New York's Southern District Court — which has been hosting (along with the Second Circuit Appeals Court) the ACLU and New York Times' long-running, concurrent FOIA lawsuits against the government over its drone killing memos — has reached a partial decision on some of the embattled documents.
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It isn't often that insurers and hospitals come together on an issue involving payments, but that's what seems to be happening in reaction to a new study being funded by the state's Department of Financial Services.
Both groups worry that this project, which aims to add transparency to contract process between private hospitals and private insurance companies, could reveal proprietary information, and produce results that will be taken out of context.
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Read More… from State transparency study spooks hospitals and insurers
Forty years ago, the New York State Legislature adopted the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) and declared the government needed to be 'responsive and responsible to the public,' but most of all that 'the government is the public's business.'
The Legislature got it right. And 40 years later, it is almost impossible to imagine any citizen arguing against the sentiments expressed in that legislative declaration.
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Read More… from EDITORIAL: Cuomo administration blocks transparency
A state tax official conducted a background research on a Republican party official after receiving a public information request, the Daily News has learned.
Without mentioning his job, Joe Uddo, who is the political director for the state GOP, had filed a ìFreedom of Information Law' request on Aug. 22 with the tax department seeking to understand why some taxpayers had been disqualified from a property tax exemption program.
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Read More… from State Tax Department worker researched GOP official who filed FOIL request
Getting ahead of pending legislation intended to enhance transparency at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the agency today adopted a freedom of information policy that will abide by the laws of New York State and New Jersey.
The Port Authority Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the new policy during this afternoon's monthly meeting, which was held in Jersey City under the agency's new policy of rotating meeting locations.
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Read More… from Port Authority vows to follow N.Y., N.J. public information laws
Republican Attorney General Candidate John Cahill criticized Attorney General Eric Schneiderman during a press conference in Albany last week for refusing to disclose information provided by his political consultants.
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Read More… from NY AG candidate blasts incumbent for lack of transparency
West Seneca NY Assemblyman Michael Kearns is giving the Office of People with Developmental Disabilities 10 more days to respond to his Freedom of Information request, or he says he's taking legal action.
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Read More… from Neighbors frustrated by lack of info on sex offenders
Reports measuring the "progress, or regress" two prisons in Erie County, N.Y., have made since a 2011 settlement with the Justice Department face disclosure, the 2nd Circuit ruled Monday.
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Read More… from N.Y. Court Casts Sunlight on Prison Reform Reports
More than 40 people attended a forum by Executive Director of the State Committee on Open Government Robert Freeman Thursday, July 31. During the meeting, Freeman briefly explained the intricacies of the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) as well as the Open Meetings Law, answering many questions from the crowd relating to situations they have witnessed in local governments. The meeting was held at the Tyrone Fire Hall and was sponsored by resident Alan Hurley, Friends of Tyrone, SCOPE and the Odessa Tea Party.
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Read More… from Director of the State Committee on Open Government (NY) holds forum on FOIL
Interview with Jeff Cohen, director of the Park Center for Independent Media at Ithaca College, and he was the founder of the media watchdog FAIR. He is the co-founder of RootsAction.org. He joins us from Ithaca, New York.
WORONCZUK: So, Jeff, what would you say to those who say that encouraging government employees to blow the whistle outside of official channels is going to disrupt the ability of the government to do this kind of surveillance that it needs to protect American citizens against terrorism?
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Read More… from The Fight for the Freedom of Information: Interview with Jeff Cohen
