Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Faces Pressure to Open Up

The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA), a 114-year old institution that sanctions high school athletics and runs post-season state championship tournaments, is coming under pressure to open up and abide by state open government laws.

A proposed law is moving through the state Assembly that would prohibit school districts from belonging to an interscholastic athletic association unless the association abides by state open records and meetings laws. The measure would force the WIAA to either grant access or lose members.

The WIAA maintains it is a private organization and not subject to state open records laws.

For more on the dispute between the WIAA and a local judge and longtime track official that lead to the proposed legislation, click here.

Open Records Advocates Seek to Remove Exemptions to FOIA

Tom Curley, president and chief executive of The Associated Press, testified on behalf of the Sunshine in Government Initiative at a hearing regarding the Office of Government Information Services.  He noted there is still a "secrecy reflex" in place at many federal agencies, despite the Obama's new standards for government openness.   

Curley cited more than 240 statutes that agencies may use for denying FOIA requests.

Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) have introduced legislation in the Senate that would require any such exemptions to be clearly stated, rather than be buried in the legislation.  The legislation has passed the Senate twice but has not yet been considered by the House.

Get more information here.  Read Curley's testimony here.

Nev. legislators urged to conduct business in public

The Nevada Legislature is exempt from state open meetings laws, but the Nevada Freedom of Information Coalition is hoping legislators will transcend the law in favor of transparency, San Jose Mercury News reported. The group is asking lawmakers to sign a pledge committing themselves to stronger open government laws and will post who does and does not sign the agreement.

An open government group on Thursday urged legislators to support greater transparency in government and to conduct more state business in public.

Nevada Freedom of Information Coalition president Thomas Mitchell said the group is asking state lawmakers to sign a pledge committing themselves to supporting stronger open meeting and public information laws, and to encouraging better online access to legislative votes and data on state spending.

"This is the public's right to know. If you're going to be citizen, if you're going to vote, if you're going to be involved, you need to know what's going on." Mitchell, the editor of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, said at a news conference. "Otherwise, we're left in the dark, we're left to guess, we're left to rely on leaks."

More here.

How do you define transparency?

The following essay from GovernmentExecutive.com provides an interesting look at what federal agencies really think about transparency. The story refers to a survey in which 90 percent of 452 federal managers "viewed transparency as providing facts and figures on project results and findings," not necessarily providing the supporting data and documents behind results. Only 26 percent considered providing meeting minutes in their definition of transparency.

When President Obama issued his Day One memos instructing members of his administration to operate under principles of openness to spur citizen engagement, government watchdogs cheered. They hailed the call - a nod to his campaign promise to make government more transparent - as unprecedented and said it was a welcome change from the past eight years.

But in the weeks since Obama's pledge that transparency would be a touchstone of his presidency, policy watchers have turned their attention to the details. What exactly is government transparency? How is it interpreted by those inside government who need to execute it? How will it be measured? What will it look like to the public?

Those questions are hard to answer, and the responses depend largely on who you are. Academics and good government advocates believe agencies should provide their raw data and internal evaluations of policies so the public can dig into the information to find answers to their own questions. Others believe agencies must impose order to the data so the public can easily draw conclusions. Still others believe the Obama administration should choose to show the results of programs and initiatives, and not provide the supporting data, documents or internal discussions on the thinking behind their decisions or what led to a particular outcome.

More here.

Holder, Obama memos look promising

The Dallas Morning News column on watchdog journalism focuses on how memos released by President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder promise more government transparency than America has seen in the past eight years.

When it comes to accessing records held by federal agencies, the rules have changed.

After eight years of secrecy under the Bush presidency, the new administration promises greater transparency. The first wave of openness came in memos released by President Barack Obama on his second day in office.

The instructions on how federal agencies should apply the Freedom of Information Act came late last week when Attorney General Eric Holder released his FOIA memorandum. It rescinds the one in 2001 that told agencies the administration would support withholding of information.

More here.

Presumption of openness bill headed to S.D. governor

From the AP:

A bill creating an open-records law that presumes government documents in South Dakota are public unless there's a good reason for secrecy is headed to the governor.

The state Senate voted 27-0 on Wednesday to accept changes to SB147, a presumption of opennness bill. Supporters say the bill strikes a balance between opening public records and protecting the private information that some agencies hold about people.

More here.

More calls for Illinois governor to overhaul state FOIA

Attorney General Lisa Madigan is the latest open-government advocate to ask for an overhaul of Illinois' FOIA, The Chicago Tribune reported. She suggests that the public access counselor be able to make binding, rather than advisory, decisions when citizens approach Madigan's office for assistance in obtaining records. David Bennett, executive director of the Illinois Press Association, told the paper that the state's FOIA "is not worth the cost of building a fire to burn it."

Atty. General Lisa Madigan today called for an overhaul of the state's Freedom of Information Act, saying the climate of secrecy and corruption that permeated former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration had laid bare weaknesses in current law.

Now in her seventh year in office and considering a run for governor, Madigan called for knocking down barriers that local and state officials reflexively use to refuse routine requests from journalists and other citizens basic public records.

She also proposed giving the public access counselor in her office the ability to make a binding, rather than advisory, decision when citizens go to the attorney general for help in wresting information from reluctant government officials.

More here.

Time to cure Ill. 'culture of corruption'

The pressure's on new Illinois Gov. Patrick Quinn to act quickly in supporting and enforcing the state's FOIA, the Associated Press reported.

Gov. Patrick Quinn's reform commission has urged him to take immediate action to make Illinois government more open and transparent.

"Transparency in government is fundamental to curing the culture of corruption in Illinois government," chairman Patrick Collins said Wednesday in a letter to Quinn.

The commission's report isn't due until April, but Collins says it's important for Quinn to act now because its "preliminary findings give us serious concerns."

More here.

AG urges new Ill. gov. to review previous FOIA denials

Attorney General Lisa Madigan has asked Gov. Pat Quinn to issue an executive order promoting compliance with the state's Freedom of Information Act. Her requests also include the creation of a point person on open meetings and records issues in each state agency and mandatory training for those individuals by her office. She also asked for a review of all open records denials made by the Blagojevich's administration since January 2003.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich's removal from office signals a new direction for how open records issues are handled in state government.

But will it be more cooperation or antagonism? Attorney General Lisa Madigan wants new Gov. Pat Quinn to set a tone of openness right away.

Madigan sent Quinn a letter on his first day in office urging him to issue an executive order making open records access a priority. He should appoint special staffers to oversee records requests and review scores of denials by the Blagojevich administration to see if violations occurred, Madigan said.

More here.

Bill to strengthen Del. FOIA put on hold

A bill to include the Delaware General Assembly and all meetings (except party caucuses) in the FOIA won't be "worked" until March 19, according to its sponsor, House Speaker Bob Gilligan. He hopes to prevent any surprising amendments.

Proponents for open government will have to wait a little longer before members of the House vote on legislation that would open up the General Assembly.

The bill would remove the General Assembly's exemption from the Freedom of Information Act, and open all meetings except party caucuses.

House Speaker Bob Gilligan sponsored the legislation, and says he doesn't want any amendments to the bill to catch anyone off-guard.

More here.

Ore. professor becomes next citizen asking states to follow Obama's lead

University of Oregon economics professor Bill Harbaugh called for Oregon Attorney General John Kroger to specify how long state officials have to respond to public records requests. Most states have a five-day standard but Oregon law doesn't mention a deadline.

Oregon Attorney General John Kroger is being urged to change the way state agencies respond to public information requests.

University of Oregon economics professor Bill Harbaugh says the state's public records laws are "horrible," but can be fixed immediately.

In an op-ed published Friday on the left-leaning blog Blue Oregon, Harbaugh said just as U.S. President Barack Obama overhauled the federal Freedom of Information Act, Oregon's attorney general can similarly ease access to the state's public documents.

More here.

Congrats to Indiana Coalition for Open Government

The Indiana Coalition for Open Government received the Frank O'Bannon Sunshine Award for its efforts, which have included publishing guidebooks, sponsoring conferences and studying the effectiveness of the state's public access counselor's office.

A citizen group that advocates for open government was honored Thursday for its efforts by Indiana's largest newspaper industry group.

The Indiana Coalition for Open Government received the Frank O'Bannon Sunshine Award during the Hoosier State Press Association's annual meeting and government conference.

Bill Nangle, executive editor of The Times of Munster, lauded ICOG's efforts for the public's right to know when nominating the nonprofit organization for the honor.

More here.

Fla. commission lays out wish list for open government improvements

Florida's Commission on Open Government Reform released its 2009 report, which both assesses and offers recommendations on Sunshine Law issues, such as exemptions, fees, the impact of information technology, fiscal transparency, compliance and training.

More here.

'Secrecy is for losers'

Newsweek's Jonathan Alter looks back at the history of White House secrecy as openness morphs from "geeky" to "hip." He calls for a mandate that all of the government's private sector contracts be made public, which he says will lead to competitors racing to "convince the government they can do the same things cheaper."

For a long time now, there's been too much secrecy in this city." Those were the most important words President Obama spoke on his first full day in office. Obama then signed executive orders to shift the balance back toward openness in government. At least in theory, the burden of proof will move from those who would release information to those who would classify it. It's significant Obama led off this way. He went right after not just George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, but an eternal bureaucratic impulse. Will Obama's emphasis on discipline and control eventually lead him to share that impulse? We'll see.

Thomas Jefferson argued that "information is the currency of democracy," and for generations peacetime America respected the principle. Believing, as Secretary of State Henry Stimson did, that "gentlemen don't read other gentlemen's mail," the nation chose not to even have an intelligence service until World War II. Then came the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 and the National Security Act of 1947, which essentially said that a certain constantly expanding category of information was "born classified." That means no formal process for assessing if something should be secret or not—just an officious bureaucrat with a big stamp.

More here.

More thoughts on Obama's orders for more openness

Ellen Miller, director of the Sunlight Foundation, told the Washington Post that "public information" should mean government data that is available online and easy to download. Miller suggested that agencies take stock of what information they maintain and how the data are distributed. What was slightly disconcerting to Miller was that Obama's memos and executive orders were not posted to the White House Web site by late Wednesday afternoon.

More of the Washington Post story here.

For additional coverage, see:

• Obama promises a more openness, Chicago Sun-Times: "Hot damn! This is astondishing. And wonderful," said Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. "You know there's a new sheriff in town."
• Obama orders could open records, Washington Post: Obama's new stance on open records could mean the disclosure of records that have been off limits to the public and reporters, such as details on toxic chemical spills and the drugs administered to Guantanamo Bay prisoners. However, Obama's memos don't discuss the labeling of documents as "controlled unclassified information."
• On day one, Obama overturns era of White House secrecy, Editor & Publisher: Rick Blum, coordinator of the Sunshine in Government Initiative said: “Yesterday’s policy of 'When in doubt, leave it out,' today became, 'When it doubt, let it out.' And this policy will help keep the public informed in our technology-driven, connected society. On open government, the dawn is breaking."
• President Obama's open government imperatives must trickle down to cities, MediaShift Idea Lab: Blogger Daniel X. O'Neil wrote: "To the mayors of every city in the United States, the message is clear: Nearly 67,000,000 people voted for Barack Obama on Election Day. Many of them are voting in your city, too. More than a million people went outside in Washington, DC to hear and see this President get inaugurated. Today, hundreds of thousands of them returned home to your cities, your neighborhoods, your tax bases. There's no reason to expect less of you than we've gotten from our President. Change is coming."
• Opening government on day one, The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: "That this message was issued on Day One is a huge step toward opening access to the federal government. And it is crucial that this message came from the very top. However, the public will need to be no less diligent in utilizing the laws to request information and continuing to hold this new administration accountable just as any other."

What a bright Day One for open government!

"In the face of doubt, openness prevails," Obama wrote in a memo to the heads of executive departments and agencies concerning the FOIA. His bold Day One move to reinforce his promise to replace the atmosphere of secrecy with one of transparency made headlines across the country.

To download the memo, click here.

Read more on the Collaboration of Government Secrecy Web site here.

The Associated Press story is below:

In an attempt to deliver on pledges of a transparent government, Obama said he would change the way the federal government interprets the Freedom of Information Act. He said he was directing agencies that vet requests for information to err on the side of making information public — not to look for reasons to legally withhold it — an alteration to the traditional standard of evaluation.

Just because a government agency has the legal power to keep information private does not mean that it should, Obama said. Reporters and public-interest groups often make use of the law to explore how and why government decisions were made; they are often stymied as agencies claim legal exemptions to the law.

"For a long time now, there's been too much secrecy in this city," Obama said.

He said the orders he was issuing Wednesday will not "make government as honest and transparent as it needs to be" nor go as far as he would like.

"But these historic measures do mark the beginning of a new era of openness in our country," Obama said. "And I will, I hope, do something to make government trustworthy in the eyes of the American people, in the days and weeks, months and years to come."

More here.

Man Bites Dog...

An elected official demands more openness...

Citing serious concerns about the “extreme secrecy” surrounding the Transportation Corridor Agency (TCA) participation in a key federal interagency committee (formally known as the South Orange County Transportation Infrastructure Improvement Project – SOCTIIP – Collaborative), Lt. Governor John Garamendi sent a strongly worded letter to Jane Luxton, general counsel at the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration requesting a more open, public process.

One of the main functions of the federal committee is to coordinate federal agency evaluation of alternatives to the Toll Road proposed to go through the Donna O’Neill Conservancy and San Onofre State Beach Park. As such, this important committee is in a position to determine whether or not new information regarding alternative is objectively considered.

In this June 11, 2008, letter, Lt. Gov. Garamendi stated, “My concern is that these deliberations, so critical to your [NOAA and the Dept. of Commerce’s] final analysis, are being finalized in an environment where ONLY the project applicant examines, presents, evaluates and comments upon evidence. There is no opportunity for the public to participate in or even witness discussions and deliberations.” “TCA is not a collaborative member, but an observer. The structure of the SOCTIIP Collaborative has created an untenable situation: a project proponent with interests that are potentially adverse to the public or in contravention of law, is provided exclusive permission to communicate freely with federal regulators sheltered from public scrutiny. This set up frustrates the purpose of open government and public records law,” added Lt. Gov. Garamendi.

More here.