Uncle Sam wants a few good innovators -- again. The White House has launched the third round of its Presidential Innovation Fellows (PIF) program, which pairs tech-savvy entrepreneurs from the private sector with top government officials to tackle selected challenges facing the administration. The program's "lean startup" approach has delivered a variety of tools, including ones that help the public save on utility bills and improve access to government health information, and it has brought acclaim to participants. read more ...

When folks are elected to public office — from local school boards to city councils to county commissions — many have little to no experience with state law regarding public access to government information. #When the citizens (and medi ...

We're quoting from the preamble of New York state's Freedom of Information Law. It requires governments to release records of their activities, with some exceptions, so that taxpayers know where their money is being spent and how their government is performing. FOIL is a powerful tool for demanding accountability. read more ...

To mark Sunshine Week, March 16-22, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press explains how journalists can use information access laws to develop stories in the public interest. This post is written by Emily Grannis, the Jack Nelson FOI Legal ...

In the afterglow of the Edward Snowden talk at SXSW, the interactive world may be bullish about the future of privacy. And then they'll use free services that data mine their communications to talk about it. As David Tishgart of local security startup Gazzang warned, "If it's free, then you're the product." read more ...

Liberty Institute, in partnership with the Washington, D.C. law firm Bancroft PLLC, recently submitted Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to the Internal Revenue Service, the Treasury Department and the State Department on behalf of HaYovel, ...

Today the Republican National Committee sent a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to the National Archives and Records Administration in order to find out who was responsible for improperly withholding documents at the William J. Cli ...

Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s bill to strengthen Washington state’s open government laws by requiring training for most public officials has passed the Legislature and is on its way to the Governor’s desk. Ferguson worked with S ...

From Steamboat Today:  The subject of “work product” has reared its ugly head again with the revelation that Steamboat Springs City Manager Deb Hinsvark recently sent two emails to members of the Steamboat Springs City Council and marked the correspondence as confidential by designating them as work product. Under the Colorado Open Meetings Law, also known as the Sunshine Law, the use of work product is allowed but limited. Work product can include advisory or deliberative materials assembled to assist officials in reaching decisions, such as preliminary drafts of documents or reports. Work product does not include any final version ...

As Westchester County considers filing a second lawsuit against the federal government over the loss of millions in community development grants, the administration of County Executive Rob Astorino is refusing to disclose the cost of its lengthy legal fights over the county's compliance with a 2009 fair housing settlement. read more ...