Great news from Iowa, which has moved one big step closer to creating a state FOI obudsman… Iowa lawmakers on Tuesday moved a big step closer to creating a long-sought state agency for enforcing open-records laws and ensuring access to government. The House voted 92-7 to establish the Iowa Public Information Board, and a leading [...]
Filed under: 3. Access law | Tagged: FOI ombudsman, Iowa | Leave a Comment »
School officials deny access to information, and cite no exemption for doing so. In steps the access counselor… After The Tribune filed a complaint with Indiana’s public access counselor, a School City of Mishawaka official said the district will now comply with a legal requirement to provide the media with certain public records before school [...]
Filed under: Meetings laws | Tagged: FOI ombudsman, Indiana, schools | Leave a Comment »
Two in three Iowans polled favor the creation of a board in state government to handle citizen complaints about violations of open meetings and access to government documents. The findings come as Gov. Terry Branstad has joined open government advocates in pushing the Legislature to create such a board, staffed by a full-time attorney, to [...]
Filed under: 3. Access law | Tagged: FOI ombudsman, Iowa, Iowa Freedom of Information Council | Leave a Comment »
The Hartford Courant could have slugged this editorial simply as NOOOOOOO! Gov. Dannel P. Malloy wants to fold the FOI Commission into a new super-watchdog agency. Consolidations do save money, and The Courant has endorsed the merger of the state’s economic development agencies. But the watchdogs should be kept separate — especially the FOI Commission, which defends [...]
Filed under: 3. Access law, 4. Finding records, 6. Overcoming denials | Tagged: Connecticut, FOI ombudsman | Leave a Comment »
From Iowa, a fresh helping of FOI hypocrisy: Lawmakers are considering creation of a new board to better enforce Iowa’s open records and meetings laws, but there’s a notable exemption from the board’s oversight: the governor and his office. The board’s oversight also would not extend to operations of the legislative and judicial branches, reflecting [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: FOI ombudsman, Iowa, remedies | Leave a Comment »
