Mich. court orders city to comply with FOIA
From Michigan Capitol Confidential: The city of Westland "subverted" Michigan's Freedom of Information Act and must comply with the law, according to a recent judge's ruling. "They [Westland officials] were over charging," said William Maze, the ...
Judicial Watch sues IRS for stonewalling on tea party FOIA
From The Washington Times: The government watchdog Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service, insisting the agency release previously demanded documents made under a Freedom of Information Act request that would clarify how conservative groups were screened for nonprofit status. Judicial Watch filed the suit on Oct. 9 but announced it Tuesday. President Tom Fitton said in a written statement that the suit was “designed to cut through the Obama administration cover-up of its IRS scandal.” read more ...
Press seeks better access to public records
From Patriot Ledger: BOSTON — News media representatives lobbied a legislative committee Tuesday, hoping to relegate to history the current, often slow and expensive process of obtaining official government records. read more ...
Police records no longer open in many communities
From Patch.com: A legal battle in Illinois over a $20 parking ticket could potentially cost a Chicago suburb tens of millions of dollars — and fear that the case could have implications here is prompting many Milwaukee-area police departme ...
Changes in Texas open government law
From Mondaq: Governmental entities in Texas, and the companies that transact with them, should be aware of new changes in Texas "open government" law that may affect how they do business. On September 1, 2013, changes in state law became effective ...
Freedom of the Press Foundation launches SecureDrop, an open-source submission platform for whistleblowers
From Boing Boing: Freedom of the Press Foundation has taken charge of the DeadDrop project, an open-source whistleblower submission system originally coded by the late transparency advocate Aaron Swartz. In the coming months, the Foundation will also provide on-site installation and technical support to news organizations that wish to run the system, which has been renamed “SecureDrop.” read more ...
Texas AG says some redacted info can be released
From Temple Daily Telegram: Following an early July visit to the Bell County Sheriff’s Department to get copies of new jail administrator Nancy Botkin’s personnel file as part of a Public Information Act request, in September I received a mailed letter from the Texas Attorney General’s office regarding certain information that the sheriff’s office had redacted. The information that was requested, with certain redactions, was mailed on July 9, within 10 days of the information request. read more ...
Connecticut task force to hold last public hearing on FOI vs. victim privacy on Oct. 16
From CT News Junkie: A task force weighing the privacy rights of crime victims against open access to public records under the Freedom of Information Act will have its third and final public hearing Wednesday morning in the Legislative Office Buil ...
West Virginia justices to hear arguments in newspaper’s quest to get state police records
From WVAH.com: West Virginia's highest court is scheduled to weigh arguments over whether state police are required to open their records on allegations of abuse and misconduct by officers. [...] State police want to keep those details a secret. They argue releasing them would be an invasion of officers' privacy. Visit WVAH.com for more. ====== ...
Tacoma candidates less than open with Washington Coalition for Open Government
From The News Tribune: I guess I could understand one or two candidates failing to complete the questionnaire that seeks their views on open government issues facing the state. The Washington Coalition for Open Government's questionnaire is one o ...
