Open government closed, watchdogs shut out
From Project on Government Oversight: With the government shutdown in full swing, you sort of expect these messages, but actually receiving them is still surreal:"Out of Office Reply: Due to the...
View ArticleDocumenting political influence
From NFOIC: COLUMBIA, Mo – Do you know which industries spend the most to influence politics in your state? If not, or even if you think you have an idea, you might be in interested in a report by...
View ArticleGoogle urges US gov to be more open about online spying
From Firstpost: Search giant Google Inc pushed the US government to be more open about its online spying on Wednesday in the first such testimony before Congress by a major technology company since a...
View ArticleCOMPLY-Investor advocates push to see trove of arbitration records
From Reuters: Dec 5 (Reuters) - A long-running battle over whether the top U.S. securities regulator should release records about its supervision of Wall Street's arbitration process is about to go...
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2013 NFOIC/MLRC Open Government Survey Showed Troubling Trends for Transparency
Press release from MLRC and NFOIC: By Amaris Elliott-Engel, MLRC Legal FellowNFOIC’s third biennial joint study with the New York-based Media Law Resource Center (MLRC) showed a continuation of trends...
View ArticleEditorial: Staying well informed is a great way to protect your freedom
Thanks to whistleblowers like Chelsea Elizabeth Manning and Edward Snowden, we are learning to ask what our government knows like informed citizens in a democratic republic should. Manning and Snowden...
View ArticleOpinion: 10 times the government stonewalled requests for information
One of the core values of the American experiment is the idea of transparency. Citizens have a right to know what their government is up to – how tax dollars are being spent, what public servants do...
View ArticleA Rare Glimpse of Bipartisanship on Open Government
So this “lame duck” Congress may not be so lame after all – at least when it comes to increasing government transparency.read more
View ArticleWhite House crowdsources open-government playbook
The Obama administration is "walking the walk" on government transparency by asking the public to help write a guide for agencies on ways to engage the public."This resource reflects the commitment of...
View ArticleOpinion: A victory for open government
Government transparency is a favorite — and necessary — topic of the fourth estate. The push and pull for a more open government is constant here in Vermont and across the nation. On Monday, a victory...
View ArticleWichita's chance to increase government transparency on spending
The Wichita City Council can decide to increase transparency in regards to spending, or let it remain being spent in secret. The City of Wichita has three surrogate quasi-governmental agencies that...
View ArticleEditorial: state government: More transparency
A good government is one that responds to the wishes of the public. But the public cannot know how responsive its government is when much of what government does lies outside public view. Hence the...
View ArticleOpinion: When governments open their files, the public benefits
IN EARLY December, President Obama announced a series of measures aimed at closing the gap between citizens and law enforcement. One of those measures was a plan to distribute $263 million in funding...
View ArticleFOIA pledge garners more signatures, but none locally
A pledge circulated by advocates of government transparency to garner support for the state’s Freedom of Information Act has yielded additional signatures since it was reissued earlier this month....
View ArticleAdvocates worried by open meetings bill
Government transparency advocates say they are concerned about a newly filed bill that would change Wyoming’s public meetings law. House Bill 232 would allow public agencies to “take action upon...
View ArticleOpen meetings bill withdrawn in Wyoming House
A legislative proposal that had concerned government transparency advocates has been withdrawn by the bill’s sponsor. Rep. Bob Nicholas, R-Cheyenne, pulled House Bill 232 Thursday morning right before...
View ArticleOpen meetings laws don’t apply Tenn. transparency panel
A panel of experts assembled to offer advice on transparency issues is not subject to the state’s open meetings law. At least that’s the opinion of Ann Butterworth, who heads the Comptroller’s Office...
View ArticleOpinion: Legislature to be commended for seeking more improvements on state's...
In the typical legislative session, a lot of important work is quietly undertaken outside the glare of attention granted to those high-profile and politically charged issues that grab the lion’s share...
View ArticleToo fast on requiem for White House FOIA?
A notice the Obama administration placed in the Federal Register earlier this month seemed to confirm once and for all what many transparency advocates have treated as a given for years: The White...
View ArticleJournalists Fight for Open Government in The Face Of Secrecy
Transparency is inconvenient. It’s inconvenient for the reporter who’s trying to report the news and it’s inconvenient for the government that attempts to hide information.“It is not unique for...
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