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.

Open-government advocates oppose Illinois FOIA rewrite bill

The current Illinois FOIA is weak but better than the revised bill, open-government advocates told The State-Journal Register. They initially supported revisions drawn up by Attorney General Lisa Madigan, but changes last week, supposedly made by staff for the House speaker and Senate president, were met with opposition. Included in the changes: "a blanket prohibition on releasing home addresses and license plate numbers" and "allowing public officials to satisfy FOIA requests with paper records, and charging for each page, rather than providing information in electronic format."

Open-government advocates say Illinois would be better off with an existing but flawed Freedom of Information Act than with a revised law released by House Democrats late Tuesday, just one minute before midnight and less than two weeks before the General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn.

Rather than making records more accessible, officials with the Illinois Press Association say the provisions put forth by legislative leaders would make it easier for government officials to delay and ultimately keep some records secret.

“This would just open up a whole new range of litigation,” said Beth Bennett, IPA director of government relations.

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Revised gun bill passes Ark. Senate

The Arkansas Senate passed a bill that was revised to keep the names and zip codes of concealed handgun permit-holders public while exempting all other permit information from FOIA, the Arkansas News reported. The original bill sought to exempt all permit information, but the sponsor of the bill agreed to a compromise with the Arkansas Press Association.

Legislation that would keep the names and zip codes of the holders of concealed handgun permits public but exempt other information from the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act received Senate approval Monday.

“This bill does very little,” Sen. Jerry Taylor, D-Pine Bluff, said while presenting House Bill 1623 in the Senate. The measure, which passed 34-0, now goes to the House for concurrence on an amendment.

The House, meanwhile, approved a bill that would give certain inmates serving life sentences more opportunities to apply for a pardon or commutation.

More here.

Newspaper challenges denial of payroll records

The Times Union requested payroll information subject to New York's Freedom of Information Law; however, the state argues that the requested data cannot be released without creating a new file that does not contain birth dates, social security numbers, phone numbers and addresses.

The Times Union sued state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli Wednesday, challenging his refusal to release state payroll data under a public information request.

Attorneys for Hearst Corp., the newspaper's parent company, filed the suit in state Supreme Court in Albany, requesting the data, as well as costs and attorney fees.

In court papers, the newspaper questioned the comptroller's refusal to release payroll information sought earlier this year by J. Robert Port, the Times Union's senior editor for investigations. Port filed a request under the state's Freedom of Information Law, seeking an electronic copy of payroll tables.

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Michigan Supreme Court Closes Employee Info

The home phone numbers and addresses of University of Michigan employees are not public information, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in a decision released Wednesday.

The court overturned the 2007 decision of an appeals court, which said the information was public barring "truly exceptional circumstances."

A five-justice majority of the Supreme Court found that the information doesn't have to be disseminated under the state's Freedom of Information Act. They said it meets the two-pronged legal test of being information of a personal nature, and its disclosure would be an invasion of the employees' privacy.

Where a person lives and how that person may be contacted, the justices wrote, "offers private and even confidential details about that person's life."

In reaching the decision, the justices said they were revising the prior legal definition of information considered to be of a personal nature. In addition to details of an embarrassing or intimate nature, the justices expanded the definition to include information that is private or confidential.

Releasing the employees' home phone numbers and home addresses also wouldn't shed any light on whether the university is functioning properly, the justices ruled.
"We're delighted, absolutely delighted the court recognized the importance of the privacy interests that our employees have in their home phone numbers and addresses," said U-M spokeswoman Kelly Cunningham.

More here.