Public invited to participate in drafting Open Government Directive

OMB Watch reported last week that the Office of Science and Technology Policy was preparing to invite the public to make recommendations for the Open Government Directive that President Obama assigned on his first day in office to the Chief Technology Officer. The public engagement process will have three phases, according to the Open Government Blog on the White House Web site. An initial brainstorming online session will allow the public to vote on suggested ideas or add their own. On June 3, the best ideas "will be fleshed out on a weblog in a discussion phase." On June 15, phase three will use a public wiki to "draft recommendations in collaborative fashion."

On January 21, 2009, his first full day in office, the President issued a Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government and called for recommendations for making the Federal government more transparent, participatory, and collaborative.

As Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President says in the video below, we are proud "to announce an important next step in this historic call to action – one that will help us achieve a new foundation for our government – a foundation built on the values of transparency, accountability and responsibility."

Read the initial OMB Watch blog here.
Access the White House Open Government blog here.
Participate in the brainstorming session here.

Ill. attorney general supports some exemptions

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who might be a candidate for governor in 2010, is trying to add muscle to the Public Access Bureau, which currently doesn't have much power to enforce public records laws, the Chicago Tribune reported. However, Madigan doesn't disagree with some of the controversial exemptions to the Illinois public records law. She supports the exemption of preliminary drafts and performance evaluations of public employees.

Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan created the Public Access Bureau in 2004 -- a first-ever effort in Illinois to help the public get a clearer picture of how state and local governments make decisions.

The office has trained and advised public officials on open meetings and open records issues. It also has helped mediate records disputes between citizens and government agencies, an effort she says has been stymied by a lack of teeth.

Madigan, a Democrat pondering a run for governor in 2010, says she wants to do more. Seizing upon the public outcry for change following the scandalous tenures of two successive governors, she is seeking more authority to settle records disputes and penalize public officials who violate the law.

More here.

Iowa Guv Sits On Flood Report Draft

Gov. Chet Culver's staff refused this week to release a draft report that outlines Iowa's housing recommendations after the floods.

The final report will be used to help state leaders navigate upcoming recovery efforts. What it says — largely a product of public input — could play a major role in the amount and types of additional assistance provided to families affected by the flood.

Culver's spokeswoman, Courtney Greene, said the Rebuild Iowa Office will release all drafts of the report on Aug. 25, after a the task force has had time to respond with possible revisions. The public will have time, after that, to recommend revisions and suggestions, she said.

"This office is committed to transparency as it relates to the Rebuild Iowa Office," Greene wrote in a statement.

But key pieces of the report, which was written by a consultant who monitored public meetings, could be altered by the task force before the public has an opportunity to view the document, an open-records advocate said.

"Decisions that are made out of the public eye breed suspicion by citizens," said Kathleen Richardson of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council.

More here.