June 2014 – Page 5 – National Freedom of Information Coalition

What Did My Government Do When I Was Taken Hostage In Iran?

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Philadelphia City Council Is Ignoring Sunshine Laws, Watchdog Group Says

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A state watchdog group says Philadelphia City Council willfully ignored Pennsylvania’s open-meetings law this past week by gathering behind closed doors — not once, but twice.

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Iowa’s largest paper tries to shift the state’s culture toward transparency

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In its own polite, Midwestern fashion, The Des Moines Register is mad as heck and is not going to take it anymore. After Iowa officials refused to release records showing alleged abuses by state employees, the paper is pursuing dual lawsuits to force the records into public view. In one case, the Register is even suing the state’s new public information board, formed expressly to address years of complaints about records transparency.

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Calif. voters approve open government, pass Prop 42

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California voters handily approved ballot measures Tuesday requiring that local governments pay the cost of making their records and meetings public. Proposition 42, which amends the state constitution to require that governments pay for complying with state transparency laws, led with 60 percent of the vote after 1.8 million ballots counted. It was backed by the state Democratic and Republican parties, taxpayer advocates and labor unions.

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This White House GitHub Experiment Could Help Fix Government

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While many of our nation’s problems are quite clear, the way our government addresses them is too often a black box—opaque and closed to all but insiders and lobbyists.

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Open data making progress at state and government agency level in the US

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The publication of a new report from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) prompts a quick look at the progress of the Obama administration’s US Open Data Action Plan.

That has its roots in the June 2013 pledge made at the Open Data Charter meeting of G7 leaders to publish a roadmap for improving use of open data as well as Obama’s executive order requiring federal agencies to make government data open and machine readable by default.

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Editorial: MN Governor’s signature on Timberjay bill is a victory for access to government

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Senate File 1770 had already received unanimous support in the House and the Senate. Known as the Timberjay bill, it would require that all government contracts with private business be subject to the Minnesota Data Practices Act, even if that open access is not specifically identified in the contract.

Last week Gov. Mark Dayton signed that bill, demonstrating that he understands and agrees with the public’s right to open access to government data.

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Mount Pleasant (MI) cites FOIA while withholding city manager finalist names

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Mount Pleasant city officials announced last week that commissioners will interview finalists for the vacant city manager position on June 24. City officials still have not released the names of the finalists, even after receiving a formal request under Michigan’s public records law by Central Michigan Life.

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Editorial: Lawsuit shows how open government was a joke during (FL) redistricting

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Sometimes it takes a simple redistricting lawsuit to show us the funny side of the state Capitol. Redistricting, the once-a-decade process of redrawing congressional and legislative boundaries, isn’t something that’s the stuff of big laughs.

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Peter Scheer: All levels of government must be transparent, so yes on (CA) Prop 42

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Proposition 42, on the ballot June 4, will amend the state Constitution to assure local governments — cities, counties, school boards, etc. — are legally bound to observe open-government requirements. If you prefer transparency to secrecy in your city or county government, the choice is clear: Vote for Prop 42.

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