Georgia Attorney General Prevails In Lawsuit Defending Open Government
Judge Robert Adamson ruled in favor of Attorney General Sam Olens in a lawsuit filed in June 2012 against the City of Cumming and Mayor Henry Ford Gravitt for violations of the Open Meetings Act. Judge Adamson ordered the defendants to pay $12,000 in penalties, the highest amount possible under the law. Defendants have also been ordered to pay attorney's fees in an amount to be determined at a later hearing. read more ...
7 years later, San Jose open-government reforms become law
Capping seven years of work, San Jose officials have adopted a slew of sunshine reforms meant to keep City Hall more open. The vast majority of the 80 or so policies have been in place for the past several years but are only now set to become law fol ...
Opinion: Government bears burden of showing why secrecy needed
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. Am ...
Obama Administration Sued for Data on Sexual Misconduct by TSA Airport Screeners
Judicial Watch announced Thursday that is has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security to uncover reports of sexual misconduct by airport screeners. The legal action is connected to a March FOIA request ...
Tate wins Georgia Freedom of Information Award as part of JQC
Earlier this year Cartersville Attorney Lester Tate won the Charles L. Weltner Freedom of Information Award from the Georgia First Amendment Foundation in recognition of his work on the Judicial Qualifications Commission for the state of Georgia. rea ...
Watchdog group sues the “most transparent administration in history”
President Barack Obama’s White House has interfered with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests over the release of communications with a dozen federal agencies, according to a lawsuit filed on Monday by Cause of Action, a government watchd ...
Ohio Treasurer looks to gain suppor for state checkbook transparency
State Treasurer Josh Mandel has been on a personal mission over the last few weeks, visiting organizations across Ohio in an attempt to garner support for H.B. 175, which, if passed, would place "Ohio's checkbook" online, making it accessible to all. read more ...
COLUMN: ‘We’ need a grassroots push in SC to get the FOI ‘Act’ together
The pulpit is calling. It’s time do a little preaching. The subject isn’t fresh. The spin is different. The old sermon is about FOI. The new message is about FYI. For your information, FOI stands for Freedom of Information. Hopefully, tha ...
Coroners’ inconsistent reports muddle efforts to understand shooting deaths
CU News Corps reporters found details of shooting deaths among hundreds of public records kept by county coroners. The records provided valuable context to the total number of gun deaths, and could help shape a better understanding of why so many people die every year from gunshot wounds ...
AFBF pushing for EPA to stop privacy abuse
The Environmental Protection Agency’s public release of farmers’ and ranchers’ personal information violates basic tenets of federal law, the American Farm Bureau Federation told a Minnesota federal court late Friday. read more ...
