The NFOIC open government blog is a compendium of original concepts and analysis as well as ideas, edited excerpts and materials from a variety of sources. When the information comes from another source, we will attribute it and provide a link. The blog relies on the accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited; we will correct errors and inaccuracies when we become aware of them.
For Advocate posts prior to July, 2011, visit http://foiadvocate.blogspot.com/.
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Opinion from The Columbus Dispatch:
It’s time for the Ohio General Assembly to kill the stealth exemption.
The stealth exemption is a nickname for a series of misguided rulings by the Ohio Supreme Court in interpreting Ohio’s open-records law, our most potent catalyst for accountable government.
The court’s rulings have made Ohio the only state where citizens must prove that information kept by public agencies is supposed to be open.
From Vindy.com:
If the current state of public-records law were a student, Ohio should be worried that the once-star pupil is now in danger of failing, a First Amendment lawyer said late this week.
“Ohio public-record law is predicated on the inarguable proposition that public records are the public’s records and that the incidental custodians, whether it be a civil servant or an elected official, are truly custodians, and they operate as trustees for all of us in the custody and handling of those records,” Toledo attorney Fritz Byers, said at the convention of the Ohio Newspaper Association. Byers is The Blade of Toledo’s attorney in open-government cases.
From toledoBlade.com:
WAUSEON — Sunshine Review, a national nonprofit group that aims to encourage state and local government transparency, has given Fulton County an A+.
The county previously scored a ‘C’ in that area and even was found to have violated Ohio’s Sunshine Law, written to ensure citizens know when officials plan to hold meetings and make decisions.
From Cleveland.com:
The Federal Trade Commission knows what its undercover investigators found in sweeps of Cleveland-area funeral homes conducted last year. But you, as a member of the public, aren't allowed to know - even though the Funeral Rule was created to protect you.
The agency recently denied a Freedom of Information Act appeal for more information about the sweeps and the violations.
From Cleveland.com:
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Citizens having problems getting public records from government agencies can now turn to the Ohio Attorney General's Office for a new forum to resolve the dispute.
[...]
The Ohio Attorney General's Public Records Mediation Program, which will be overseen by lawyers in the AG's public records unit, is aimed at resolving disputes over public records requests that are alleged to have been improperly denied or not responded to in a reasonable amount of time.
From cleveland.com:
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A member of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus continues to demand financial records of the caucus’ nonprofit organization and has accused it of improperly awarding a consulting contract to a former state senator with strong ties to the group.
Sen. Shirley Smith, a Democrat from Cleveland, requested access to the nonprofit’s records after a former black caucus member was charged with bribery earlier this year.
From The Columbus Dispatch:
When school districts withhold public records, taxpayers don’t know what pay raises teachers will get until it’s a done deal, or how much a superintendent will be paid until the ink has dried on a new, multiyear agreement.
[...]
Leaders of some school associations say that there might be confusion over the law and that not every question about public records has been answered by courts. But legal experts say that, in recent cases, schools clearly should have provided the records they withheld.
A few state FOIA and local open government news items selected from many of interest that we might or might not have drawn attention to earlier in the week:
NARA Survey Shows Continued Govt-wide Records Mis-Management
The May 1 release of an annual report by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), based on surveys agencies filled out about their record keeping practices, shows how much more work needs to be done before we can say with any certainty that the government is not at risk of losing potentially important records.
Visit OpenTheGovernment.org for the rest.
Ohio legislature intends to preserve accessibility to public records
I was disappointed to read the Rep editorial “JobsOhio bill is raising red flag” (April 27). As the state representative of this area, as well as the sponsor of House Bill 489, I can be a good source of information when misunderstandings such as this arise.
Visit CantonRep.com for the rest.
Utah names open records ombudsman
The state of Utah has named a GRAMA ombudsman to serve as an intermediary between the public and the state when dealing with government record requests.
Visit Daily Herald for the rest.
Chicago open records advocates fear information roadblocks
The state Office of Information Practices hopes a bill that would grant government agencies a new right to appeal open records decisions in court would give its orders more legal clout, yet open government advocates warn that it would delay public access to information.
Visit Chicago Tribune for the rest.
Chicago Police Sought Assistance From DHS On Occupy Chicago
Less than a month after Occupy Chicago faced two rounds of arrests for attempting to create its own encampment in Grant Park last year, Chicago Police sent a request for information to the Department of Homeland Security to see how other cities dealt with the movement. Documents released via a Freedom of Information Act request to Truthout show on Nov. 9, CPD was interested in contacting law enforcement in New York, Oakland, Washington D.C., Portland, Seattle, Boston and Denver to obtain information on Occupy movements
Visit Chicagoist.com for the rest.
4 frequent FOIA-ers led to new city hire
Repeated Freedom of Information Act requests filed by just four parties may have contributed to the planned hiring of a new deputy city clerk, who will earn $17,500 for a year of part-time work. During the April 10 city council meeting, city clerk Rodney Greene presented a graph showing four anonymous requesters and the number of FOIA requests they had each filed in 2011 and 2012. The most frequent requester filed 18 FOIAs in that time period.
Visit The Daily Northwestern for the rest.
State Ports Authority thwarts efforts to pry info loose
The Post and Courier’s recent series on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) highlighted one of the most important, and least appreciated, characteristics of a free society — the ability ordinary citizens should have to learn, without filters, what government is doing for them and, potentially, to them. Reinforcing The Post and Courier’s findings, the State Integrity Assessment, a project of Public Radio International, the Center for Public Integrity and Global Integrity, gave South Carolina an “F” for government transparency.
Visit The Post and Courier for the rest.
Consumer Watchdog Files FOIA Request Seeking All Documents In FCC's Investigation Of Google Wi-Spy Scandal
SANTA MONICA—Consumer Watchdog today filed a Freedom of Information Act Request with the Federal Communications Commission seeking all documents related to the Commission's investigation of the Google Wi-Spy scandal.
Visit Market Watch for the rest.
Mayor orders camera off at council meeting
Meetings of the Cumming City Council rarely make the evening news, but that changed last week with video of a woman being tossed out of the public gathering.
Visit Politifact for the rest.
From Cleveland.com:
An environmental group sued the Ohio Department of Natural Resources this week because the agency has not turned over public records related to a new program that allows oil and gas drilling at state parks.
