress.com. Note that you’ll only see the like and reblog options while you’re looking at individual posts. For example, you’ll see this on the left side of your toolbar while viewing http://en.blog.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/read-blogs: And your… -
New Theme: Newsy
20 Jan 2012 | 12:18 pmIt’s been an extra big week in the news ’round these parts, so much so that the launch announcement of our latest premium theme seems like an extra extra good way to headline our Friday. Newsy is a versatile business and news-friendly theme that offers up to ten different layouts, four footer columns, custom link and accent colors, and a custom site header. Brand and content-focused editorial teams will love publishing with this theme. Newsy: Home Page Designed by Themify, Newsy comes with an impressive set of Theme Options that afford you a great deal of flexibility with how you… -
Read All Your Favorite Blogs in One Place
19 Jan 2012 | 6:04 pmIf you feel like it’s a chore to keep up with all your favorite blogs, you can now read posts from all the blogs you follow (even the ones that aren’t on WordPress.com!) in one convenient place on the WordPress.com home page: Your reader displays all the posts across all the blogs you follow in the order they were published, with the most recent content appearing at the top. You’ll see an excerpt of the introduction to each post, the first image in the post, and thumbnails of any other images that the post contains. You can even like and reblog WordPress.com content directly…
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The Sunshine in Government Blog
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In Case You Missed It: Fed Bank Data Released
3 Jan 2012 | 6:07 amWhile many people focused more on family reunions than the Federal Reserve, late last month Bloomberg News released the data on which banks received overnight loans from the Fed during the financial crisis that peaked in 2008. Release of this data was a hot topic during the debate over the Dodd-Frank financial reform package. Bloomberg News had sued for the data, and Congress wrote in a two-year delay on disclosing the data under FOIA. Anyone interested in analyzing the data should read this helpful primer from Bloomberg News on the key numbers that have been the focus of controversy. -
FCC responds efficiently, but most interesting information left out
1 Dec 2011 | 8:29 amThe Federal Communications Commission on November 28th posted in one website documents responsive to multiple FOIA requests for information regarding Lightsquared, which is setting up a satellite-based broadband network. From the FCC: The Federal Communications Commission has received numerous requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for documents related to LightSquared, Sky Terra, Mobile Satellite Ventures, Motient, Harbinger, TerraStar, and people related to these entities. For the convenience of the requesters and the public, under the “frequently requested records”… -
OGIS puts up new website
29 Nov 2011 | 2:04 pmThe FOIA Ombudsman is rolling out a new website this week. The Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) created a sleek design with a library of informative background for new requesters and technical background for more experienced requesters. Much of the new site will be immediately useful to FOIA users. The OGIS Library should prove useful for requesters who are new to FOIA and want to better understand the FOIA-speak that they sometimes receive in agency responses, although this material is similar to the technical background on the Justice Department’s FOIA.gov. Other… -
Sunshine Week 2012
29 Nov 2011 | 1:27 pmSunshine Week, the annual celebration of open government, will be held March 11-17, 2012. The week coincides with the birthday of James Madison (March 16th). Initiated and sponsored for years by the American Society of News Editors, this year Sunshine Week is a collaboration between ASNE and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. In the past, journalists have conducted audits of FOI laws, policymakers write opinion pieces, editorial cartoonists contribute works for broad distribution, interest groups sponsor programs, and Congress holds a hearing or two to push bills or take… -
AP study of open gov laws shows Open Government Partnership faces big challenge
17 Nov 2011 | 7:36 amThe Associated Press (the only newsgathering organization that is a member of SGI) found the majority of countries violate their freedom-of-information laws, the AP reported in an audit released on November 17. The audit, in which the AP submitted requests for documents to test the speed and quality of responses, should provide a good baseline for evaluating the impact of the U.S.-led Open Government Partnership, which launched earlier this year.
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FOI Oklahoma
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Okemah city attorney tells council that appointing new member is emergency and can be done even though agenda doesn't list such an action
27 Jan 2012 | 11:07 amThe Okemah City Council appointed a new member Monday night even though such an action wasn't on the agenda, the Okemah News Leader reported. Council members took that action after City Attorney Bruce Coker said they could declare an "emergency" based on the possibility of not having a quorum to conduct business at their next meeting if one was absent, the newspaper reported. The five-member council was already down to four before the mayor resigned last week. Monday night's agenda listed the "discussion and possible action to begin search and application process to appoint a new council… -
Not all DHS commission committee meetings to be open to public
26 Jan 2012 | 1:53 pmThe Budget and Rules committees of the statewide commission overseeing the state Department of Human Services will meet publicly and comply with Open Meeting Act requirements, the Tulsa World reported Monday. "We are a public agency serving more of the public than any other agency and need to be as open as possible. It's all about the public, not about us," said Brad Yarbrough, chairman of the Oklahoma Commission for Human Services. That's a big step forward for a public body that wasn't too keen on open government until Yarbrough was appointed chairman by Gov. Mary Fallin in the fall. But… -
Plaintiffs appeal Washington County judge's decision that Oklahomans aren't entitled to sue to enforce Open Meeting Act unless specifically harmed by alleged violation
24 Jan 2012 | 3:46 pmOklahoma's Supreme Court is being asked to decide if residents may sue to enforce the state Open Meeting Act without having been specifically harmed by the public body's alleged violation. Joel Rabin and Sharon Hurst are appealing a Washington County judge's dismissal of their lawsuit alleging an Open Meeting Act violation by the Bartlesville Redevelopment Authority. In November, Associate District Judge Russell Vaclaw said Rabin and Hurst made no claims that "their personal, contractual, or proprietary interests were affected by any decision by the BRTA in an executive session. Nor is there… -
Cash prizes to be awarded in FOI essay contest for Oklahoma college students
23 Jan 2012 | 3:01 pmOklahoma college students are invited to enter FOI Oklahoma’s second annual freedom of information essay contest. Any college student may enter by writing an essay of about 500 words on one of the following topics: How have you used Oklahoma’s Open Meeting and Open Records laws to encourage and facilitate an informed citizenry’s participation in government? How do violations of Oklahoma’s Open Meeting and Open Records laws by public universities and colleges diminish public confidence in higher education? Are Oklahoma’s Open Meeting and Open Records laws adequately enforced to… -
No more electronic records from county clerks if state legislator, some clerks have their way
23 Jan 2012 | 12:02 pmOklahoma's county clerks would no longer have to provide electronic records in that format, under a House bill filed Thursday. House Bill 2605 is from Rep. Gus Blackwell, a Republican representing the Oklahoma Panhandle. The bill amends a 1989 statute applying to county clerks by adding, "Nothing in this section shall require the clerk to provide any record by electronic means." That covers a lot of important public records. County clerks keep the records of proceedings of the county commissions, county excise boards, county boards of equalizations and county boards overseeing tax roll…
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FOI Oklahoma
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Okemah city attorney tells council that appointing new member is emergency and can be done even though agenda doesn't list such an action
27 Jan 2012 | 11:07 amThe Okemah City Council appointed a new member Monday night even though such an action wasn't on the agenda, the Okemah News Leader reported. Council members took that action after City Attorney Bruce Coker said they could declare an "emergency" based on the possibility of not having a quorum to conduct business at their next meeting if one was absent, the newspaper reported. The five-member council was already down to four before the mayor resigned last week. Monday night's agenda listed the "discussion and possible action to begin search and application process to appoint a new council… -
Not all DHS commission committee meetings to be open to public
26 Jan 2012 | 1:53 pmThe Budget and Rules committees of the statewide commission overseeing the state Department of Human Services will meet publicly and comply with Open Meeting Act requirements, the Tulsa World reported Monday. "We are a public agency serving more of the public than any other agency and need to be as open as possible. It's all about the public, not about us," said Brad Yarbrough, chairman of the Oklahoma Commission for Human Services. That's a big step forward for a public body that wasn't too keen on open government until Yarbrough was appointed chairman by Gov. Mary Fallin in the fall. But… -
Plaintiffs appeal Washington County judge's decision that Oklahomans aren't entitled to sue to enforce Open Meeting Act unless specifically harmed by alleged violation
24 Jan 2012 | 3:46 pmOklahoma's Supreme Court is being asked to decide if residents may sue to enforce the state Open Meeting Act without having been specifically harmed by the public body's alleged violation. Joel Rabin and Sharon Hurst are appealing a Washington County judge's dismissal of their lawsuit alleging an Open Meeting Act violation by the Bartlesville Redevelopment Authority. In November, Associate District Judge Russell Vaclaw said Rabin and Hurst made no claims that "their personal, contractual, or proprietary interests were affected by any decision by the BRTA in an executive session. Nor is there… -
Cash prizes to be awarded in FOI essay contest for Oklahoma college students
23 Jan 2012 | 3:01 pmOklahoma college students are invited to enter FOI Oklahoma’s second annual freedom of information essay contest. Any college student may enter by writing an essay of about 500 words on one of the following topics: How have you used Oklahoma’s Open Meeting and Open Records laws to encourage and facilitate an informed citizenry’s participation in government? How do violations of Oklahoma’s Open Meeting and Open Records laws by public universities and colleges diminish public confidence in higher education? Are Oklahoma’s Open Meeting and Open Records laws adequately enforced to… -
No more electronic records from county clerks if state legislator, some clerks have their way
23 Jan 2012 | 12:02 pmOklahoma's county clerks would no longer have to provide electronic records in that format, under a House bill filed Thursday. House Bill 2605 is from Rep. Gus Blackwell, a Republican representing the Oklahoma Panhandle. The bill amends a 1989 statute applying to county clerks by adding, "Nothing in this section shall require the clerk to provide any record by electronic means." That covers a lot of important public records. County clerks keep the records of proceedings of the county commissions, county excise boards, county boards of equalizations and county boards overseeing tax roll…
