News

Iowa Department of Public Safety reduces charge for public records

From Des Moines Register: The Iowa Department of Public Safety now says it will not charge The Des Moines Register the overtime rate for an employee to gather data in response to a public records request. The decision came a day after the new ...

FOIFT awards inaugural Open Government Lawmaker of the Year Award

From Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas: Prominent Texas legislators urged Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas conference attendees Friday to remain vigilant in their open government and free speech advocacy. Rep. Todd Hunter, ...

OCOG to support Enquirer in major open government cases

From Ohio Newspaper Association: The board of the Ohio Coalition for Open Government has voted to support appeals in two Cincinnati-area cases involving Enquirer Media. One case involves access to 911 calls and the other involves a Hamilton ...

Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana wins national award for Sunshine Headquarters

The Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana (PAR), the NFOIC member organization that co-hosted the 2013 FOI Summit in New Orleans, has won a national award for its new "Sunshine Headquarters" Web portal from the Governmental Research Association (GRA). GRA is a national organization of individuals and groups who study and make recommendations on state and local policy issues. The award was presented during the annual GRA conference held last week in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. read more ...

State FOIA Friday for August 9, 2013

From NFOIC: A few state FOIA and local open government news items selected from many of interest that we might or might not have drawn attention to earlier in the week. While you're at it, be sure to check out State FOIA Friday Archives. ====== read more ...

Your medical records are for sale

From Bloomberg: As hospitals shift to digital medical records, administrators promise patients better care and shorter waits. They often neglect to mention that they share files with state health agencies, which in turn sell the information to ...

Judge rejects bid to FOIA National Security Council

From Politico: A federal judge in New York has rejected a bid to restore access to National Security Council records under the Freedom of Information Act. U.S. District Court Judge Eric Vitaliano, who sits in Brooklyn, said in a ruling dated Tuesday that he saw no reason to depart from a 1996 D.C. Circuit ruling that found files beyond the reach of FOIA on the grounds that the NSC's primary role is to advise the president. read more ...

MIT, JSTOR file motions delaying FOIA release

From MIT's The Tech: On Thursday, July 18, MIT filed a motion intervening in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit by Wired editor Kevin Poulsen against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, filed on April 12. read more ...

Editorial: Iowa personnel records law needs review

From Dubuque Telegraph Herald: When an individual makes an abrupt departure from a job within a public institution, those in charge will usually avoid discussing the circumstances of the departure with one simple claim: "It's a personnel issue. And personnel records can't be released to the public." Only, that might not be quite accurate. The way Iowa Code chapter 22.7 is written, it can be interpreted to allow for the custodian of a record to use his or her discretion when it comes to the release of personnel information. [...] read more ...