Citizens United, the Washington-based conservative messaging group whose name has become synonymous with free-flowing campaign spending, plans to make a documentary and advertisements in Colorado this election season and wants to keep the identities of the people funding its work secret. On Tuesday, executives asked the secretary of state’s office to clarify whether doing so would violate Colorado’s campaign finance laws ...

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder hinted the Justice Department might not seek the jailing of New York Times reporter James Risen for refusing to identify a confidential source, a positive development in what appears to be this administration's ongoing disregard for press freedom ...

California voters handily approved ballot measures Tuesday requiring that local governments pay the cost of making their records and meetings public. Proposition 42, which amends the state constitution to require that governments pay for complying wi ...

While many of our nation’s problems are quite clear, the way our government addresses them is too often a black box—opaque and closed to all but insiders and lobbyists. read more ...

The publication of a new report from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) prompts a quick look at the progress of the Obama administration’s US Open Data Action Plan. That has its roots in the June 2013 pledge ...

Senate File 1770 had already received unanimous support in the House and the Senate. Known as the Timberjay bill, it would require that all government contracts with private business be subject to the Minnesota Data Practices Act, even if that open a ...

Mount Pleasant city officials announced last week that commissioners will interview finalists for the vacant city manager position on June 24. City officials still have not released the names of the finalists, even after receiving a formal request un ...

Sometimes it takes a simple redistricting lawsuit to show us the funny side of the state Capitol. Redistricting, the once-a-decade process of redrawing congressional and legislative boundaries, isn’t something that’s the stuff of big laug ...

Proposition 42, on the ballot June 4, will amend the state Constitution to assure local governments — cities, counties, school boards, etc. — are legally bound to observe open-government requirements. If you prefer transparency to secrecy ...

As he signed a new open meetings bill into law, Gov. Peter Shumlin expressed "serious concern" about parts of it, including a do-over provision that allows government bodies a chance to fix violations without penalty. Now some open government advocates are asking for a do-over on the entire law, and a key legislator says lawmakers will likely revisit some aspects of it next year. read more ...