Details of contract for transparency site not transparent

ProPublica and other organizations requested copies of the Obama administration's $18 million contract with Smartronix, a software company hired to build the Web site "where taxpayers could easily track billions in federal stimulus money." However, the contract and related documents are heavily redacted. The General Services Administration justified the redactions by saying they are allowed if material "involves substantial risk of competitive injury" to a contractor. Of the 59-page technical proposal, 25 pages were completely redacted, and 14 pages had half or more of their content blacked out.

Back in July, a software company named Smartronix landed an $18 million contract to build a Web site where taxpayers could easily track billions in federal stimulus money. It was just another part of the Obama administration’s ongoing effort to bring transparency to stimulus spending, we were told.

But it seems the drive for transparency doesn’t cover the contract itself.

After weeks of prodding by ProPublica and other organizations, the General Services Administration released copies of the contract and related documents that are so heavily blacked out they are virtually worthless.

More here.

Fla. city installs city open-records kiosk

The City of Alachua in Florida installed a kiosk at City Hall that allows residents to search for public records without having to file a request, Alachua Today reported. The computer's search engine contains thousands of public records, including e-mails, ordinances, etc. However, the system is limited in that some records haven't been uploaded or haven't been converted into a format that is readable by the search engine. Michael Canney, a resident, said all the city's records aren't on the kiosk, including the city manager's e-mails. “To get certain public records, you have to jump through a lot of hoops and pay large amounts of money,” he said.

The City of Alachua recently installed a kiosk at City Hall for residents to get public records without having to request them from the city clerk.

Alan Henderson, deputy city clerk, said the search engine at the kiosk will eventually give Alachua residents access to ordinances, resolutions and anything considered a city public record.

The engine contains thousands of documents, but the system is limited as city officials continue to reformat and add more records.

More here.

Mo. AG says department didn't violate Sunshine Law in E. coli case

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster says the Department of Natural Resources didn't violate open records law because no one filed a formal request for the testing results, which showed high levels of E. coli in Lake of the Ozarks, the News-Leader reported. Koster said he thinks former DNR Deputy Director Joe Bindbeutel made a "mistake" in delaying the release of the report for four weeks. Although internal DNR e-mails indicate that Bindbeutel requested a copy of the report to take to a meeting with the governor, the governor's office denies that the meeting was about E. coli. Although media requests were made for these reports, the DNR officials didn't view them as official Sunshine request.

Attorney General Chris Koster says the Department of Natural Resources didn't violate the state's open records law in delaying the release of a report showing high levels of E. coli in Lake of the Ozarks.

Koster's office has been investigating allegations that DNR violated the Sunshine Law, which is meant to give citizens and the media access to public documents upon request.

But since no one filed a formal Sunshine Law request for the monthly testing results, Koster's investigator concluded there's no evidence a law was broken.

More here.

See the full PDF of the AG's report here.

View the letter DPS sent the News-Leader requesting seven more business days to review its request for video footage from the governor's office here.

Also, AG Chris Koster: No Sunshine Law violation in E. coli-gate, St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Delayed data on E. coli at lake was wrong, not illegal, Koster says, Kansas City Star: "A DNR e-mail obtained by The Kansas City Star shows that the agency understood it had received numerous requests for test results. According to the e-mail by a DNR employee: 'In a nutshell, I have had email inquires from four reporters since May 26 and phone calls from those four plus a couple others … for information, interviews or data.'”

Koster has more work to do on E-coli scare at Lake of the Ozarks, Kansas City Star: "Specifically, Koster didn't have all the facts he needed before concluding that the DNR did not violate the Sunshine Law regarding pollution reports about the Lake of the Ozarks. Koster told a Kansas City Star reporter on Thursday that he did not know of a DNR e-mail that detailed requests for the information about E-coli levels in the lake back in late May. He said he would look into the new information, and he should."

Data reveals summer spike in NYC homicides

FOI at Work!
Two University of Missouri graduates Jo Craven McGinty and Brian Hamman, are working on the New York Times' analysis of murder rates. The information was compiled from open records requests from the New York Police Department, and a searchable database is now available to readers.

There were more homicides in September than in any other month last year: 52. Next highest was August, with 51. Variations, of course, exist. There were 48 homicides last March, for instance.

Still, the prime time for murder is clear: summertime. Indeed, it is close to a constant, one hammered home painfully from June to September across the decades. And the breakdown of deadly brutality can get even more specific. September Saturdays around 10 p.m. were the most likely moments for a murder in the city.

More here.

Ala. lawmakes can use private e-mail as Palin did, judge rules

A Superior Court judge ruled that Alaska state law doesn't prohibit the use of private e-mail accounts to conduct state business, the AP reported.

This is why states must look hard at outlawing the use of private e-mail by elected officials to conduct public business. This is a fairly straightforward legislative fix, no? No g-mail to discuss public business! Note that the court here is all but calling for the legislature to fix this.

A judge ruled Wednesday the Alaska governor's office can use private e-mail accounts to conduct state business, as former Gov. Sarah Palin did.

Superior Court Judge Jack W. Smith said in his ruling there is no provision in Alaska state law that prohibits the use of private e-mail accounts when conducting state business.

The case stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Anchorage resident Andree McLeod, who contended such use of private e-mails denies citizens the right to inspect public records.

More here.
Also, Court: Palin's e-mail practices not a violation of open records law, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

Footage of governor's office entrance denied in Sunshine request

Missouri Capitol Police have denied the News-Leader's request for video footage from cameras aimed at public entrances to the governor's office in the state Capitol. They cited an exemption passed after the 2001 terrorist attacks. "More specifically, showing areas which are covered by our cameras would reveal areas, (if any) which may be blind spots, thus compromising security at the Missouri Capitol," Capitol Police Capt. Paul Minze wrote in a July 31 response letter. The News-Leader submitted a formal appeal, which is pending. The newspaper is trying to verify whether a meeting between DNR Deputy Director Joe Bindbeutel and the governor took place. E-mails indicate it did, but the governor's office denied that such a meeting -- to discuss the high levels of E. coli in Lake of the Ozarks -- took place.

Missouri Capitol Police have cited a post-Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism exemption in the state's open records law in denying the News-Leader access to surveillance tape footage of the entrances of the governor's office.

Under a Sunshine Law request for public records, the newspaper sought to inspect archived video footage during various dates in June from cameras aimed at two public entrances in the governor's second floor office in the state Capitol in Jefferson City.

The News-Leader is seeking access to the video as part of its ongoing investigation into what role -- if any -- Nixon's office played in the Department of Natural Resources withholding a report for four weeks in June showing dangerously high levels of E. coli in Lake of the Ozarks.

More here.

Prison corporation subject to public records laws

The Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled that prisons run by Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America must adhere to public records laws, The Tennessean reported. Alex Friedmann, associate editor of Prison Legal News, sued for access to the CCA's government contracts and other records. "With all due respect to CCA, this court is at a loss as to how operating a prison could be considered anything less than a governmental function," Judge D. Michael Swiney wrote in the opinion. However, the court ruled that the Private Prison Contracting Act limits the records that the corporation must make public.

Prisons run by Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America perform a government function and must follow public records laws, the Tennessee Court of Appeals has ruled.

The prison giant appealed the ruling issued last year by Davidson County Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman, who ruled that the corporation was the functional equivalent of government and that its administrators must turn over all records requested by prison reform advocate Alex Friedmann.

Friedmann, the associate editor of the monthly publication Prison Legal News, sued for access to several types of records, including CCA's government contracts, legal settlements and cases where CCA was sanctioned or fined.

More here.

Calif. bill to relieve losing FOIA plaintiffs

A California bill recently signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will relieve losing FOIA plaintiffs from having to pay attorneys' fees, the Reporters' Committee for Freedom of the Press reported. Fees could only be awarded if the court decides that the lawsuit was frivolous and without merit. The bill was passed in an effort to "curb the chilling effect that can accompany the assignment of extensive fees to plaintiffs who unsuccessfully sue the government to enforce the California Public Records Act." The law takes effect Jan. 1.

A California bill that will relieve losing plaintiffs in Freedom of Information Act lawsuits of having to pay attorney's fees passed the state's legislature last month. It is now awaiting a signature from the governor.

Under the proposed law, governments that prevail on an "anti-SLAPP" motion in FOIA cases will not be able to collect attorney's fees for claims brought against them in good faith. Fees could only be awarded in limited situations, such as when the court decides the action is frivolous and without merit. The state anti-SLAPP law allows defendants to have frivolous suits dismissed early.

More here.
Also, New Calif. law limits cost in public records fight, San Jose Mercury News.

Wash. organization asks governor's office to reconsider records denial

The Evergreen Freedom Foundation of Washington is asking Gov. Gregoire to reconsider the decision to deny releasing documents related to the governor's executive order concerning climate change. The EFF requested all documents related to the executive order's drafting and implementation, but the governor's office is withholding 48 documents and citing "executive privilege" and "deliberative process" as reasons. However, the EFF says there's no "executive privilege" exemption in the Public Records Act, and because the executive order has already been published the "deliberative" exemption doesn't apply.

Does the governor's executive privilege exempt her from the state's Public Records Act? Looks like we'll find out.

Climate change was a hot topic during the 2009 legislative session. Gov. Gregoire had requested legislation that ultimately died in the Senate. Not to be stopped, the governor issued Executive Order 09-05 to address climate change. Curious to see the backstory, EFF filed a request for documents related to the executive order's drafting and implementation. We've received many records, but the governor's office has refused to release 48 documents. The denial cites several reasons, including "executive privilege" and "deliberative process."

There's a problem with this denial. There is no "executive privilege" exemption in the Public Records Act. And once the executive order was published the "deliberation" exemption no longer applies. (This isn't the first time Gov. Gregoire has claimed the phantom "executive privilege" exemption.)

More here.

Police car camera reveals cover-up

Video from a dashboard police camera revealed that Hollywood, Fla., police officer Dewey Pressley wrote a fake police report to cover up for another officer, the AP reported. Officer Joel Francisco rammed into the back of Alexandra Torrens-Vilas' car. Torrens-Vilas was charged with a DUI and traffic violation, but "the state attorney's office dropped the charges, saying the video raised questions about the officers' account of the crash." "I'm gonna tell you exactly how to word this so we can get him off the hook," Pressley says on the video. Later he remarks: "I don't like making things up ever because it's wrong but if I have to bend it a little to protect a cop I'm gonna."

Veteran Hollywood Police Officer Dewey Pressley said he hated lying. But if bending the truth a little would keep a fellow officer out of trouble, well, he was all for it.

A dashboard police camera video that surfaced recently showed Pressley chuckling as he wrote a fake police report, calling his creativity "a little Walt Disney" so another officer wouldn't get in trouble for rear-ending a 23-year-old woman's car in February.

Pressley and four others have been suspended with pay pending an investigation after video of the accident and the officers' attempt to cover it up became public last week, the latest Internet sensation in a line of unsettling police dashcam videos.

More here.

Staffers say S.C. governor used private e-mail for public business

Will Folks, former spokesman for South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, says he checked his private e-mail at least 10 times a day when working for the governor, McClatchy-Tribune News Service reported. Of the 3900 pages of Sanford's messages provided to The State newspaper, 174 e-mails were from his private account. But those didn't contain much discussion of state business. Current Sanford spokesman Joe Sawyer says the office doesn't use private e-mail to get around open records laws. Regardless, Ashley Landess, president of the South Carolina Policy Council, said her group will now ask other state government leaders to turn over private e-mails concerning public matters.

Former staffers for South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford said they routinely used private e-mail accounts to discuss sensitive political and policy decisions with Sanford.

The governor's office denies the practice was used to shield those communications from the public.

The state's Freedom of Information Act makes any discussion of state business on state computers a public document.

More here.

Fox loses bailout-related Federal Reserve suit

A U.S. District Court judge ruled that the Federal Reserve Board had the right to withhold bailout-related documents from Fox News, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press reported. Judge Alvin Hellerstein said the records fell under the exemption that protects trade secrets and confidential information and that the 12 regional Federal Reserve banks are not government agencies (therefore, the board doesn't have to search the banks' records in response to Fox's request). Fox is likely to appeal and has another pending FOIA suit against the Treasury Department for other bailout records. Bloomberg News and The New York Times have simliar pending requests.

A federal judge ruled against Fox News Thursday in a key Freedom of Information Act case involving bailout-related documents held by the Federal Reserve Board.

Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan ruled that the Federal Reserve Board in Washington had properly withheld more than 6,000 pages of documents from Fox because the records fell under the FOIA exemption protecting trade secrets and confidential information.

Fox sought information about the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending program, known as the discount window.

More here.

Air Force One flyover photos released

In response to an FOIA request, the Department of Defense released 146 photos of the controversial Air Force One flyover on April 27.

Responding to a Freedom of Information Act request, the Department of Defense has released 146 photographs that were taken during the photo-op involving Air Force One and the Statue of Liberty on April 27. President Obama was not on the plane when the photos were taken.

The low-flying plane caused panic among New Yorkers because it was a reminder of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The controversial flight resulted in the May resignation of White House Military Office Director Louis Caldera.

More here.

Nev. AG rules governor's personal e-mails aren't public

The Nevada attorney general's office decided that personal e-mails on Gov. Jim Gibbons' state computer are not pubic records, the AP reported. Reno Newspapers Inc. is seeking all e-mails Gibbons sent on his state computer and asked for a log of recipients, senders, subject matters and reasons public access was denied. The brief from the AG's office said the state has "no pre-litigation duty" to create the requested index.

The Nevada attorney general's office says personal e-mails on Gov. Jim Gibbons' state computer are not public records.

In a Nevada Supreme Court brief, the AG's office says personal messages or those not concerning public business are not subject to a public records request.

The filing is in response to an appeal by Reno Newspapers Inc., which is seeking all e-mails sent by Gibbons on his state computer from January to June 2008.

More here.

More transparency equals more customer satisfaction

ForSee Results conducted survey research that concluded that "perceptions of federal government Web sites' transparency online is an important driver of online satisfaction, which in turn drives trust, future participation and future collaboration," Nextgov reported. ForSee, which issues reports on public opinion about federal Web sites, plans to start using a transparency metric into the satisfaction index as early as next quarter.

Agencies can fulfill the president's vision of open government by posting large amounts of data online quickly and making it easy to find, a group that tracks the public's satisfaction with government Web sites reported on Tuesday.

By boosting the "thoroughness and accessibility of information made available online," or what is described as "online transparency," agencies can achieve the open government principles that President Obama outlined on his first full day in office, according to a report released by ForeSee Results, a market research firm that, in conjunction with the American Customer Satisfaction Index, issues quarterly reports on public opinion about federal Web sites.

More here.

Most states fail to use Web to inform about stimulus spending

Good Jobs First, a non-profit research center based in Washington, D.C., studied state Web sites to determine the quality and quantity of disclosure related to how stimulus funding is being divided up among communities, organizations and individuals. Each state was graded twice on a scale of 0 to 100. Only six states scored 50 or better for their main American Recovery and Reinvestment Act site. Thirteen scored 50 or better for their highway reporting. Illinois scored a zero in both categories because it only provides national figures.

While some states have created impressive websites to disseminate information about their share of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), most are failing to make effective use of online technology to educate taxpayers about the impact of economic stimulus spending. This is the finding of Show Us the Stimulus, a report released today by Good Jobs First, a non-profit research center based in Washington, DC.

“Many states are failing to support President Obama’s vow that the Recovery Act will be carried out with an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability,” said Good Jobs First executive director Greg LeRoy. “By failing to use broadly available web tools, they are making it more difficult to measure the success of ARRA in mitigating the effects of the recession.”

Read the full report here.

Implementation of FOIA falls short

The cover story in the Summer 2009 issue of Administrative & Regulatory Law News by the American Bar Association focuses on the poor state of FOIA. Author Daniel Metcalfe details how the 2007 FOIA amendments and Obama's FOIA policy, however promising they might have seemed, are falling short when it comes to implementation. Individual agencies have not changed their FOIA procedures to include the 2007 changes. For example, the Justice Department's FOIA Reference Guide hasn't been updated since May 2006. It's been particularly confusing for requesters who want records that are held by government contractors. Because of outdated regulations, the requesters don't know whether to send the request to the government agency or directly to the contractor. Metcalfe believes the Holder FOIA Memorandum could have been stronger if it hadn't been put together so quickly. The memorandum does not mention the importance of all agencies updating their FOIA regulations or the long backlogs of pending FOIA requests. Also, Metcalfe writes, "the Holder FOIA Memorandum by its terms applies itself to pending litigation only if a half-dozen lawyerly hedges are first satisfied."

The past eighteen months have been an exceptionally promising time for the Freedom of Information Act and for those who look to it to shine a bright light on the world. First Congress amended the Act with a package of amendments designed entirely to aid FOIA requesters, improve agency FOIA performance, and foster greater disclosure. Then a president who has declared that he wants to run “the most open administration in history” was elected to replace a president whose administration seemingly “never met a secret it didn’t like.” See, e.g., The Nature of Government Secrecy, 26 Gov’t Info. Quarterly 305, 307 (2009).

But as often is said of expected improvements in such areas of administrative law, “the devil’s in the details.” And when it comes to the FOIA, those devilish details are most often found in the quality of the implementation of new provisions and policies, on a governmentwide basis, and the timeliness, comprehensiveness, and effectiveness with which that is achieved. That is where the brightness of promised sunshine can readily fade if a new presidential administration is not pragmatic and careful. In this case, the badly incomplete implementation of the FOIA amendments made by Congress in 2007 foreshadowed no less.

More here.

Judge temporarily halts release school employees home addresses

After Pennsylvania State Education Association's petition to exempt school district employees' home addresses from public records, a state appellate court judge issued a temporary halt and is expected to schedule a hearing, the AP reported. The state's revised Right-to-Know Law exempts the home addresses of judges, law enforcement officers and minors from public records. The state's largest teachers' union wants the same treatment for school employees.

A state appellate court judge has ordered a temporary halt to releasing school district employees' home addresses listed on records requests made under Pennsylvania's new Right-to-Know Law.

The order issued Tuesday by Commonwealth Court Senior Judge Rochelle Friedman was made in response to a petition brought late last week by the state's largest teachers' union.

Friedman was expected to schedule a hearing on the Pennsylvania State Education Association's request to permanently end the release of school employees' home addresses.

More here.

Judge halts release of road builder's records

A Franklin County Circuit judge in Kentucky halted the release of statements that Leonard Lawson, a prominent road builder, made to investigators in a 1983 antitrust case, the AP reported. Lawson is now facing unrelated federal charges of conspiring to steer $130 million in state road contracts to his companies. The Courier-Journal of Louisville, the Lexington Herald-Leader and The AP asked for the 1983 statements, but Lawson asked for the records to be kept from the public so that they wouldn't hurt his chances of getting a fair trial.

A judge issued a temporary injunction Wednesday to halt the release of statements a prominent Kentucky road builder made to investigators years ago.

Franklin County Circuit Judge Thomas D. Wingate cited the privacy interests of the road builder, Leonard Lawson of Lexington, in his ruling. Wingate said if the statements were made public, Lawson could face irreparable harm.

Not releasing them would preserve the status quo, Wingate said in a 16-page ruling.

More here.

Court decides to rehear Texas open meetings law case

The U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans will hear a case on the constitutionality of the Texas Open Meetings Act that was previously decided by a three-judge court panel, The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press reported. The ruling in Rangra v. Brown essentially said that the open meetings law was in conflict with elected officials' freedom of speech because the law made it a crime for a quorum of them to discuss government business outside of public meetings. Several friend-of-the-court briefs have been filed on behalf of the Texas Attorney General's office, which asked for the reconsideration.

A federal appellate court rightly decided this week to re-hear a case on the constitutionality of the Texas Open Meetings Act.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans (5th Cir.) took the unusual and laudable step of granting a petition for en banc review, meaning the full court will now consider a case that a three-judge panel of the court previously decided.

The Texas Attorney General’s office asked the court to reconsider its previous ruling in Rangra v. Brown, which said the Open Meetings Act infringed on elected officials' free speech rights by making it a crime for a quorum of them to discuss government business outside of a public meeting.

More here.

Judge temporarily blocks names of Ref. 71 signers

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order in response to a Protect Washington Families request to keep the names and addresses of those who signed Referendum 71 from the public, the Seattle Times reported. It will remain until the hearing set for Sept. 3. The Secretary of State Office admitted that it has no statutory authority to withhold the names but didn't pan to contest the TRO effort. However, U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle wrote that the group demonstrated "a reasonable likelihood of irreparable harm if the names are released."

Protect Marriage Washington submitted 138,500 signatures to get Referendum 71, which would repel a law giving gay couples marriage-like benefits, onto the November ballot.

A federal judge in Tacoma has temporarily blocked release of the names and addresses of those who signed Referendum 71, which would repeal a law giving gay couples new marriage-like benefits.

U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle this afternoon granted a temporary restraining order requested by Protect Washington Families to stop the Secretary of State's Office from making the signers' names public.

The TRO will remain in place until a hearing set for Sept. 3.

More here.

Hawaii City Council must cancel closed-door actions

A circuit judge issued a temporary restraining order that essentially forces the Hawaii County Council to cancel a council reorganization plan that it discussed in a private meeting, the AP reported. The council will meet on Aug. 4 to rehear all measures. This order was prompted by a lawsuit filed by West Hawaii Today that alleges that the council violated the Sunshine Law by discussing the plan in private.

Members of the Hawaii County Council violated the state’s open-government law by privately discussing a council reorganization plan, a state judge said.

Circuit Judge Ronald Ibarra on July 23 issued a temporary restraining order, forbidding the council from doing business. But he delayed the start of the TRO until Aug. 5 to give the council time to rectify the situation.

The council has scheduled a special meeting for Aug. 4 to cancel the reorganization. It also plans to rehear all measures it considered after the June 16 changes went into effect.

More here.

Wyo. open meetings/records woes

Shawn Whitman, chief of staff for Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, said closing a meeting was "an unfortunate misunderstanding on our part of the state statute," the AP reported. A Barrasso staffer told reporters that the meeting at a restaurant was private though it was being attended by a quorum of Fremont County commissioners.

Closing a meeting to the public between staffers for Sen. John Barrasso and Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis and a quorum of Fremont Count commissioners was a mistake. That’s was Barrasso’s chief of staff Shawn Whitman said Wednesday in response to an allegation by open-government advocates that the press was illegally barred from the gathering.

More here.

Update on Wind River Indian Reservation case:

Fremont County Coroner Ed McAuslan said he's bound by federal law to not release details on the deaths of three girls on the Wind River Indian Reservation, KVOW/KTAK reported. Wyoming Sen. Cale Case has said he's drafting legislation to make coroner records open, but McAuslan said that won't affect this case, which is governed by federal law. McAuslan said he will not violate laws and face a fine and/or jail time for releasing information.

Fremont County Coroner Ed McAuslan said he will not risk jail time by divulging information about a federal case involving the deaths of three girls last year on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Fremont County.

His comment comes on the heels of Republican Sen. Cale Case’s recent announcement he’s drafting state legislation that would specify all coroner records be open for public review unless privileged or confidential by law.

McAuslan said Case notified him this week by email of his intentions to draft the disclosure of information bill.

More here.

N.J. to limit disclosure of child death details

State reports on child-death cases will no longer include details of the Division of Youth and Family Services' prior actions,the Star-Ledger reported. State officials say the federal monitor who oversees child welfare reform provides enough oversight; reports will now simply include trends rather than the histories of the deceased children who were involved with a state program. Officials say the decision was made "out of respect for surviving family members;" however, it was the release of details in the 2003 death case of 7-year-old Faheem Williams that led to DYFS reform. State law does require the department to disclose the name, birthday, date of death and whether the families of fatal child abuse victims were under DYFS supervision. However, the Child Advocate reports provided more details than required, details that often led to policy changes.

Leaders at the agencies most responsible for New Jersey's child-protection agency say the state no longer will publicly disclose the details of DYFS prior actions when a child it has supervised dies from abuse or neglect.

The decision signals a change in policy after the state issued annual reports detailing what happened in each child-death case for the past six years. Instead, the state will issue reports focusing on trends it has found.

State officials say reporting individual cases is not a useful way to assess how the child-welfare system is working and publicizing details could hurt victims' families. They say with a federal monitor overseeing child welfare reform, there is enough oversight.

More here.

Group requests audio/videotapes concerning Gates' arrest

Judicial Watch filed a Massachusetts Public Records Request for any audiotapes or videotapes recorded before, during or after the arrest of Henry Louis Gates, according to Marketwire.

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has filed a Massachusetts Public Records Request with the Cambridge, MA, Police Department regarding the arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates. Specifically, Judicial Watch seeks the following records:

Any audiotapes or videotapes recorded prior to, during, or after the arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates on July 16, 2009.

On July 16, Sergeant James Crowley responded to a 911 phone call from a passerby reporting two men attempting to force open the door at Professor Gates' Harvard Square home. Professor Gates claims that he had just returned from a trip to China and his front door was jammed. He asked his driver to help him force it open.

More here.

Also, 911 Tape Raises Questions in Gates Case, NYTimes: "The woman who called 911 to report a possible breaking and entering at the home of Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr. told the dispatcher that she had “no idea” if the two men she saw were breaking in and said that, in fact, they might live there." The recording was released by the Cambridge Police Department.

Florida State sues NCAA for legal fees

Florida State wants the NCAA to pay its legal fees associated with a suit against the university and NCAA for not releasing records related to academic cheating sanctions, the AP reported. The university says it can't make the records public because of an NCAA Web site that forbids downloading or printing.

Florida State is back in court — suing the NCAA.

The school said Friday its wants the NCAA to pay its legal fees and other costs incurred in a suit filed against the university and the athletic governing body for failing to comply with Florida's public records law.

General Counsel Betty Steffen said it has been technically impossible for the school to make records in the case public because an NCAA website prohibits downloading or printing.

More here.

N.J. Government Records Council loses open records suit

The New Jersey Foundation for Open Government won its case against the New Jersey Government Records Council. The council, designed to help enforce open records laws, violated the law itself by refusing to release the e-mail addresses of those who had filed complaints with the council. The foundation had requested acknowledgment notices sent to each person who filed a complaint; the council had released the records but redacted the e-mail addresses on the grounds of privacy.

The New Jersey Foundation for Open Government (NJFOG) announced today that it
has won a lawsuit against the New Jersey Government Records Council (GRC) for violating the Open Public Records Act (OPRA), the very statute the GRC was created to enforce.

NJFOG had requested from the GRC complaint acknowledgement notices that the GRC emails to complainants. In response, the GRC had withheld the individual complainants’ email addresses. On July 17, Mercer County Superior Court Judge Douglas H. Hurd, J.S.C. “ordered that the defendant GRC grants Plaintiff NJFOG access in unredacted form to the requested GRC acknowledgement
notices. GRC shall comply with this Order by August 14, 2009.”

More here.

Appellate court says police internal affairs reports are public

The 4th District Appellate Court ruled that police internal affairs reports are public records, The State Journal-Register reported. The court said this is so no matter what the results of the investigation are. The ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by a dentist who complained that a sheriff's deputy roughed him up for driving improperly during a kidney-stone attack. The dentist, Mark Gekas, didn't sue for excessive force but only after the department didn't turn over copies of the internal affairs report to him.

Police internal affairs files are public records, even if investigators conclude that accused officers did nothing wrong, a state appeals court has ruled.

The decision came Monday in a lawsuit filed by Springfield dentist Mark Gekas, who says he was roughed up by Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy John Gillette during a 2006 traffic stop.

Gekas sued Sheriff Neil Williamson after the department refused to give him copies of internal affairs reports. The department said the records are part of Gillette’s personnel file and that making them public would violate the deputy’s right to privacy.

More here.

CREW not pleased with release of health care visitors list

The list of White House visits by health care executives released by President Barack Obama indicate that private meeting began shortly after he took office, the AP reported. The list was released after Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington threatened to sue the White House for the logs, which are maintained by the Secret Service. CREW says it will continue seeking visitor logs from the White House and that the disclosure "in no way satisfies" its request. "The actual visitor records likely would indicate with whom each official met, the administration official who requested clearance for the visitor, the time of the meeting, the duration of the meeting and, in some cases, the purpose of the meeting. In addition, no information was provided regarding any visits to the vice president's residence," the group said in a written statement.

President Obama's administration began holding private meetings with health industry executives and lobbyists at the White House a few weeks after he took office, a visitor list released Wednesday night by the White House shows.

Richard Umbdenstock, president of the American Hospital Assn., was at the White House on Feb. 4 and has been back at least half a dozen times since, most recently May 22. Other industry executives making February visits included health insurance company chief executives Angela Braly of WellPoint Inc. and Jay Gellert of Health Net Inc.

Gellert, a $500 donor to Obama's presidential campaign, was there Feb. 10, twice in March and on May 11. Braly visited on Feb. 13.

More here.

Also, WH list of health exec visits inadequate, group says from Politico
And, Obama hold on records raises hypocrisy charge from Washington Times: "Sending us a letter is not the same as releasing the records. There is a lot of information in those records that is not in the letter," CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan said. "Releasing names for political expediency is not the same thing as transparency. This is not the type of transparency they promised."

Wyo. senator proposes public review of coroner records

Wyoming Sen. Cale Case has drafted legislation that would make all coroner records open for public review unless they're privileged or confidential by law, the AP reported. This would call for state coroners to redact privileged or confidential information in files so that as much information as possible is disclosed. His legislation is in regards to the death of three teenage girls on the Wind River Indian Reservation. The FBI investigated the case, but the U.S. attorney's office in Cheyenne has refused to comment. The suspicion is that juveniles are facing criminal charges.

The federal government's refusal to say what killed three teenage girls on the Wind River Indian Reservation last year is driving a Wyoming state senator to try to force county coroners to open their records to the public.

Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, has drafted legislation that would specify that all coroner records would be open for public review unless they're privileged or confidential by law.

Case's proposal calls for directing the state's 23 elected coroners to redact privileged or confidential information in their files to allow the fullest possible disclosure.

More here.

Budget cut will 'gut the progress' of Penn. Office of Open Records

Terry Mutchler, Pennsylvania's first executive director of the Office of Open Records, says the projected budget cuts will defeat the purpose of the newly created office. The office is expecting to be underfunded by $300,000. With such a cut, staff will have to be let go, and more and more citizens will have no option (other than going to court, if they can afford it) for contesting a denial of requested records. Since May 2009, the office has processed about 600 appeals, 2,400 e-mails, 1,200 phone calls and conducted more than 200 FOI training sessions with nine staffers. Some decisions have gone to court, which requires full-time legal attention. "But the reality is that the office is in its infancy and does not have fat to cut. This is not just cutting money -- it's cutting the commitment to ensuring open and honest government."

All is not well at Pennsylvania's new Office of Open Records.

As its first executive director, that is a very difficult but necessary truth to express. I am asking citizens and other open-government advocates for their help. We are at a cross-roads and it is only fair that citizens have an accurate and honest picture of what's happening with this portion of their government.

Pennsylvania rewrote its archaic Right-to-Know Law and created an independent office to resolve records disputes. As of Jan. 1, all records of the government were presumed to be open. Gov. Ed Rendell and Sen. Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi championed this cause, and I applaud them for pulling Pennsylvania out of the dark ages.

More here.

See also, Budget cuts threaten disclosure

White House CIO says 'tectonic shift" is needed

White House Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra knows change will not be easy, especially when trying to reprogram government agencies in terms of transparency, National Journal Online reported. In June, he released a Web-based IT dashboard that showed how government IT projects were progressing. It shed light on 45 Veterans Affairs projects that were lagging behind schedule or over budget. All were temporarily halted.

White House Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra believes a "huge, tectonic shift" is needed for government agencies to accept a new era of open government, which has become a major mission of the Obama administration. The bottom line, he told a high-tech conference on Tuesday, is that "at the end of the day we're stewards of taxpayer dollars and we need to be open and transparent around using that money." The latest project to launch in that space was in June when he unveiled a Web-based IT dashboard that sheds light on the performance of IT projects across government. As a result of that initiative, the Veterans Affairs Department said it was temporarily halting 45 projects that were found to be behind schedule or over budget.

"It's okay if a project is behind schedule as long as we understand what is causing the delay," Kundra said. "We need to understand the root cause so we can solve the problem." At the VA, the worst offender was 110 percent more expensive than planned and 17 months behind schedule. The agency plans to audit all the projects in question to determine whether additional resources or new management teams can get them back on track. "If we didn't highlight this and make data available, we would be continuing to plow good money after bad money," Kundra explained. Putting data out there through the IT dashboard and other initiatives forces agencies to take action and drive change across government, he said.

More here.

Justice Department argues for protection of Cheney's interview

The Justice Department is arguing that the release of Dick Cheney's interview with prosecutors concerning the CIA leak case could create a chilling effect, Politico reported. Department attorney Jeffrey Smith argued his case in front of Judge Emmet Sullivan in an FOIA lawsuit, which seeks the release of Cheney's interview records. Smith asked that the records be kept secret for five to 10 years so that it would be more likely for the information to be used "for historical purposes and not for political embarrassment." Sullivan has not stated his opinion on the case but did say at one point that the Justice Department seemed to be asking him to create a new vice presidents' exemption to the FOIA.

President Barack Obama’s Justice Department is arguing that former Vice President Dick Cheney’s interview with prosecutors in the CIA leak case should remain secret for five to 10 years to persuade high-level government officials to cooperate in future investigations.

“In making public the vice pesident’s interview, you will chill them,” Justice Department attorney Jeffrey Smith told Judge Emmet Sullivan during a two-hour hearing Tuesday on a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking release of records about the Cheney interview, which took place in 2004.

Sullivan sounded highly skeptical of the government’s arguments, but he said he had not decided how he would rule in the case. "Where do I draw the line? This happened five years ago,” the judge said. “Would there be impediments to putting this information in a time capsule?”

More here.

Also, My Take On the DOJ Argument To Withhold Cheney Interview from The FOIA Blog: "The government has stated that Cheney did not ask for confidentiality when interviewed, meaning exemption 7(D) of the FOIA doesn't apply."

And, Saving Dick Cheney from 'The Daily Show'? from Politico: “The government doesn’t want to have what’s in these documents end up on a late-night comedy show,” Sullivan said.

iPods on fire, literally

FOI at Work!
KIRO-TV obtained more than 800 pages of Consumer Product Safety Commission documents detailing iPod-related injuries, including at least 15 incidents of overheating and burning, FOX News reported. The TV station said it took seven months to obtain the documents due to exemptions filed by Apple lawyers. The station requested the information after hearing how an iPod caused a "penny-sized burn" on the chest of Jamie Balderas of Arlington, Wash.

In a report posted on its Web site Tuesday, KIRO-TV says it used the Freedom of Information Act to get more than 800 pages of Consumer Product Safety Commission documents regarding iPod-related injuries and property damage.

Within the documents were details of at least 15 separate incidents where iPods overheated, sparked, smoked, caused burns or caught fire, KIRO-TV said.

The station became interested when Jamie Balderas of Arlington, Wash., was mystified by a penny-sized burn on her chest in Nov. 2008.

More here.

Gov. Kaine's schedule details his travels, sorta

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine's office released a spreadsheet that details where Kaine was from Jan. 1 to July 18, The Roanoke Times reported. This is after his office had denied an FOI request from the GOP for this data. Although the schedule indicates that Kaine didn't travel farther than Washington, D.C., when the General Assembly was in session, the data doesn't distinguish between when travel was related to his position as governor and when it was related to his position as DNC chairman.

Wonder where Gov. Tim Kaine has been?

Republicans and media outlets have been asking that question for weeks, seeking details about Kaine’s schedule since he became chairman of the Democratic National Committee in January. The governor’s office on Tuesday released a spreadsheet that generally accounts for Kaine’s whereabouts every single day from Jan. 1 to July 18. Kaine’s office had previously denied a GOP Freedom of Information Act request for his travel details.

But Kaine spokeswoman Lynda Tran said the governor “has always responded to questions regarding his work and whereabouts and remains willing to respond to these inquiries.” She said the office will release similar details at the end of each month.

More here.

Group requests information on Wy. deaths

The Wyoming Coalition for Open Government asked U.S. District Judge William Downes for information (at least the docket number) on the case involving the death of three Wyoming teenagers, AP reported. The FBI handled the investigation, and no details of the case, including the cause of death, have been released. At this point, it isn't for certain that a juvenile case related to the deaths exists, but comments made to reporters suggest that it does.

An open-government group has asked a federal judge to acknowledge the existence of a juvenile criminal case related to the deaths of three girls on the Wind River Indian Reservation.

The girls — Ohetica Win Elyxis Gardner, 13; Winter Rose Thomas, 14; and Alexandrea "Alex" Whiteplume, 15 — were found dead in a tribal housing complex south of Riverton on June 4, 2008. The FBI has handled the investigation into the girls' deaths.

The Wyoming Coalition for Open Government asked U.S. District Judge William Downes, chief federal judge for Wyoming, in a letter Monday to reveal at least the docket number in the case so the group could intervene in any proceedings.

More here.

Public health issue raises Sunshine Law questions

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources might have violated the Sunshine Law by not informing the public of a report indicating that dangerously high levels of E. coli were present in the Lake of the Ozarks, the Springfield News-Leader reported. The Lake Ozarks Water Alliance and the Lake Sun Leader newspaper had both asked for the routine reports and were denied access.

Attorney General Chris Koster's office is investigating whether the Department of Natural Resources broke the Sunshine Law by withholding a report showing dangerously high levels of E. coli in the Lake of the Ozarks to protect businesses and tourism dollars from a loss of revenue.

"Open government is in the best interest of Missouri, never more so than when concerns over public health are at issue," Koster, a Democrat, said in a statement.

DNR Director Mark Templeton said his agency turned over related documents to Koster's office Friday, but he declined to reveal their contents.

More here.

Sanford's travel records raise questions

Anderson Independent-Mail is questioning if Gov. Mark Sanford's trips (to China, Germany, Poland, London and Brazil) benefited South Caroline and why they were so over the top, considering that Sanford paints himself as a frugal man.

As evidenced by travel records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, Gov. Mark Sanford wasn’t as tight with taxpayer dollars as one might have expected for the man who slept on a cot in his congressional office and spoke so forcefully against accepting federal stimulus money for our state.

During his first campaign for governor, in fact, one of Sanford’s campaign points was criticism of travel expenses for other state officials, according to The Associated Press.

One has to wonder if the question of expenses would have even been raised had there not been so much dismay over how much some of those travels have cost the state in other ways. And how much they have cost him personally.

More here.

Electronic trial proceedings are public records in Fla.

The Florida Supreme Court rejected a recommendation to protect judicial audio and video recordings, the AP reported.

The state Supreme Court has ordered that electronic recordings of trial proceedings are public records.

The court Thursday unanimously rejected a recommendation from a judicial commission that audio and video recordings be protected unless a judge approves their release. The high court cited the state's open government laws in siding for openness.

The ruling comes after an appeals court rejected a request from The Tampa Tribune for audio recordings in a criminal sentencing. At issue was whether privileged conversations that weren't part of the official court record could be heard on the recordings.

More here.

Wis. S.C. decides newspapers are entitled to state personnel records

The Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld a circuit court decision that provided newspapers access to state personnel records, the State Bar of Wisconsin reported. State agencies had refused to disclose names of state employees to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Lakeland Times based on a collective bargaining agreement with the Wisconsin State Employees Union. The Supreme Court determined that the Legislature didn't properly amend the Public Records Law to include its agreement with WSEU.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed two newspapers were entitled to access state personnel records after it concluded that the Legislature failed to properly amend the open records laws to prevent such disclosure.

But before the court could even reach these determinations in Milw. Journal Sentinel v. Wisc. Dept. of Admin., 2009 WI 79, it had to find that it was empowered to review the Legislature’s work. A majority of the court concluded that it was, given its mandate to review statutes for compliance with the constitution.

In dissent, Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson said that the court’s review was unduly interfering in the affairs of an equal branch of government.

More here.

E-mail details how staff responded to Sanford's disappearance

FOI at Work!

The State received almost 600 pages of e-mail and phone records from Gov. Mark Sanford and hi staff during the governor's secret June 18-24 trip to Argentina to visit his lover. Staffers downplayed the governor's disappearance, and chief of staff, Scott English, made 15 calls to the governor's cell -- none of which were picked up. Also, several media organizations pleaded with Joel Sawyer, Sanford's communication director, for an exclusive -- and positive -- interview. (Also see Media Outlets Offered to Spin Sanford Story here.)

Gov. Mark Sanford’s chief of staff, Scott English, called the governor’s cell phones 15 times during the governor’s secret trip to Argentina to visit his lover last month. But the governor never picked up.

Meanwhile Sanford’s communications director, Joel Sawyer, worked to minimize the fact the governor had been out of touch with his staff for about four days.

Records released Monday show Sawyer juggled e-mails and media calls from around the nation, giving a consistent message that was later proven to be untrue.

More here.

Fla. AG sides with public records law, not NCAA

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum has taken steps to help protect the state's public records law in regards to NCAA records, WCTV reported. Because the records were released to Florida State University, they are considered public records, according to McCollum. However, both the university and NCAA are being sued by news organizations for withholding the files.

Florida's Attorney General wants to join the fight over the NCAA documents released to FSU.

As we reported Tuesday, Attorney General Bill McCollum filed a motion Tuesday that would allow the office to file an amicus brief with the circuit court.

The Attorney General's office says Florida State and the NCAA are part of a lawsuit against a number of news organizations over the release of public documents.

More here.

Maryland AG, SHA block access to key records

From Richard D. Boltuck of Maryland:

Most residents of West Bethesda in the neighborhoods near Whitman High School are well aware of the hazardous and chaotic Braeburn Parkway/River Road intersection used as one of the main entrances to the Whitman parking lot. Many of those turning on or off River before and after school are high school students, among the least experienced drivers anywhere. Many dangerous accidents have occurred at this intersection, including one recently noted on some local listservs; the lack of anyone being killed in such an accident to date is a product of good luck rather than precautionary measures.

For well over a decade, the community has sought installation of a traffic light at the intersection to regulate traffic and tame the hazards. River, of course, hosts numerous traffic signals already, including at the entrances to country clubs and other schools. The community's efforts have always been supported strongly by members of our General Assembly delegation. And as you might recall, last year we collected hundreds of local signatures on a petition urging the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) to install a light. Thus far, however, the SHA, which owns River Road, has rejected our pleas.

Typically, when periodic concerted efforts were underway in past years, SHA engineers would meet with the community or its representatives and inform them that a recent scientific engineering study required by law before a signal could be approved indicated that a signal was not warranted. At that point, the community was left with few immediate options, except to request another examination a few years later. In the meantime, students, faculty, and staff at Whitman, together with other drivers, continued to risk life and limb every day. And, of course, the next study by SHA simply echoed the prior one, starting the cycle over again. In short, no progress.

In the past year, I have worked on breaking this unproductive cycle by taking a somewhat different approach -- with great advice and assistance from others, including particularly Peter and Christina Sklarew, and Seth Guggenheim. My hypothesis was that part of our historical ineffectiveness arose from a lack of symmetry in the information we possessed. We had never actually obtained any of the SHA traffic-signal warrant analyses and the accident data on which they were, in part, based, let alone studied them carefully. Consequently, last summer I filed a request for these analyses and data with the SHA, based on the Maryland Public Information Act (PIA), the state's version of the Federal Freedom of Information Act. I had assumed that the analyses were not previously reviewed simply because they had never been requested. I was surprised, however, that my request was rejected on a variety of grounds asserting alleged exceptions to general disclosure requirements of the PIA.

Over the past year, I have challenged this rejection through the administrative review process set out in Maryland's Administrative Procedures Act (APA). Last September, the case was heard before an administrative law judge in the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings. Shortly before that hearing, SHA partially backed down, sending me copies of the various warrant analyses, but continuing to withold the compiled accident data. These data are important in verifying the validity of that aspect of the analyses, and in better understanding SHA's perception of how dangerous the intersection is.

The administrative review process is now at its tail end, and I am awaiting a "final decision" by SHA Administrator Neil Pedersen no later than the end of August. Last week, Peter Sklarew and I attended a hearing before Mr. Pedersen and I presented oral arguments in favor of disclosing the requested accident data. The PIA case has been interesting in itself as a public-interest project. Maryland's highway and road system, after all, touches all of our lives, and constitutes one of the most significant uses of public tax funds in the state.

Despite the democratic public interest in understanding how our money is used and on what decisions about our road system are based, and despite the fact that the SHA is not a national-security agency, SHA and its legal advisors from Attorney General Gansler's office have devised a theory that they argue prevents them from disclosing a very significant share of public highway records to members of the public. Highway accident data, paid for by taxpayers and relied on in improving highway safety, are among those records. The legal position taken to date by AG Gansler and his staff is at the core of the problem. AG Gansler's office has thus far (up through Mr. Pedersen's "Proposed Decision") adopted a needlessly expansive and unjustified interpretation of a 2003 Supreme Court decision as a key part of its theory, an interpretation directly at odds with the two state appellate courts (in Kansas and New York) that have addressed this exact issue after 2003. In doing so, Mr. Gansler has, in effect, invalidated rights established for Maryland citizens (and others) by the General Assembly, instead preferring an interpretation where Federal law broadly preempts Maryland's own PIA. I would have thought the job of the AG is to defend the state's statutes, and the rights they create, to the greatest extent possible. If I were in the General Assembly, I would be furious that the laws I had participated in passing were being treated in this manner by the state's own chief attorney.

View related case documents here.

Michigan cracks down on tweets

Texters and tweeters in Michigan, beware:

Starting in September, Michigan jurors will no longer be allowed to send text messages, "tweet" or engage in other forms of electronic communication during trials.

The Michigan Supreme Court established the new rule Tuesday in an attempt to prevent distraction and outside information from influencing trial outcomes, according to the National Law Journal. The new rule requires that jurors be instructed ahead of time that electronic devices like Blackberrys and iPhones may not be used in the jury box or during deliberations.

Courts around the country have been grappling with the question of how to keep jurors from using Twitter, Google or text messages to divulge or gather information inappropriately during trial.

More here.

Virginia considers rule to protect juror info

The Virginia Supreme Court will receive public comments until Sept. 1 on a proposed rule that would seal juror information in all criminal trials, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press reported. The Virginia Coalition for Open Government says this is "potentially unconstitutional."

The Virginia Supreme Court has proposed a rule to tighten access to juror information in all criminal trials, expanding on a 2008 state law that gives courts the authority to keep juror lists secret where there is "good cause."

The proposed rule would shield jurors' identities, giving them numbers by which they would be referred to in court. It would allow judges to further restrict disclosure of personal juror information collected by the clerk's office in some cases. Virginia Beach courts have already launched a similarly restrictive policy, closing access to juror information in all cases, according to The Virginian-Pilot.

The Virginia Coalition for Open Government has come out against the proposed statewide rule.

More here.

Registration for FOIA/Privacy Act training now open

The American Society of Access Professionals will hold its 2009 FOIA/Privacy Act training workshop from Sept. 21-23 in Chicago. The program is designed for those "who are new
to working with the FOI or Privacy Acts; those who have limited experience; those who deal with the Acts as an adjunct responsibility; or those who would benefit from an in-depth refresher course." Special sessions will be held on records management and Department of Defense procedures.

More here.

City Hall floor might be gated

Although the California Public Records Act requires that public records be available during public business hours, Union-Tribune journalists were not allowed to see financial records at the San Diego City Hall, the Union-Tribune reported. The staffers visited City Hall to view checks written by the city after no one responded to their FOIA requests. Marcelle Rossman, the city's financial operations manager, intervened twice when other city employees directed the journalists to the files. Now City Hall has installed an "authorized employees only" sign on the seventh floor and is considering the addition of a gate or doors.

A showdown last month between a pair of Union-Tribune staffers and San Diego city officials over financial records housed at City Hall has led city officials to post "authorized employees only" signs on the seventh floor.

The journalists, reporter Brooke Williams and data specialist Danielle Cervantes, went to City Hall on June 17 to view checks written by the city.

Williams said she and Cervantes had made at least three requests to see the checks with no response from the Mayor's Office. They decided to go to City Hall -- armed with a copy of the state Public Records Act -- and ask to see the checks in person. To read Williams' full account, go here.

More here.

Records detail abuse of Detroit's emergency checks

FOI at Work!
Detroit city officials used 900 emergency checks in just two years, most of them for questionable expenses, the Detroit Free Press reported. The newspaper obtained records through FOIA that indicated these checks were used to hire a public relations expert by Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick during his scandal, to pay rent for the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center and even to buy fuel for city cars. Often paperwork was not filled out, which means it's unclear who authorized the spending.

The City of Detroit has regularly used emergency checks to cover hundreds of routine or questionable expenses, including thousands of dollars for a public relations expert hired by former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in the midst of the text message scandal last year.

The emergency checks also were used to pay off credit cards for Kilpatrick, make nearly $1 million in rent payments for the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center and purchase fuel for city vehicles. Experts say the actions suggest a cash flow problem for the city because money should be set aside in the budget for basic expenses such as rent.

The actions also are an abuse of an accounting practice known as quick checks, a process to provide same-day checks to cover emergencies.

More here.

MU says it complied with Columbia Dispatch's request

The University of Missouri says it complied with the Columbus Dispatch's records request and maintains records as it should according to NCAA terms, the Columbia Missourian reported. MU says it didn't "refuse to provide any information to protect privacy" involving the records of complimentary tickets for athletes and it does keep records on athletes' summer employment. The university said it informed reporters that the ticket data would cost $300 to compile into a compatible form, but the reporter no longer wanted the information. Similarly, MU says it keeps employment records but the reporter didn't want them unless athlete names were included. MU redacts students names in these records.

The Columbus Dispatch said that the University of Missouri, like other NCAA schools, misinterpreted privacy rules and violated NCAA terms by hiding public records.

However, MU said that it complied with the Dispatch's request and does keep all the records it should.

As part of a six-month investigation, the Columbus Dispatch found MU "refused to provide any information to protect privacy" involving the records of complimentary tickets for athletes, and "the school did not keep these records" about the athletes' summer employment.

More here.

Missing e-mails show up in criminal investigation

E-mails not provided to The Palm Beach Post in regards to a request for e-mails sent and received by former Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom turned up during his criminal investigation, Post on Politics reported. The House had told the newspaper that Sansom didn't send or receive a single e-mail in the 11-day period for which records were requested. However, prosecutors' files included correspondence from that time. Officials say those "non-existent" e-mails might have come from Sansom's personal e-mail account or they might have been deleted e-mails that investigators uncovered.

A criminal investigation of former Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom, recently indicted on charges of falsifying the state budget, has turned up e-mails related to the scandal that supposedly did not exist when The Palm Beach Post requested the documents from the legislature.

The Post asked Sansom’s office Dec. 10 to turn over the previous 20 days of e-mails that the Destin Republican had either sent and received. The request was made to gauge public reaction to news that Sansom may have received a six-figure job from Northwest Florida State College in exchange for funneling millions of state dollars to the school.

The Post also sought messages between Sansom and then-college President James “Bob” Richburg about the scandal.

More here.

Computers seized from U of I Chancellor's Office

The University of Illinois removed two computers from the chancellor's office so that officials can obtain all e-mail relevant to the online admissions controversy, The News-Gazette reported. The university released 123 pages of e-mail messages in response to FOIA requests from The News-Gazette and the Chicago Tribune. It's unknown whether the newly released documents were intentionally withheld or just overlooked.

The University of Illinois legal office removed two computers from Chancellor Richard Herman's office Thursday as part of a new "protocol" to ensure all e-mail relevant to an ongoing admission inquiry are recovered.

UI spokesman Thomas Hardy said the protocol allows officials to capture e-mail on computers and servers and search the messages for relevant keywords, rather than relying on individuals to provide the information themselves.

"It's not the process that is typically used in searching for documents," he said Friday.

More here.

La. governor's schedule still secret under new law

A Louisiana bill passed last week opens up some of the governor's documents previously exempted but still keeps most information under wraps, the AP reported. Sen. Robert Adley of Benton said the legislation doesn't improve access to the governor's records but takes the state "from sunshine to moonshine." The Times-Picayune of New Orleans and The Advocate of Baton Rouge editorialized against the bill which shields for six months some budget-related documents that were considered public record under the current law. The signed bill will allow some documents concerning the governor's travel to be public but will keep his schedule secret.

A bill that opens some but not all of the governor’s records to public scrutiny won final legislative passage in the Senate last week after weeks of debate and negotiations in which Gov. Bobby Jindal’s allies deflected efforts to make his schedule public or preserve his documents for the archives.

The bill, S.B. 278, will keep out of the public eye any governor’s office documents related to the “deliberative process” or intra-office communications among his top staffers. And it puts budgetary advice that state departments submit to the governor off-limits for six months.

Jindal pushed the bill as an alternative to others aimed at lifting a decades-old exemption the governor’s office has enjoyed from the state open-records law. The Senate voted 28-8 on June 24 to approve the bill that had already passed the House. The president of the Senate and the speaker of the House signed the measure June 25.

More here.

Release Defense documents still redacted

Although the Department of Defense released 12 documents related to detainee abuse, the redaction of key details is still pretty heavy, The Public Record reported. Some of what the Obama administration redacted had been previously released under Bush. One page is fully redacted. What wasn't redacted, however, suggests that Bush player a larger role in prisoner interrogation than he has admitted to. "I got my marching orders from the president," Maj. Gen. Mike Dunlavey said.

The Department of Defense released redacted documents Thursday related to abuse and torture of detainees held in U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay and other overseas prisons.

The 12 documents were released as part of the American Civil Liberties Union's long-running Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the government.

The Obama administration agreed to reprocess the documents, but it continues to withhold many key details related to the Defense Department's use of torture methods. In some documents, the Obama administration has withheld details that were previously disclosed by the Bush administration.

More here.

Missouri becoming more proactive in FOIA

In addition to the educational efforts of the newly formed Missouri Sunshine Coalition, the state's attorney general, Chris Koster has contacted all 114 counties to discuss the Sunshine Law, Kim Wrinkle of The News-Leader reported. "We have truly needed less apathy and more action towards those in power who have abused the Sunshine Law or simply ignored it," she wrote. "With the help of the Missouri Sunshine Coalition and the Attorney General's office, I hope that Missouri can become much more proactive with holding our elected officials accountable for their actions."

If we polled 100 people walking down any street in southwest Missouri, my guess would be that 75 of them would have no idea what the Sunshine Law is about or that it even exists.

Missouri has been given a great opportunity by a group of people who know the importance of open, transparent government and believe that any citizen should have access to public information.

The Missouri Sunshine Coalition was formed this year with the mission of educating Missouri about the Sunshine Law. Members of the coalition believe in a form of government that operates in a free and open environment with access to information and is working to make sure the citizens of our state can get such information in a simple way.

More here.

Release of CIA torture report delayed

The ACLU is challenging the delayed release of the CIA's 2004 inspector-general report, The Washington Independent reported. The 200-page report, which is supposed to be declassified as part of an FOIA lawsuit agreement, will not be released before Aug. 31, according to the Justice Department. The ACLU says that the CIA and Justice Department have missed three deadlines already for the disclosure during the five months they've had to review the report.

Word’s coming now that the Obama administration is seeking to withhold the CIA’s 2004 inspector-general report on the implementation of its former “enhanced interrogation regime” until August 31. The ACLU, which had an agreement with the administration to declassify the report as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, is going to challenge the administration’s efforts. More soon.

Update: Just got a hold of the court documents. Check them out after the jump.

The Justice Department argues that the volume of material it needs to go through in the CIA’s 2004 inspector general report is just too great to meet any pre-August 31 timetable. Not only is the IG report itself 200 pages, that’s just one of 319 documents under review as part of the case.

More here.

N.C. lobbyists argue against creating an open government unit

The North Carolina House Finance Committee heard arguments on a bill that would create an open government unit with the Department of Justice, the AP reported. The department would issue advisory opinions and provide mediation services. However, Paul Meyer with the North Carolina League of Municipalities says the unit could slow down information access because the more than 1,500 state and local government agencies would feel forced to ask the open government unit for an opinion rather than their own attorneys.

City and county lobbyists argued Wednesday that a proposal to create a new state office to handle open government disputes and a change in how legal fees are awarded could delay further the release of documents.

The "Open Government Unit" with the Department of Justice would issue advisory opinions about public records questions and attempt to work out public records and open meeting issues without going to court.

The bill, heard but not voted on by the House Finance Committee, also attempts to make it easier for news media outlets and individuals suing in public records lawsuits to collect attorney fees if the documents are released.

More here.

First Amendment Foundation pleased with vetoes

The First Amendment Foundation is pleased with Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's two vetoes, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press reported. The group had opposed the first bill, which would have kept sealed any "proprietary business information" the Department of Management received from a telecommunications company. The second bill, for which the organization recommended a veto, would have exempted "information identifying a donor or prospective donor to a publicly owned building."

Florida Governor Charlie Crist last week barred two new exemptions from being added to the state's public records law when he vetoed a pair of bills approved by state lawmakers.

The first would have shielded from public disclosure any "proprietary business information" the Department of Management received from a telecommunications or broadband company. According to The Associated Press, Crist found the term "proprietary business information" too broad to define an exemption, but he encouraged lawmakers to rewrite the bill next year.

The First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee opposed the bill and tried to get it narrowed during the legislative session. But the group did not recommend the governor veto the measure.

More here.

Mainstream media led expensive fight

Lucy Dalglish outlined the accomplishments of the mainstream media for the past 50 years and the threats to open records laws in an address to the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies,the Columbia Journalism Review reported. "I'd give anything to once again have a big bad-ass Knight-Ridder Washington Bureau out there doing what it takes to find out what really happened when we went to war in Iraq," she said. "They were far ahead of the game. And they launched a federal FOIA battle early on in the war on terror to find out how we've been treating out wounded veterans."

Last week, Lucy Dalglish, the executive director of the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press, gave a disquieting address to the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies focusing on the danger to our open records and access laws as regional newspapers and other media organizations pare their legal budgets.

In the address, Dalglish outlined major advances in open government and press freedom achieved in the last 50 years: the Freedom of Information Act, open courts, case law preventing prior restraint and spurious libel claims, shield laws and whistleblower protections, countless state and local statutes that require open records and meetings.

And how does Dalglish say America won those fights?

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Full text of speech here.