New York City’s biggest police union has launched a lawsuit against Mayor Bill de Blasio in a bid to stop the release of all body camera footage obtained by New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers. The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association (PBA) filed its lawsuit on January 9, asserting that the forced release of video from […]
During the first seven months of 2017, only 102 phone numbers dialed by Cuomo — an average of one call every two days — came up in a public records search. Those calls were listed in a state response to a Times Union open records request, which sought the phone numbers Cuomo dialed on any […]
Read More… from Few public records of frequent Cuomo phone calls
Columbus City Schools officials won’t discuss how the school board narrowed a field of 19 superintendent applicants to a secret subset who were interviewed last week without violating the Ohio Open Meetings Act, which requires that all official board decisions be made in open, public meetings. According to the Ohio secretary of state’s “Sunshine Laws” […]
As the 2018 election cycle approaches, saturating airwaves and stuffing mailboxes with campaign advertisements, a Nebraska state senator is pushing for greater transparency and accountability for candidate-specific materials. Introduced by Sen. Sue Crawford of Bellevue, LB839 reworks a bill she introduced last year requiring additional reporting by individuals and organizations buying ads and sending mailers […]
Read More… from Nebraska state Sen. Sue Crawford continues push for more campaign ad transparency
The state Office of Open Records determined the Scranton Sewer Authority redacted too much information in legal bills regarding the Scranton sewer system sale and ordered the release of more specifics to The Times-Tribune. In a decision issued Wednesday, the OOR also upheld some of the authority’s redactions under an attorney-client exemption from public disclosure. […]
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has a reputation for making very frequent phone calls. But you wouldn’t be able to tell from public records. During the first seven months of 2017, only 102 phone numbers dialed by Cuomo — an average of one call every two days — came up in a public records search. Those calls […]
Read More… from FOIL request yields scant record of phone calls because Cuomo uses others’ lines
THE VIRGINIA General Assembly has in this session a tremendous opportunity to dramatically improve the commonwealth’s approach to transparency in government. Numerous bills now pending before the legislature would make documents more accessible, strengthen the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and bolster accountability for public officials. They would afford residents a clearer view of how […]
Read More… from Editorial: Legislators’ chance for Virginia transparency
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The attorney general’s office has found that the East Greenwich Town Council violated state Open Meetings Laws when it voted in June to implement its “One Town” restructuring plan behind closed doors and again in August, when a consultant presented a report on the firefighters’ contract without proper notice. The attorney general’s […]
Read More… from AG: East Greenwich Town Council violated R.I. Open Meetings Law
A request to cities in Massachusetts for the response times to domestic violence incidents were rejected in bulk because, according to the police departments that received the request, any and all data related to domestic violence cases is private. Although the names and addresses could be redacted to protect victims, the Boston Police appear to […]
PHOENIX — A veteran state lawmaker is carving out what one lawyer calls a large and “blatant” exemption to the state’s public records law. The proposal by Rep. Bob Thorpe, R-Flagstaff, would spell out that any records stored on the private cell phone, computer or social media of a public official or employee are not […]
Read More… from AZ: Lawmaker’s Bill Would Keep Public Records On Private Devices Undisclosed
