Irony Alert! Georgia Lawmakers Close Hearing…on Sunshine Reform!

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Charles N. Davis

Because Georgia lawmakers are catching a ton of flak after a witness who equated domestic partner benefits with the End Times apparently has…well, received some less-than-flattering response, the organizers of a hearing aimed at making government more open (?) closed a hearing and banned video coverage. Seriously. Before voting Monday to advance an overhaul of [...]

Filed under: 3. Access law, Trickle-down fascism | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Iowa Court Says UofIowa Settlement Agreement is a Public Record

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Charles N. Davis

In a victory for government transparency,a judge has ordered the University of Iowa to release a resignation agreement with a former medical employee who filed a lawsuit trying to keep the document and his own identity a secret. District Judge Thomas Reidel agreed with The Associated Press that the settlement was a public record under [...]

Filed under: 3. Access law, 6. Overcoming denials | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

When Someone Asks You Why Transparency Matters…

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Charles N. Davis

You can point them to stories such as this : Millions of dollars in White House money has helped pay for New York Police Department programs that put entire American Muslim neighborhoods under surveillance. The money is part of a little-known grant intended to help law enforcement fight drug crimes. Since the terrorist attacks of [...]

Filed under: 2. Doc state of mind, 3. Access law, 4. Finding records | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Deportation Cases Drop By A Third, According to TRAC

Posted on February 26, 2012 by Charles N. Davis

FOI at Work: The number of deportation cases filed by federal immigration officials dropped by nearly a third in the first three months of the fiscal year, according to a report by the Syracuse University Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. The drop recorded in the last three months of 2011 may reflect the Obama administration’s plan to focus [...]

Filed under: 1. Records that matter, 2. Doc state of mind, FOI At Work | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Virginia General Assembly Passes the Lobbyist Privacy Protection and Corruption Stimulus Act….

Posted on February 26, 2012 by Charles N. Davis

Well, they may as well have named this mind-bogglingly bad bill that, for it will effectively provide the most secretive and untraceable communications (read influence-peddling) channel in any state anywhere. This is the single worst FOI exemption I have seen in years: People filing Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, requests may not be permitted [...]

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A Group of Openness Warriors Sues the CIA for Stonewalling

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Charles N. Davis

A wide-ranging class-action lawsuit was filed Wednesday challenging the Central Intelligence Agency’s practices for handling requests for its records from journalists, national security researchers and the general public. The suit, filed in federal court in Washington, alleges that the CIA has thrown a series of unlawful hurdles in the path of Freedom of Information Act [...]

Filed under: 3. Access law, 6. Overcoming denials | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

Want to Read a Great Column on Why FOI Matters?

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Charles N. Davis

Look no further than here. This, people, is why access to government information is no luxury, and can never, ever be taken for granted.

Filed under: 1. Records that matter, 2. Doc state of mind, 6. Overcoming denials, FOI At Work | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

BAck to the FOI Drawing Board in Utah…

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Charles N. Davis

After an infamous backfire on FOI reform, Utah pols are back to work, this time with a much better, collaborative process: Last year, an attempt to change Utah’s Government Records Access and Management Act led to a raucus Capitol Hill rally, outraged editorials and citizens throughout the state up in arms. This year, the effort [...]

Filed under: 3. Access law | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

Wyoming Works On An FOI Bill…Improvement or Setback?

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Charles N. Davis

As always, it depends on how the sausage is ground: State senators approved a public records bill Monday after changing it to keep secret from the public many documents that show how elected officials make decisions. The bill — Senate File 25 — also would prohibit the public from seeing correspondence that is sent to [...]

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Arkansas Supreme Court: Police Use-of-Force Records Are Public

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Charles N. Davis

Reports from police officers that explain why they use force against someone are not exempt from the state’s public record law, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The opinion from the state’s highest court came months after an attorney, Keith Hall, requested use-of-force reports in the case of an off-duty police officer who allegedly hit [...]

Filed under: 3. Access law, 6. Overcoming denials | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

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