Today, the State Department released the FY 2015 Fiscal Transparency Report pursuant to section 7031(b)(3) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2015 (Div. J, P.L.113-235).
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Read More… from State Department Releases Annual Fiscal Transparency Report
A sweeping decision by a majority of justices on the Washington state Supreme Court on Thursday will allow for the automatic sealing of tens of thousands of state juvenile-court records without public challenge or judicial review.
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Read More… from Washington: State ruling affirms easier sealing of juvenile-court records
We started the week out talking about hackathons in Detroit, and we’ll finish the week the same way, although #hack4detroit has a twist: Participants are using the city of Detroit’s open data portal to create apps that will benefit city residents or help streamline operations.
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Read More… from Michigan: #Hack4detroit Seeks to Improve City Services Through Open Data Portal
A new era of transparency in West Virginia begins today, as revisions to the state’s Freedom of Information Act officially become enacted.
“All West Virginians benefit from these changes to the state’s Freedom of Information Act,” said Don Smith, executive director of the West Virginia Press Association
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Read More… from West Virginia: Officials say new information law provides more transparency
SANTA MONICA—On June 9, the City of Santa Monica won a Technology Solutions award from the Public Technology Institute for its Open Data Initiative.
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Read More… from California: Santa Monica Wins Award For Open Data Initiative
Last October, Twitter sued the Justice Department, the U.S. Attorney General, the FBI, and FBI Director James Comey, because the social media platform believed it has a First Amendment right to be fully transparent with its users about the number and nature of national security requests it receives from the government. But with the recent passing of the USA FREEDOM Act, the judge in the case says there may be no need for the lawsuit to move forward.
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Read More… from Judge Says USA FREEDOM Act May Scuttle Twitter’s Transparency Lawsuit
We’ve been framing the debate between openness and privacy the wrong way.
Rather than positioning privacy and openness as opposing forces, the fact is they’re different sides of the same coin – and equally important. This might seem simple, but it might also be the key to moving things forward around this crucial debate.
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Read More… from In The Information Debate, Openness and Privacy Are The Same Thing
Everybody says they're for transparency in government these days.
And most seem to believe the Commonwealth Court's 4-3 decision Wednesday limiting the governor's ability to change executive director's in the state Office of Open Records in mid-term as a good step for that cause.
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Today South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will sign S.47, a body camera bill. The bill requires state and local law enforcement agencies in South Carolina to use body cameras and to develop body camera policies and procedures. It also establishes a “Body-Worn Cameras Fund” and prohibits police body camera footage from being accessed via Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests. The increased use of police body cameras is worthwhile, but limiting access to the footage hinders attempts to increase law enforcement accountability.
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Read More… from SC Body Camera Bill Limits Access to Footage
A legislative session that was most notable for how little it accomplished followed suit on issues regarding open, transparent government.
In what should be considered a victory, a new South Carolina law will do what many thought was already called for and had thus been doing for years. It requires public bodies to have agendas. Further, the agenda may be changed only with proof of emergency circumstances and two thirds of the body agreeing to the changes.
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Read More… from South Carolina: Lawmakers half-hearted about FOI
