News

MI Gov. Rick Snyder signs laws shielding gun records from Freedom of Information Act requests

The legislation signed Tuesday codifies a 1999 Michigan Supreme Court decision that found disclosure of gun registry records to be an invasion of privacy. The information will still be available to law enforcement officials for certain purposes, thou ...

Denver TV station pulls its biggest political ad order from public site

A TV ad-buying company with close ties to Republican Party leaders reserved a whopping 1,326 spots in the Denver market this fall, but the station receiving the $740,070 contract removed it from public view when a reporter tried to learn who was footing the bill ...

Four selected to receive Kansas Sunshine Coalition award

The Kansas Sunshine Coalition for Open Government has selected four Johnson County area recipients to receive its 2014 Friend of Open Government Award, it was announced in Topeka today. read more ...

Feds To Post Open Data From 700 R&D Facilities

Entrepreneurs and innovators can now access machine-readable research data in the areas of energy, healthcare, and space from more than 700 federal research and development facilities to assist them in researching, building, and testing new technolog ...

Editorial: Sides Agree: Maybe AR FOIA Should Be Expanded

Stop us if you’ve heard this before: A liberal, a conservative, a lawyer and a legislator walk into a bar, well … into a legislative hearing. Oh never mind, we’re going to cut right to the punchline: They agreed on something. read ...

SC Supreme Court ruling shows weakness of open government law

The S.C. Supreme Court decided last week that government bodies don’t have to let you know what they’re planning to do. The court ruled that bodies like school boards, county councils and city councils can hold regular meetings without ev ...

Critics say new IL FOIA law could stifle information

A bill rushed through the closing days of the General Assembly's spring session is drawing the ire of a good-government group that contends it will restrict the ability of citizens to get information about their governments. Supporters, though, said the bill is a way to help municipalities deal with a comparative handful of people who file excessive requests under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, tying up employees who could better be used doing other work. read more ...

Advocates call for Georgia ethics chief’s head

An ethics watchdog group called for the resignation of the state ethics commission director Tuesday, citing her involvement in recent whistleblower payouts. read more ...

Effort to make state-related universities in PA more transparent clears key hurdle

The open records law has been viewed by most as a step toward transparency and accountability. But it has its problems. That’s why state Sen. Lloyd Smucker and other lawmakers in the Senate State Government Committee are proposing some changes ...

Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information announces open government award recipients

A police chief, a state senator, an FOI Commission employee and two journalists have won the annual open government awards from the nonprofit Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information, which has been advocating for freedom of information for six ...