bill that would make deliberately ignoring citizens' Freedom of Information Act requests a firing offense died in a state Senate committee Monday.
The Senate General Laws committee also voted to shield records related to bingo and other charitable gambling supplies, as well as making confidential engineering and construction plans for single-family houses filed with local building officials to ensure compliance with state building codes.
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Legislators are meeting in secret in Juneau on momentous questions that could shape the future of Alaska for decades.
It’s no secret they disagree about the budget, oil taxes, oil tax credits, the return of the income tax, increases in other taxes, whether to restructure the Alaska Permanent Fund and the formula for the Permanent Fund dividend.
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Several recent events in North Georgia involving government transparency — or the lack thereof — prompted friends and colleagues in other parts of the country to ask whether I am living in some 18th century time warp, as they frequently perceive this portion of the country, where absolutists reign with absolute disregard for their subjects.
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Finding the balance between the public’s right to know about government and government’s position that national security and other vital concerns should prevent sharing of certain information is the ongoing struggle in our democracy.
Amid so many potential threats to our security, with Sept. 11, 2001, always there to remind us what CAN happen, the willingness of even the most staunch advocates of open government to argue for secrecy is a reality.
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The latest from Wikileaks suggests U.S. may be limiting consumer information in move purportedly aimed at patent protections. Is it sound policy, or misguided secrecy? Does it protect industry interests or consumers?
http://bloom.bg/Id5OAV
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From Chronicle.com:
The American Association of University Professors plans to urge faculty members to resist being bound by pledges of confidentiality as a condition for involvement in shared governance at their colleges.
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From OpenTheGovernment.org:
All too often government openness and national security are thought of as opposing national interests and values. In reality, though, openness and security are not always in contention.
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