If Gov. Jeff Colyer signs the latest budget bill passed by the Kansas legislature, Wichita State will have to open its student fees deliberations next year. The Kansas Legislature sent a budget bill to Colyer with an amendment that will require Wichita State, and five other regent universities receiving state funds, to hold open deliberations […]
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A Lawrence attorney says the Kansas Board of Regents likely violated state open-meetings laws by employing the former University of Kansas chancellor as a special adviser without taking a public vote. Attorney Max Kautsch said regents could’ve violated state law when they gathered in a closed-door session to approve Bernadette Gray-Little’s […]
Read More… from Attorney: Kansas Board of Regents Likely Violated Open-Meetings Law
Colorado lawmakers have approved a bill to remove autopsy reports involving minors from documents available to the public under the Colorado Open Records Act. The Senate approved House changes to the bill late Tuesday and it’s on its way to the governor’s desk. Supporters argue that the release of detailed autopsies on youth creates unnecessary […]
JEFFERSON CITY, MO. — The Missouri House has passed a bill that would increase the attorney general’s power to investigate open records violations. The proposal, approved Tuesday in an 85-59 vote, would give the attorney general’s office subpoena power when investigating state agencies for suspected violations of Missouri’s open records law. Attorney General Josh Hawley […]
Read More… from Missouri House votes to toughen open records law
(Blog post from D.C. Open Government Coalition) Police stop people in the street all the time. With 33,000 arrests in 2016, the Washington Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) likely stopped many times more for interactions that did not result in arrest. Existing data couldn’t answer questions from citizens and D.C. Council members–questions such as who is stopped, when-where-and-why, […]
Read More… from Lawsuit Asks Court to Order D.C. to Collect Mandated Data on Police Stops
Aldermen on Evanston’s Human Services Committee urged staff this evening to prepare plans to sharply restrict access to police arrest reports. Led by Alderman Cicely Fleming, 9th Ward, the four aldermen present for the meeting called for development of a plan that would completely eliminate access to arrest reports on the city’s website. Fleming also […]
Read More… from IL: City of Evanston may cut access to arrest reports
Colorado lawmakers are poised to close public access to autopsy reports on minors, bowing to a request from county coroners who say disclosure of the records unnecessarily invades the privacy of families and encourages copycat teen suicides. Journalist associations and open government advocates argue that juvenile autopsy reports are important tools of transparency that help […]
Read More… from Colorado lawmakers vote to close child autopsy reports
CLAYTON — The St. Louis County Council did not violate state’s open-meetings law in December by filing last-minute legislation that cut $31 million from the county budget, the Missouri attorney general’s office said. The ruling came in response to a complaint from local government watchdog Tom Sullivan, of University City, who filed the complaint because the Missouri […]
Read More… from Missouri AG: city council’s last-minute budget cut did not violate Sunshine Law
John P. Harty Sr. had long been haunted by the death of his friend, a State Police trooper gunned down on a rural highway in Central Massachusetts in 1951. Though police suggested the likely killer died in prison decades ago, Harty was never convinced. So last year, Harty and his granddaughter asked to see the […]
Read More… from MA: AG Maura Healey promises transparency, but critics say her record falls short
Political appointees at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are screening public records requests related to administrator Scott Pruitt at an alarming rate, slowing the release of documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), according to internal emails obtained by POLITICO. Pruitt’s political appointees review documents collected for nearly all FOIA requests. Past administrations gave political aides […]
Read More… from EPA clamping down on public records requests related to Scott Pruitt
