NMFOIG sues AG’s office, HSD to release behavioral health audit
From New Mexico Telegram: An open government group announced it would sue for the release of a behavioral health audit from the Attorney General’s office as well as the Human Services Department. The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government made the announcement in a Tuesday afternoon press release. read more ...
Wisconsin AG says he must defend legislator’s immunity in open records lawsuit
From Star Tribune: MADISON, Wisconsin — Wisconsin's open records laws apply to legislators but they can claim immunity from lawsuits seeking their documents, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said Tuesday. Van Hollen, a Republican, has been criticized after the state Justice Department argued in court filings last week that the Wisconsin Constitution grants Sen. Leah Vukmir immunity from a Center for Media and Democracy lawsuit seeking records from an American Legislative Exchange Conference she attended. read more ...
LSU board turns over presidential search records to district judge in public records lawsuit
From Daily Journal: BATON ROUGE, Louisiana — The LSU Board of Supervisors has given its presidential search records to a Baton Rouge judge, who will keep them hidden during an appeal of her ruling that the documents are public records. LSU lawyer Jimmy Faircloth says the documents were delivered in two batches Tuesday to Judge Janice Clark. Visit Daily Journal for more. ====== ...
Failed Pentagon fax machine blocks FOIA requests
From ars technica: The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) will not be faxing any orders to Five Guys or receiving journalists' Freedom Of Information Act requests anytime soon. According to a report from the FOIA request service MuckRock, the OSD's sole fax machine—the only effective electronic conduit for sending FOIA requests to the Pentagon—is down for the count and won't be replaced until October at the earliest. read more ...
Virginia FOIA Council denies Hanover’s request to review open meeting laws
From The Herald-Progress: Virginia’s FOIA Advisory Council declined Hanover County’s request to review the state’s definition of a public meeting Sept. 12. Hanover County officials requested changing Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act to allow up to three Board members to meet in private to discuss county business without having to advertise it as a public meeting. Visit The Herald-Progress for more. ====== ...
Latest winners in the Knight Community Information Challenge
From NFOIC executive director Ken Bunting: The Knight Foundation has announced the latest winners in its Knight Community Information Challenge. This is an important ongoing partnership. Congratulations to the winning projects, and thanks to Kn ...
Prosecutor opposes release of Sandy Hook 911 tapes
From NewsTimes.com: DANBURY -- The state prosecutor in charge of the investigation into the Sandy School Elementary School shooting is objecting to a recommendation by a state Freedom of Information Commission attorney to make recordings of 911 ca ...
Muslim group demands public records after county communications staffer posts anti-Islamic message
From Palm Beach Post: One of the state’s leading Muslim groups on Friday asked Palm Beach County officials to turn over all of the social media comments made on county computers by a public affairs employee who posted an anti-Islamic message on his private Facebook page. read more ...
Court ruling might open door for making personal info public
From The Olympian: When handing over public records, government agencies routinely censor Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers and sometimes even dates of birth. A state court ruling this month suggests that often there may be no legal basis for keeping such nuggets of personal information secret. read more ...
LSU presidential search records will be given to judge, but not public, under new compromise
From The Times-Picayune: Information about the candidates LSU considered for university president will be provided to a state district judge, but not to the public or the newspapers who are suing for the information, under a new compromise between ...
