Idaho organization launches salary database

The Idaho Freedom Foundation created a database on OurIdaho.com in which people can search for the names and salaries of government employees, KTVB.com reported. The IFF obtained the data via FOIA requests, and its database contains nearly 40,000 employees.

Want to know how much money your child's teacher makes? How about the police officer who pulled you over last night?

Now you can.

A group that bills itself as a think tank dedicated to limited government has launched a salary database, that allows anyone to look up the names and pay rates for a range of government employees.

More here.

Federal government Web sites promise more transparency

The White House unveiled two Web initiatives to support President Obama's call for a more transparent government, the Washington Post reported. Data.gov will serve as a depository of raw data from various agencies. WhiteHouse.gov will provide an opportunity for citizens to suggest and discuss new open-government policies. The White House Web site will also feature "Innovation Gallery," which will serve as a showcase of government agencies' efforts to be more transparent and include "a timeline to display open-government milestones as they are reached."

On his first full day in office, President Obama issued his first executive order directing federal officials to come up with ideas for making government information more visible and accessible to the public within 120 days.

Today -- the 120th day since the edict -- the White House is rolling out a host of online initiatives intended to foster more dialogue and collaboration between citizens and bureaucrats.

The launch includes the debut of a site called Data.gov, where agencies will post data that can be culled by Web developers to make new Web and cellphone applications. Also starting today, the WhiteHouse.gov homepage will become a repository for citizen suggestions and discussion regarding new open-government policies.

More here.

Maine's budget Web site may exclude employees' names

Maine legislators are considering a bill that would block salary information on individual state, county, municipal, school and university employees from MainOpenGov.org, the AP reported.

A bill before Maine lawmakers would block the names of people listed on a Web site that enables the public to search the state budget by category or employee.

Assistant Senate Majority Leader Lisa Marrache, a Waterville Democrat, is sponsoring a bill that would limit information on the Maine Heritage Policy Center's Web site, MaineOpenGov.org. The Web site won praise by the Maine Freedom of Information Coalition, which promotes open government.

Marrache's bill says salary information relating to an individual state, county, municipal, school, University of Maine System, Maine Community College System or Maine Maritime Academy employee would be confidential. Marrache told the Kennebec Journal she's gotten complaints from several state employees about the Web site.

More here.

Fla. launches state-spending Web sites

The state of Florida launched two new Web sites, which track government-agency spending by contractor name, The News-Press (Fla.) reported. A bill in the Legislature could expand this site to include the spending of local governments and legislative leaders. The next step of this budget tracking tool will include the ability to track every check the state writes.

Gov. Charlie Crist and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink Tuesday unveiled what they described as the next generation of Florida's legendary open-government laws, new Web sites that track state spending.

The sites (flgov.com/sunshinespending and myfloridacfo.com/sunshinespending) track government-agency spending by contractor name."

Government in the sunshine is more important than ever, especially during these challenging economic times," Crist said.

More here.

New FOI blog created by Conn. attorney

Attorney Mark Dumas has created a new blog on Connecticut Freedom of Information and open-government laws. So far, his posts have offered insight on hidden costs associated with FOI requests and provided links to great resources and state coverage of open-government issues.

Visit the Connecticut Freedom of Information Law Blog here.

Still time to submit your vote for most wanted unclassified document

More than 80 suggestions have been received so far by the Center for Democracy and Technology and Open the Government, Nextgov reported. March 9 is the deadline to vote. Look for the results during Sunshine Week, March 15-21.

Also, Recovery.gov is now online and will include a searchable database of stimulus-related spending.

Less than a month after President Obama gave administration officials 120 days to develop a governmentwide transparency directive, watchdogs are compiling a list of the 10 "most wanted" unclassified government documents currently unavailable in an easily accessible format.

ShowUsTheData.org, a project just launched by the Center for Democracy and Technology and Open the Government, has received more than 80 suggestions so far, with financial industry bailout funds and Congressional Research Service reports topping the list. Other popular requests include details on the rationale for and usage of USA PATRIOT Act powers, congressional voting records, and memoranda from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel.

Internet users have until March 9 to vote for the unclassified information or data they most want to see posted or updated. The results will be released during Sunshine Week, March 15-21.

More here.

Fla. legislator introduces budget openness act

Florida Rep. Dorothy Hukill says her proposed "Track Your Taxes -- Florida Budget Openness Act" would be "the strongest of its kind in the nation."

State Representative Dorothy L. Hukill (R-Port Orange) filed legislation to open up government spending to all Floridians. The “Track Your Taxes – Florida Budget Openness Act” will allow citizens to use the Internet to track their state and local tax dollars. This far-reaching legislation will be the strongest of its kind in the nation and reflects Florida’s continued commitment to open government.

The bill, House Bill 971, provides access to every dollar raised and spent by state and local governments through a single searchable website, accessible on www.MyFlorida.com. The website would provide information on the date, source, and purpose of each expenditure and revenue, and would allow citizens to view online any government contract in which taxpayer dollars are spent.

“In these tough economic times, it’s more important than ever for government to be open and accessible to the taxpayers. People need to know that their hard-earned money is being spent wisely,” Hukill said. “By using the Internet to shine a light on government spending, we can ensure that government always remains accountable to the citizens it represents.”

The bill is being sponsored in the Senate by Senator Ronda Storms (R-Valrico).

Vote for your 10 most wanted

The FOIA blog reported that a new Web site is collecting citizens' votes on what government records should be open to the public. The deadline to request a document and vote is March 9.

OpenTheGovernment.org and the Center for Democracy and Technology has launched a website entitled Show Us the Data: The Most Wanted Federal Government Documents, with the help of Sunlight Labs.

This website gives users the opportunity to vote on what what government information should be freely available on line in a usable format, but is not.

More here.

A Wonderful Compendium of FOI Info

The San Francisco Bay Guardian, long one of the nation's best FOI warriors, has produced its annual FOI issue, complete with a GREAT resource list.

It's all available here.

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A Great FOI Idea From Across the Pond...

A charity is testing a website which automates the submitting, tracking, and publishing requests made under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act.

MySociety, which runs sites including elected representative service TheyWorkForYou.com and mass pledge system PledgeBank.com, has built a list of FoI contacts at central government departments and is creating one for local authorities.

A request made through the new site is sent to the appropriate state sector contact from a unique email address, allowing all responses to be tracked and published on the site. "Everything the department sends to that address is tacked on," mySociety director Tom Steinberg said. "The whole communication is all online."

Steinberg said so far only one organisation – Parliament – has refused to reply to a request made through the system: "They said, we can't send you this information as you are going to put it on the internet."

More here.