The National Freedom of Information Coalition joined other transparency-focused nonprofit groups in urging U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland to “breathe life back into” principles of open government and accountability. An April 7, 2021, letter signed by 20 entities asked Garland to issue a memo to all government offices, establishing how to apply the Freedom […]
Tag: attorney general
Texas AG rules HHSC should release COVID-19 nursing home data
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office ruled the Texas Health and Human Services Commission should disclose most of its data on COVID-19 in nursing homes to the public, according to a July 6 ruling. Paxton’s office rejected most of the arguments the commission made to conceal COVID-19 outbreak data related to nursing homes, according to […]
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South Dakota Attorney General: Make mug shots public record
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley last week announced a list of measures he is asking the Legislature to pass this session. While all are important, there was one that stood out to us: making criminal booking photographs part of the public record.
You know them as “mug shots.”
Whenever anybody is arrested for a crime, law enforcement agencies take a photograph of the accused.
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Kansas AG, Sunshine Coalition to hold government transparency training
Invested with new authority to prosecute violations of state open-government laws, Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office will co-host a three-hour training session on transparency on Sept. 1 in Topeka.
The Kansas Sunshine Coalition for Open Government will co-host the event. Continue>>>
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Wisconsin Attorney general creates Office of Open Government
Madison— Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel is creating an Office of Open Government to help the public obtain government records more quickly and consistently.
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Attorney General’s office welcomes public for Open Meeting Law forum
The state Attorney General's office is welcoming the public for an educational forum on Open Meeting Law in Hanover on Wednesday, April 1.
The meeting is one way the office aims to help governing bodies as well as members of the public to better understand and comply with the requirements of the Open Meeting Law, according to a news release. State, local, regional, and county public bodies are required to comply with the Open Meeting Law.
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Simpsonville building tour may have violated FOIA
Simpsonville City Council received an opinion from the state Attorney General's office that a quorum was present when council members and other city officials toured the historic Simpsonville Grammar School last fall, therefore it may have violated the Freedom of Information Act.
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Virginia attorney general says public can get mug shots, but not from state database
The state attorney general has issued an opinion clarifying how the public can access mug shots of people who have been arrested – an issue raised by the Daily Press last fall when it took months of requests to different agences to obtain a booking photo of a former police chief.
In the opinion, released earlier this month, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring says local law enforcement agencies must release mug shots from arrests if they have them.
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Missouri Municipal League and State Attorney General’s Office share Sunshine Law information
The Missouri Municipal League and the State Attorney General's Office have joined forces to educate city officials on the Sunshine Law.
The Freedom of Information Laws, better known as the Sunshine Law, allow the general public to have access to data held by government entities. That means, that by law, meetings, records, votes, action and deliberations of public governmental bodies are to be open to the public.
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2015 resolution: Learn Ohio Sunshine Laws
When making New Year’s resolutions for 2015, be sure to add learning about Ohio’s Sunshine Laws.
The Sunshine Laws appropriately refer to the rules and regulations for public bodies when conducting public meetings, as well as the public records laws.
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