Betsy Russell Wins 2010 Max Dalton Open Government Award

Betsy Russell, a Boise reporter for the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, won the 2010 Max Dalton Open Government Award from the Idaho Newspaper Foundation. Russell has been president of the Idaho Press Club and chair of the Idahoans for Openness in Government since 2004. She also serves on the Idaho Supreme Court's Media/Courts Committee. Russell has worked to strengthen the state's open meeting and public records laws.

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Idaho Wolf Hunters Protected at Expense of Public Records Law

Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter signed a law on April 8 that removes state-issued hunting permits, licenses and tags from the public record and that makes it illegal to "harass, intimidate or threaten" hunters via telephone, e-mail or website postings. The move of creating a public records exemption for a specific, small group sets a dangerous precedent and threatens to chisel away at transparency laws to where they become obsolete.

The Idaho law was prompted by the records request of a local activist who then posted the names of wolf hunters on a website.

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Fear and Speculation Spur Proposals to Limit Transparency

The Spokesman-Review opines the Idaho Legislature is working with the wrong presumption with respect to proposed laws aimed at creating additional public records exemptions.

Senate Bill 1346 would block the nutrient management plans for concentrated animal feeding operations, the feedlots where cattle are fattened before slaughter. The Idaho Cattle Association argues state inspection reports could contain trade secrets and other proprietary information.

House Bill 531 would keep secret the names of those receiving hunting and fishing licenses for fear that such information could be used to harass the license-holders.

As The Spokesman-Review argues, "Gutting public records law ought to be the last resort, not the first. These bills have it backward."

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Idaho Committee Approves Removing Hunting and Fishing License Records from Public View

The Idaho House Resources and Conservation Committee approved a measure that would make hunting and fishing licensing records private, although if an individual provided written consent, his or her information would be public. Proponents say it would protect hunters and fishers from harassment.

Open government advocates oppose the measure, suggesting it would be better public policy to go after harassers, not shutting down whole categories of public records.

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Idaho Bill Would Remove Personal Information of Law Enforcement Officials from Public Record

Idaho law enforcement officials support legislation that would remove personal information, such as home addresses and phone numbers, from the public record. Proponents say the measure is designed to promote the safety of law enforcement. The Idaho Press Club opposes the bill as it does goes against the presumption of openness in government.

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Idaho House Committee Considers Hunter Identity Protection Bill

Idaho's House Resources and Conservation Committee is considering a bill to protect the identity of wolf hunters who kill a wolf in the state.

IdahoReporter.com says the issue arose after wolves were de-listed under the Endangered Species Act. During a wolf hunt, anyone who killed a wolf was required to report it to the state's Department of Fish and Game in order to keep an accurate quota measurement. The kill reports were obtained by public records requests, and the names of the hunters were posted on the Internet.

For more on why critics say the privacy bill is a violation of freedom of speech and information, click here.

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.

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NFOIC awards new grants to state coalitions

For immediate release

CONTACT:
Charles N. Davis
Executive Director, National Freedom of Information Coalition
daviscn@missouri.edu
573.882.5736
http://nfoic.org/

Columbia, MO -- The National Freedom of Information Coalition awarded new grants at its December board meeting in Columbia, Missouri, and it's an impressive list of worthwhile activities and projects that will be funded.

Meeting for the first time at the brand new Reynold Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism in December of 2008, the NFOIC board awarded eight grants to eight coalitions for a total of $69,820 in this the first of two grant award periods....

Full release here:

https://www.nfoic.org/nfoic-awards-new-grants

Idaho Citizen Wins FOI Award

Curtis Massood, owner of Canyon Outdoor Media, has been named the winner of the 2008 Max Dalton Open Government Award sponsored by the Idaho Newspaper Foundation.

Massood earned the award and an accompanying cash prize of $2,000 for his successful lawsuit against Ada County in which a judge said the county's e-mail storage system made it inaccessible for the average citizen. Massood has donated the prize to The Shepherd's Home, a children's group shelter in McCall.

The Max Dalton Open Government Award has been given each year since 1999 to a citizen or group judged to be an outspoken advocate of openness in either public records or public meetings on the state or local level.

More here.