Diverse Groups Press Texas Energy Company for Increased Disclosure

As Austin, Texas, seeks to get 30 percent of its power from renewable energy sources by 2020, big industrials, environmental activists, and civic watchdogs find themselves agreeing on another goal - increased disclosure from Austin Energy.

The groups point to a $2.3 billion deal for a wood waste plant, a deal signed two years ago without much public scrutiny or input. Austin Energy officials have acknowledged they mishandled public debate over the wood waste plant, which did not begin until the City Council voted to sign the contract.

Austin Energy says it is reviewing its information with an eye toward increased disclosure without compromising its confidential information.

Read more details here.

A $27,000 Price Tag to Know How Much Road Fight has Cost Taxpayers

The Taxpayer Association of Kane County, Utah, was astounded when it received the estimated cost of its request for records regarding how much the county has spent battling the federal Bureau of Land Management regarding ownership of public roads in southern Utah -- $27,000 and a few years.

The group does not take a position in the litigation over the removal of 31 BLM road closure signs on hundreds of public roads in 2003, but it does want to know how much the fight has cost the county. The taxpayer group requested information regarding how much money has been spent from the general fund; how much time county employees have spent on road projects; how much has been spent on private contractors; all attorneys fees; any costs for vehicles or equipment; per diem costs for associated travel; and any surveys and maps created.

The Kane County attorney maintains the scope of the request is too broad and vague to merit a reasonable response in terms of cost and time, estimating it would take two paid researchers at least 1,500 hours to gather the information requested.

For more information, click here.

Proposed Public Access Reform Draws Bi-Partisan Support

The Time for Transparency Act, which creates as timeline for government officials to respond to public records requests, has brought together some unlikely allies in support of the bill, including the conservative government watchdog group Maine Heritage Policy Center, the Maine Civil Liberties Union, the Maine Press Association, and both Republican and Democratic Lawmakers.

The proposal would require government officials to produce public records within 10 days of a request. Under current law, they are given five days to tell the requester whether the document sought is a public record. The bill would also allow people to request copies of public records by phone, and would allow a copies to be mailed if the requester pays for postage. The bill also proposes that every governmental body designate an existing employee to serve as a public information officer to oversee all public records requests.

The Maine Freedom of Information Coalition is not supporting the bill because of concern that the longer deadline would prolong the response time for information that is clearly public records.

Get more information here.

Because of Budget Cuts, Reporting on Budget Cuts More Difficult

California state Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) has criticized state and local officials in California who are increasingly blaming budget cuts and furloughs for delays and withholding of information under the state's Public Records Act.

The Sacramento Bee says this new excuse stymies the ability of the media to perform its watchdog role at a critical time when the public should know about budget cuts, downsized programs, and government dysfunction.

Click here for more about delayed or reduced projects due to lack of public information access.

Maine Lawmakers Think Restricted Access Could Prevent Fraud

Maine lawmakers have proposed restricting public access to birth and marriage records as a way to combat fraud and identity theft. The lawmakers are considering restricting access despite any evidence that misuse of birth or marriage records have lead to any cases of identity theft or fraud in the state.

Read more about it here.

Nevada Supreme Court to Decide if Governor's E-mails are Public

The Nevada Supreme Court heard arguments Monday whether to overturn a lower court's ruling that Governor Jim Gibbons does not have to produce e-mails kept on the state e-mail system that are personal in nature.

The Reno Newspapers argued that the e-mails on the governor's state-issued e-mail account is subject to Nevada's Open Records law. A reporter for the Reno Gazette-Journal had requested e-mail communications between Gibbons and 10 persons for the period before January and June 2008.

Read more about the case here.

South Carolina Senate Committee Passes Amendment for Public Access to EMS Workers' Names

The Herald of Rock Hill reports the South Carolina Senate Medical Affairs Committee passed an amendment that would make records of emergency medical calls a part of the public record. The amendment would overturn a provision of S.C. law made at the request of the state Department of Health and Environmental Control that keeps the response times and the names of emergency medical workers private.

Read more here.

Three States Weigh Keeping 911 Calls from Public

Alabama, Ohio and Wisconsin lawmakers have proposed barring the release of 911 calls, citing privacy concerns and a potential chilling effect on people's willingness to call 911 for fear of the call being broadcast later.

Open government advocates disagree, arguing that the calls should be public as they can aid public safety and news organizations should be able to air the calls on a case-by-case basis.

For more information, click here.

Sen. Kerry Pushes for Release of King Records

Senator John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) has introduced legislation that would require all records relating to the life and death of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to be located, reviewed and released by a National Archives review board. The legislation is part of a larger movement to force the release of information about violence against blacks during the civil rights era, including unsolved lynching and bombing cases.

Read more about it here.

Oklahoma Bill Would Exempt Government Employees' Birth Dates from Public Disclosure

An Oklahoma state legislator has filed a bill that would exempt government employees' birth dates from the state Open Records Act, which critics say would make it virtually impossible to identify state employees and determine if they have committed crimes, avoided taxes, filed for bankruptcy or made political contributions.

The Oklahoman has reported that more than 250 Oklahoma City and Oklahoma County employees match those of registered sex offenders, though the paper isn't able to confirm identities because city and county officials have refused to disclose their employees' birth dates.

The state attorney general recently opined that birth dates are presumed open and may only be withheld on a case-by-case basis upon a showing that the disclosure would amount to an unwarranted invasion of privacy.

Read more about the proposed legislation here.

Virginia Bill Would Block Public Access to Concealed Handgun Records

A Virginia state representative is sponsoring legislation that would prohibit a clerk of court from providing public access to concealed handgun permit applications and information without the written consent of the applicant or permittee.

Currently, individuals records are open for inspection at the courthouse of the locality that issued the permit, but the state does not maintain an electronic database.

Read more about the proposal here.

Pressure Builds to Make Secret Chemicals Known

The Washington Post reports lawmakers are facing pressure to make it more difficult for manufacturers to keep chemical compounds a secret. Under the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, manufacturers must report new chemicals they intend to market to the federal government, but the law exempts from public disclosure any information that could be considered trade secrets. Practically speaking, that means 20 percent of the 84,000 chemicals in commercial use in the United States are kept secret.

Critics, including the Obama administration, say consumers should know what toxic substances they might be exposed to. Congress is expected to rewrite chemical regulations this year.

For more information, click here.

They Say He's the Most Secretive Texas Governor (Hint: It's Not George Bush)

Texas Governor Rick Perry is being called the most secretive modern-day governor Texas has seen.  

The Dallas Morning News reports on Perry's latest public records squabble -- his refusal to release documents he reviewed before the July 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham.   Perry has also fought to keep his itinerary private under the guise of security concerns and has his staff on a tight document retention schedule wherein e-mails are destroyed every seven days. 

For more on the Willingham case and its political implications for Perry, click here.  

Utah Meeting to Optimize State Government Won't be Public

The Utah Advisory Commission to Optimize State Government, a commission to streamline state government, won't be open to the public.   The Salt Lake Tribune requested to attend the meeting under open records laws, but the Commission denied the request, saying that keeping the meeting closed to the public will allow for more full and frank discussion.  

More here. 

U.S. Government CIO speaks about plans for Data.gov

Wired published a Q&A with Vivek Kundra, the U.S. government's first-ever chief information officer, in this month's issue. Kundra spoke about his plans for Data.gov and navigating privacy issues. Wired also has its own Wiki where people can report government data that is not accessible and can suggest how accessibility to government data could be improved.

The Obama administration's most radical idea may also be its geekiest: Make nearly every hidden government spreadsheet and buried statistic available online, all in one place. For anyone to see. Are you searching for a Food and Drug Administration report that used to be obtainable only through the Freedom of Information Act? Just a mouseclick away. Need National Institutes of Health studies and school testing scores? Click. Census data, nonclassified Defense Department specs, obscure Securities and Exchange Commission files, prison statistics? Click click. Click. Click.

The man in charge is the US government's first-ever chief information officer, Vivek Kundra. Previously CTO of the District of Columbia, Kundra, 34, knows that the move from airtight opacity to radical transparency won't be a cakewalk. Until now, the US government's default position has been: If you can't keep data secret, at least hide it on one of 24,000 federal Web sites, preferably in an incompatible or obsolete format.

More here.

NFOIC Summit: Public access values

Richard J. H. Varn, director of the Coalition for Sensible Public Records Access and the chief information officer for the City of San Antonio, spoke on the threats to and values of public access. Here's part two of the notes on his NFOIC 2009 Summit Session:

Values of public access:

• Identify verification and fraud prevention: Being able to verify facts such as birth date, address, etc. ensures that you don't wrongly identify someone. Secondary verifications rely on public records to prevent someone from representing themselves as you.
• Risk management and background screening.
• Public policy enforcement (Red Flag Rules): Before you're granted a bank account, the bank needs to verify that you are who you say you are. They largely draw from public records to find out multiple uses of the same address, multiple uses of a social security number and misuse of multiple birth records. Without access, banks are limited in preventing money laundering and theft.
• Life events: Owing a home, renting an apartment, buying a car, getting a job, dating, getting married, day care and senior care depend on access to records. You want to make sure the person watching your children or parents don't have issues, right?
• Person and business locations: Facebook doesn't always work in locating people.
• Workplace safety and vulnerable populations: Public records are used to perform background and credit checks on employees.
• Administration of justice: You can't find out facts without proper access to public records.
• Helping residents exercise their right to know.
• Targeted communications and marketing.
• Economic growth and democratization of opportunity: Small businesses rely on public records, which provide a cheap way to obtain market data, an analysis of the community or economy and list of potential customers.
• Market efficiency: Public records are used to forecast economic conditions and inventory systems.
• Public safety and law enforcement: Public records are investigative tools used to find suspects and witnesses.
• Customer service: A chemical company contains you because they know you have a pool. They saw it on Google Maps.
• Product safety and recalls: Public access helps companies find people who own things now considered unsafe.
• Due diligence and other legal duties.