2021 Summit Agenda

Tuesday, September 28, 2021 12:00 PM-9:00 PM Welcome Video: FOI Summit 2021 Speakers: Todd Fettig (he/him), Erika Benton 1:00 PM-2:00 PM Government transparency: Lessons from the pandemic Speakers: Tom Verdin, Gunita Singh, David Snyder, Tonu Basu Join experts in public records, open meetings and press access to discuss how the pandemic changed the way governments respond to […]

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Frosty Landon, NFOIC Hall of Famer, remembered for ‘heroic’ efforts to promote open government, establish state coalitions

Frosty Landon, a one-time president of the National Freedom of Information Coalition board who was instrumental in advising new NFOIC coalitions in the 2000s, is being remembered as a hero and advocate for open government. Landon died July 19, 2021, at age 87. Landon, longtime editor of the Roanoke Times & World-News in Virginia, was […]

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2020 FOI Virtual Summit

  The NFOIC 2020 FOI Summit was virtual in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Seven general sessions, four members-only educational panels, a hands-on training seminar from IRE and a virtual FOI research paper poster session were held over seven days between September 24th – October 1st. Open government and public information experts presented the latest developments impacting […]

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Atlanta Meets Self-Imposed Transparency Portal Deadline

Working to deliver on one of five goals set earlier this year with the debut of the new Mayor’s Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Atlanta officials gathered to mark the debut of a portal aimed at tracking city funds Sept. 4. The initiative known as Open Checkbook was announced on April 10, less than a month after the […]

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Programs and Services

NFOIC and its state member coalitions provide a diverse offering of programs and services to support national, state and local initiatives to advance transparency and access in state and local public institutions. NFOIC serves as a hub for state FOI organizations –for connecting members as a central source for communication and coordination, and historically, as a resource provider […]

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Missouri Senate passes farm exemptions to open records laws

Missouri's open records laws would not cover some farming data under a measure that has passed the Missouri Senate.

The legislation, which passed with a bipartisan majority of 25-6, would require state agencies to keep confidential the information farmers submit for voluntary agricultural programs, such as registration data for animal disease tracking programs. Anyone who improperly releases that information could be sued.

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FOIA Documents Reveal Massive DEA Program to Record American’s Whereabouts With License Plate Readers

The Drug Enforcement Administration has initiated a massive national license plate reader program with major civil liberties concerns but disclosed very few details, according to new DEA documents obtained by the ACLU through the Freedom of Information Act.

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How Public Opinion Is Shaping Open Data in Washington, DC

When the District of Columbia first issued terms and conditions of use for its data, transparency advocates and civic hackers made their complaints known.

Among the concerned parties was Josh Tauberer, founder of bill-tracking website GovTrack.us, who questioned if he would need a lawyer to hack in D.C. Tauberer highlighted vague and questionable terms, including one stating that website users would not encourage others to engaged in any conduct that would give rise to civil liability.

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