Two members of the Commission on Open Government — the head of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Hillsborough County attorney — vigorously oppose the panel's plan for ending stiff charges for providing copies of public records to citizens.More here.But the head of the First Amendment Foundation, who chairs the nine-member panel that Gov. Charlie Crist created to review exemptions to Florida's "sunshine" statutes, said government agencies had ample opportunity to object to draft proposals set for final consideration next week. She said the Legislature must prevent "exorbitant" charges that can run into hundreds of thousands of dollars for providing public information.
FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey and Renee Francis Lee, the county attorney in Tampa, wrote to JoAnn Carrin, director of the commission and head of Crist's office of open government, saying the cost of extensive record searches would be a hardship for already hard-pressed state, city and county governments. Bailey also said the open-government commission, on which he and Lee serve, did not take enough testimony from government agencies on the issue.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Fla. commission debates fees for records requests
Autopsy records are public in Pa.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that autopsy records must be made available to the public despite privacy concerns. Judges, however, can withhold records based on "discretion and necessity."
More here.The state Supreme Court ruled today that autopsy reports are public records.
In a 5-1 decision, the state's top court overturned a lower court ruling and wrote that under the state's Coroner's Act autopsy reports should be considered "official records and papers" and made available to the public.
The case stemmed from two newspapers, The Morning Call and Express-Times, who sued after Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim refused to provide a copy of an autopsy report of a police officer who had been shot and killed.
A look at Bush's FOIA record
Is it possible to prove how much the Bush administration impeded the Freedom of Information Act? Put another way: just how hostile was it?More here.Pretty darn hostile, a quick-and-dirty Suits & Sentences review shows. Consider: the Defense Department completely granted 61 percent of FOIA requests in Fiscal 1998. In Fiscal 2007, the Defense Department completely granted only 48 percent of FOIA requests. And the Pentagon wasn't alone. The Interior Department fully granted 64 percent of FOIA requests in 1998 but only 47 percent in 2007.
The invaluable annual FOIA reports filed by federal agencies provide the numbers. Let's take a second, in honor of President Obama's newly declared commitment to FOIA, to delve a little deeper.
Act would require drug manufacturers to disclose payments
Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Herb Kohl (D-WI) reintroduced their Physician Payments Sunshine Act, which would require that manufacturers and group purchasing organizations disclose all payments or transfers of value to physicians worth $100 or more.More here.
The revised bill includes language mandating disclosure of physician investments in and ownership of manufacturers, and it has sharper teeth. Manufacturers or group purchasing organizations that fail to report payments can be fined between $1,000 and $10,000 per infraction, up to a total fine of $150,000 per company per year, where failure to report is deemed an oversight. For “knowing failure to report,” the ceiling on total fines goes up to $1 million per company.
Beware Indiana government employees: Violating FOI may cost you
A Statehouse proposal could impose fines of up to $1,000 on government agencies -- or their individual employees -- that blatantly violate Indiana's public access laws.More here.
A Senate committee could vote next week on the legislation, which supporters say would put much-needed teeth into Indiana's open door law and public records rules.
The bill would allow judges to fine public agencies or agency workers who intentionally violate open meeting rules or public records laws, which are used by citizens and the media to obtain many government documents. An agency could pay for the fines from its budget, while a fine on an employee would come from the worker's wallet.
Friday, January 23, 2009
County loses lawsuit after destroying public records
Lincoln County will cover more than $7,000 in attorney's fees following a case in which former and current county commissioners admitted to destroying public documents.More here.Joann Hager, founder of Tri-County Animal Rescue, filed a lawsuit against the county when requests she made for documents were ignored for more than a year. Despite her victory, the outcome is not a total win-win, Hager said.
"That's my tax dollars being spent too," Hager said. "It was worth it if they change their procedures and public policies."
Since when did state open records laws not apply to county officials?
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday passed a resolution to try to force other county officials to go through an internal request for county records instead of using the state public-records law.More here.
The move was in response to what the supervisors call "excessive" requests for information from the County Attorney's and Sheriff's offices, which the county claims are overly costly.
But the County Attorney's Office claims that the new policy is a way to skirt the state's public-records law.
Hawaii-based federal fishery council refuses to comply with FOIA
A lawsuit seeking basic government documents has been filed in Federal District Court against the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WESPAC), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) by the Conservation Council for Hawaii, KAHEA The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance (KAHEA), and the LOST FISH Coalition (collectively referred to as "plaintiffs").More here.The lawsuit was filed to gain access to documents requested by the plaintiffs in a November 14, 2007, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted to WESPAC seeking basic budget, grant, and contract information. Tina Owens from the LOST FISH Coalition said, "In addition to shedding light on the long-hidden and most basic internal operations of this controversial federal entity, the documents may also shed light on how WESPAC funds may have been used in what appears to be various lobbying campaigns to influence state and federal legislative and executive branch decisions related to marine conservation in Western Pacific waters."
Miwa Tamanaha, KAHEA Executive Director noted, "Wise, sound, community-based management requires accountability and transparency. If there is nothing improper, then there should be nothing to hide. With the situation of our ocean resources so imperiled, it is ridiculous that citizen groups should have go to these lengths to get basic information about use of our public dollars."
FBI kept files on George Carlin, FOIA shows
While countless comedy fans spent the 1960s and ’70s poring over the rebellious routines of George Carlin, above, so too did J. Edgar Hoover, according to F.B.I. records released by the comedian’s family and reported by The Associated Press. Among the documents Carlin obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request before his death in June was an F.B.I. memo that noted his 1969 appearance on “The Jackie Gleason Show,” when he lampooned Hoover and the F.B.I. “His treatment was in very poor taste and it was obvious that he was using the prestige of the bureau and Mr. Hoover to enhance his performance,” the memo said, according to The A.P. The F.B.I. previously told The A.P. that it had no file on Carlin; an F.B.I. spokeswoman told The A.P. that she was looking into the apparent contradiction.More here.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
FOIA request reveals Rodriguez cost Michigan $6.6 million
Rich Rodriguez wasn't paid $6.6 million to coach the University of Michigan's football team last year, but that's how much he cost the school.A Freedom of Information Act request by the Ann Arbor News revealed Michigan paid $4.1 million to cover part of Rodriguez's buyout and related taxes from his contract at West Virginia.
Rodriguez's salary and other compensation amounted to an additional $2.5 million. To give that $6.6 million figure perspective, the News noted that school president Mary Sue Coleman earns $553,500 annually and athletic director Bill Martin gets $380,368.
More here.
Delaware legislators may soon be subject to FOIA
A bill that would make the workings of the Delaware General Assembly more transparent to the public has cleared a House committee.More here.
The bill, which subjects the legislature to the Freedom of Information Act, was released by the House administration committee on Wednesday. But lawmakers say amendments are likely, including one to prohibit public access to legislators' e-mails.
House Speaker Robert Gilligan said he hopes the bill will go to the House floor next week.
But it may have to clear the appropriations committee first because the legislature's controller general says at least one full-time staffer, at a cost of more than $61,000 a year, would be needed to handle FOIA requests.
Bill calls for Iowa Web site that tracks tax money
The state of Iowa would have to launch a searchable Web site available to the public to catalog how tax dollars are spent under a bill proposed Wednesday in the Iowa Legislature.More here.
Republican supporters in both houses of the Legislature said during a news conference at the Statehouse that such a Web site would allow for greater transparency in state government by turning all of Iowa’s citizens into budget watchdogs.
They likened keeping track of taxpayer dollars in Iowa to searching through a maze, but they said the proposed Web site would streamline the process.
South Dakota legislators must reveal identity to get records
The excuses for demanding to know which legislator is asking questions? Well, for one, the governor claims this allows the staff to tailor the information provided to different lawmakers, adding more background for new legislators. He's also worried that useless requests will rob his staff of valuable time.
When state Sen. Gene Abdallah wanted to know how many aircraft the state owns, he figured it would be easy to get the information.More here.
So last month, the Sioux Falls Republican made a request through the Legislative Research Council - the state's research arm for lawmakers.
The LRC had a list of aircraft, but to get details about those planes - their conditions and estimated values - a researcher had to ask officials in Gov. Rounds' administration.
More thoughts on Obama's orders for more openness
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!
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.
More here.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."
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
New bill calls for more transparency, public notice in Missouri
The bill would:
- Tighten the guidelines for when public meetings may be closed for potential litigation discussions.
- Require public comment periods and five business days notice (instead of 24 hours) for government bodies to meet on certain issues.
- Force governmental bodies to provide electronic versions of public records that are maintained electronically, which could eliminate copying costs for those requesting records.
- Provide more openness concerning proceedings of the Missouri Ethics Commission.
Some state lawmakers are seeking to strengthen Missouri's open-government law by giving the public more advanced notice of meetings on hot-button local issues such as taxes, zoning and eminent domain.More here.The legislation also would make public more of the workings of the Missouri Ethics Commission, which receives and reviews campaign finance complaints against politicians.
Those involved in defending and promoting Missouri's Sunshine Law said the legislation hits many of the areas that are causing problems. However, it stops short of the broader overhaul they argue is necessary, but probably wouldn't clear the Missouri General Assembly.
If I Am Dreaming, PLease Don't Wake Me...
United States President Barack Obama announced today that his administration will roll back the secrecy that has ruled during the Bush Administration and implement a new era of government openness and transparency.
Referring to the Freedom of Information Act as one of the most important tools of oversight the nation possesses, Obama called on all government agencies to err on the side of openness and release information whenever possible, which directly contradicts orders by the previous administration to look for reasons to withhold information whenever possible. Just because you have the legal right to withhold information, doesn't mean you should, Obama said at a White House press conference and staff swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday.
"For a long time now, there's been too much secrecy in this city," he said.
Obama also said that any time the administration feels the need to withhold information about his presidency or a past presidency, it will consult legal counsel to ensure its decision is on solid ground."Information will not be withheld just because I say so," he said. "It will be withheld because a separate authority believes it is well-founded in the Constitution."
More here.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Court rules Cheney must be trusted to turn over records
A federal judge ruled Monday that (now former) Vice President Dick Cheney has broad discretion in determining what records created during his eight-year tenure must be preserved.More here.Absent any evidence that Cheney's office is failing to safeguard records, it is up to the vice president to determine how he deals with material, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled.
"Congress drastically limited the scope of outside inquiries related to the vice president's handling of his own records during his term in office," the judge said in a 63-page opinion.
The Presidential Records Act "provides only narrow areas of oversight," the ruling added.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
$15 a Day Too Low?
The state Supreme Court has ruled that higher penalties are in order for King County in a long-running public records case dating to 1997 and dealing with the $300 million Seahawks football stadium that went successfully to a public vote.
Justice Richard Sanders wrote the majority opinion (click here) today. It was signed by three other justices including Justice Mary Fairhurst, Charles Johnson and James Johnson.
The split decision included a dissent by Justice Susan Owens that was also signed by Justice Barbara Madsen and Justice Pro Tem Karen Seinfield (in place of Justice Debra Stephens). Chief Justice Gerry Alexander also penned a dissent in part. Click here for links to all five opinions released in the case today, including the majority, one dissent, two concurrences and one split concurrence/dissent.
The effect of the ruling is to send the case of Armen Yousoufian vs. the office of King County Executive Ron Sims back to the trial court for imposition of higher fines than the $15 per day previously awarded – on grounds that King County’s four-year violation of disclosure law deserves higher sanctions. (The $15 in daily fine were higher than an initial court finding of $5 per day, but Yousoufian, a businessman, had appealed previously to the Supreme Court, which agreed.)
The fines on appeal amounted to $123,780, so by moving the per-day fines to the middle or upper end of the $5 to $100 per day range allowed under the law for a four-year failure to comply with law could conceivably quadruple the sanctions, if not increase them even more.
More here.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Why All Of This Matters, When You Get Right Down To It
Lasantha Wikramatunga, the Sri Lankan editor who was killed last week, knew it was going to happen and wrote an obituary/editorial before he died. It was published by his newpaper (Sunday Leader) Jan 11.
Read the whole thing, every word, here.
Way to Go, Wyoming!!!!
Members of a newly formed government watchdog group say they're looking forward to pushing for release of public information around Wyoming.
The Wyoming Coalition for Open Government includes the Wyoming Press Association as well as many individual newspapers and other groups. The coalition held a press conference Thursday to introduce itself at the Wyoming state Capitol.
The group announced a "First Amendment Hero" award for Casper lawyer Michael Krampner. He was recognized for advising media on how to gain release of public information.
The group also announced a "Black Hole" award for Cheyenne's Building Department Board of Appeals. The Wyoming Tribune Eagle newspaper has sued the board claiming it violated public meeting laws when it allegedly deliberated behind closed doors about whether to allow demolition of 6 old houses in a city historic district.
More here. And here.Thursday, January 15, 2009
A Column on TARP Argues that it is well, less than transparent
You may agree with that bold statement once you fathom the fine print about TARP and the $700 billion bailout plan, sold to the public as necessary to save the U.S. economy and with it, homes and jobs.
This is a story largely overlooked by the national media, which I monitor not only as director of the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University, but also as an editor for the journalism social network, NewsTrust.net.
That latter activity has provided me with a new outlook on the state of journalism and the economy because I read dozens of newspapers in the course of a week, getting a global perspective on how news events affect us locally.
In a Dec. 22 report titled “Where’d the Bailout Money Go? Shhhh, It’s a Secret,” Matt Apuzzo of The Associated Press investigated 21 banks receiving $1 billion or more each of taxpayer funds, disclosing that bank officers refused to supply any answers.
Banks operating in Iowa also have applied for TARP funds. But as Tribune reporter Zientara learned, even Tom Gronstal, superintendent of the Iowa Division of Banking, would not disclose the identities of those 26 Iowa chartered banks, citing confidentiality rules.
More here.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Metadata Not Public, AZ Judge Rules
The three-judge Court of Appeals panel's majority opinion rejected a dissenting judge's argument that a Phoenix police officer was entitled to "metadata" for notes written by a supervisor of the officer.
Metadata is data embedded in documents to track authors, when something was saved and what changes were made. Metadata isn't visible when a document is printed on paper nor does it appear on screen in normal settings.
The officer, David Lake, said he wanted the notes' metadata to see if the supervisor had backdated the notes to prior to Lake being demoted.
More here.
Federal Judge to Bush Admin: Let's Search for E-Mail
With Bush administration White House aides on their way out the door in coming days, a federal judge this morning ordered the president's executive office to undertake a comprehensive search for millions of senior appointees' e-mails that have been inaccessible and possibly missing since 2005.
The order reflects a continuing effort by outside groups to ensure that the White House transfers historically significant materials to the National Archives on or before next Tuesday, as required by federal law. District Court Judge Henry H. Kennedy Jr. demanded that officials search computer workstations, preserve thumb drives and examine e-mail archives created or retained by White House employees from 2003 to 2005, the period in which a records gap exists.
More here.
An update: the administration now says it has found the missing e-mails, albeit at a cost of $10 million.Medical Glitches at VA Hospitals ID'd by FOIA
Computer software glitches have exposed some patients at Veterans Affairs health centers to medical errors, including some in Wisconsin.
Documents obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act say patients were given incorrect doses of drugs, had treatments delayed and sometimes were given prolonged infusions of drugs such as heparin, which can be life-threatening in excessive doses.
There's no evidence any patients were harmed. But, the issue is more pressing as the federal government begins promoting universal use of electronic medical records.
Nearly one-third of the VA's 153 medical centers reported seeing some kind of glitch, although the VA said that number could be higher since some facilities may not have filed reports.
More here. And here.Tuesday, January 13, 2009
AP Appeals Lindh FOI Case
A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month rejected the news organization's request for any commutation petitions filed by Lindh, who is serving 20 years in prison for helping terrorists. The court agreed with a lower court that Lindh's privacy interests outweigh any public interest served by releasing the information.
The AP asked that the original panel reconsider its finding or that the full appeals court hear its Freedom of Information Act request. It said the petition was "a firsthand account of government actions and a critique of their fairness, the release of which would illuminate past government conduct."
Clinton Intervened on Behalf of Foundation
The overlap of names on former President Bill Clinton's foundation donor list and business interests whose issues she championed raises new questions about potential ethics conflicts between her official actions and her husband's fundraising. The AP obtained three of the senator's government letters under the Freedom of Information Act.
Clinton was to begin her confirmation hearing Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Under an agreement with President-elect Barack Obama, Bill Clinton recently released the names of donors to his foundation, a nonprofit that has raised at least $492 million — including millions from foreign governments — to fund his library in Little Rock, Ark., and charitable efforts worldwide on such issues as AIDS, poverty and climate change.
The letters and donations involve pharmaceutical companies and telecommunications and energy interests. An aide to the senator said she made no secret of her involvement in many of the issues. Bill Clinton's foundation declined to say when it received the donations or precisely how much was contributed.
Interesting Piece on Presidential Blackberry Devices...
The problem of how to classify electronic messages has broader ramifications. Private firms sued in civil actions must produce relevant documents--including records of emails and text messages--while they do not have to produce transcripts of face-to-face and telephone conversations, for the simple reason that the latter leave no record. But at least in the civil litigation context, the law in principle treats these categories the same. Absent a valid privilege, if asked about a relevant conversation that produced no permanent record, a party or party's agent must divulge the substance of that conversation, at least to the best of his ability to remember. Of course, this regime makes it easier for a bad actor to cover up purely oral conversations than to cover up email and other written communications, but for a law-abiding firm, there is no ex ante distortion of incentives for using various modes of communicating.This much is certain: the law surrounding electronic communication is likely not going to stay the same...
Sunday, January 11, 2009
More on Police Records in Arizona (with an appearance by yours truly...)
Days after officials announced plans to censor personal information from Phoenix police reports, clerks redacted birth dates and addresses from some public documents while releasing suspects' Social Security numbers on others.
Other reports showed how a new records policy unveiled last week could limit the potential for identity theft by erasing precise addresses, telephone numbers and other information from the written public record.
Phoenix City Manager Frank Fairbanks said the city began restricting public documents, at the request of city attorneys, to comply with an Arizona law designed to protect residents' personal information. Officials will also consider redacting personal information from other public records, such as notices of neighborhood code-enforcement violations.More here.
Delaware Seeks to Bring Legislature Within FOI Law
House Bill 1, sponsored by House Speaker-elect Rep. Robert F. Gilligan, D-Sherwood Park, would place the General Assembly under the state’s Freedom of Information Act as a public body, subjecting the legislature to the state’s open meeting laws.
Under HB 1, the public would be granted access to General Assembly meetings, except for party caucuses. The public also would have access to the General Assembly’s records. Current exceptions in the state FOIA law for public bodies and records would apply to the legislature.
Fourth Annual Canadian FOI Audit Released
Many Canadian police forces obstinately refuse to report on taser stun gun usage, despite an apology from RCMP Commissioner William Elliott last year for excessive secrecy, and mounting public controversy surrounding the deaths of taser victims.
This is among the findings of a new audit by the Canadian Newspaper Association (CNA) of freedom of information regimes across Canada, released today. The annual exercise tests how readily officials disclose information that should be publicly available on request.
The full report is here, along with extensive coverage and a release.
Friday, January 09, 2009
Judge Rules for Openness in Visitor Log Saga
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth concluded that the deletions took place before October 2004 when the Secret Service transferred large numbers of entry and exit logs to the White House and then deleted copies of them.
The deletions ceased after the archivist to the United States instructed the Secret Service to stop the practice and after various private organizations went to court in an effort to gain access to the logs, according to papers filed in the case. The deletions go back at least as far as 2001, the government's papers added, the year President George W. Bush took office.
Lamberth's ruling brushed aside the government's argument that revealing Secret Service logs would impede the president's ability to perform his constitutional duties.
The court said that the likelihood of harm is not great enough to justify curtailing the public disclosure goals of the Freedom of Information Act.
While the case was a setback for the Bush White House, the effect of the claim of a presidential communications privilege succeeded in dragging out the lawsuit until the end of the Bush administration.
A watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, asked for the records in 2006 to determine whether nine conservative religious leaders visited the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney's residence. A separate lawsuit by CREW seeks any Secret Service logs for White House visits by a Texas businessman who allegedly tried to sell access to administration officials in exchange for contributions to Bush's presidential library fund.
More here.
So If Closed Investigative Reports Are Public....
The Riverfront Times recounts the saga of scalped World Series tickets:
John Chasnoff has won a small but significant victory in his spat with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department over the World Series ticket scandal.
Chasnoff got word Tuesday that St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Philip Heagney has ordered police to make public the report that initiated investigations into officers' misuse of baseball tickets seized from scalpers during the 2006 baseball championship.
"I'm happy with this first step and optimistic about the next one," says Chasnoff, a St. Louis County resident (the RFT's Best Gadfly in 2008), who filed his lawsuit against the department last year.
Seems sunshine won a round, but many more to go here...
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Bushies Going Out With a Bang...
As one of the most secretive presidential administrations in history gets ready to close up shop, it's closing a few more things -- records. Over the past few months, some federal agencies have issued rules that would eliminate public disclosure of information -- or, in some cases, make it more difficult for requesters to get information.
While the federal Freedom of Information Act regulates what government information may be withheld from the public, internal rules determine how that law is carried out at the agency level. Those rules also may restrict access to information.
Can You Remove Our Donor Records, Pretty Please?
The ballot measure committee Protectmarriage.com and the National Organization for Marriage have asked a federal court to force California to remove campaign donor records from public view (expunge them completely, actually) and declare that the state's campaign disclosure law -- insomuch as it makes them file reports after the election is over and allows/requires those reports be publicly available after the election -- violates the First Amendment.
The groups said that "there is a reasonable probability that the Act's compelled disclosure requirements will result in threats, harassment, and reprisals, similar to those already suffered by supporters of Proposition 8."
So, if I get this, the folks who sponsored Prop 8 now want the fact that they supported it hidden? What chicanery! And think of the groups that could support all sorts of controversial and divisive legislation, if they know that after the fact they can turn to the courts for a bit of secrecy?
Secret Victims, Secret Perps = No One Knows Anything
Phoenix police will begin withholding certain basic information on both victims and criminal suspects in reports released to the public, saying it's a way of curbing identity theft.
Personal identifying information such as names of injured victims, birth dates of criminals and the addresses where crimes are committed will be redacted completely from the written public record in some cases, officials said Wednesday.
City attorneys who advised the Police Department on the policy shift said the idea is to balance Arizona public-records law with a newer state statute that cites the government's obligation to secure residents from identity poachers.Police public-information officers said they will immediately begin identifying criminal suspects by name, age and race only - not by date of birth, even if they are booked into jail. Victims' dates of birth also would be withheld.
Congress Works on Transparency Issues...
Future donations to presidential libraries would have to be publicly disclosed, the House decided Wednesday.
The library vote and a separate one making it more difficult for former presidents to prevent documents from entering the public domain kicked off a new session of Congress. Majority Democrats have joined with President-elect Barack Obama in promising to make government operations more transparent. Both bills now go to the Senate.
The library measure would require that groups raising funds for presidential libraries make disclosures four times a year of all donations of $200 or more.
The House has made several attempts this decade to move the legislation. Republicans promoted it at the end of the Clinton administration after it was revealed that Clinton's library foundation received a large contribution from the ex-wife of financier Marc Rich. Rich fled the country after being convicted of evading $40 million in taxes and then received a presidential pardon on the last day Clinton was in office.
The documents bill would overturn an executive order issued by Bush in November 2001. It gave presidents and former presidents the ability to delay public release of records for years. The order also states that only presidents and former presidents, not former vice presidents or the descendants of presidents, can assert privilege over records.
The vote on the documents bill, H.R. 35, was 359-58. The vote on the libraries bill, H.R. 36, was 388-31.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Sad News from Montana, and for the FOI World...
"That's a hit to journalism in Montana, and nationwide, frankly," said David Cuillier, FOI chairman with the national Society of Professional Journalists. "He's been influential in opening up government nationwide."
Bob Hermes, general manager of KPAX, said the state of the economy led the station to drop Marquand's position as special projects coordinator. Marquand, who also was chairman of the Montana Freedom of Information Hotline, was laid off Friday.
Hermes said he did not anticipate other layoffs at KPAX.
Marquand said he has seen other veteran reporters lose their jobs to cost-cutting.
"I can't say it was a huge shock," he said. "But it was unexpected and I was not prepared for it on Friday."
On Monday, Marquand said he was seeking new opportunities in journalism or possibly in the academic world.
"I think I bring a certain group of skills that would be useful in a number of areas," Marquand said.
Marquand began his career at KPAX in 1978.
Well, after a long, strange experiment...
Sorry for the diversion. And it feels kind of nice to be back on Blogger, truth be told....
CD
Monday, October 06, 2008
We have MOVED!!!!!
Charles & The NFOIC Gang
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Wisconsin FOI Council to celebrate 30 years
From the University of Wisconsin-Madison:
More here.The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, a statewide nonprofit group devoted to protecting access to public meetings and records, will mark its 30th anniversary with a program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on Monday, Oct. 13.
The program, hosted by the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication, will include an address by Shirley Abrahamson, chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, on the importance of open government in Wisconsin.
The event, which runs from 4-5:30 p.m., is free and open to the public. It will be held in the Nafziger Conference Room on the fifth floor of Vilas Hall, 821 University Ave.
Did data disclosure play a role in financial crisis?
There is much disagreement on this question. Naturally, Wall Street blamed disclosure of balance sheet information. Others say the data disclosed through the current accounting method may be misleading. Some experts agree with Charles Mulford who said disclosure "helped to make this crisis less of a crisis, if that's possible."
In the midst of the nation's current financial crisis -- including Monday's historic 777-point Dow drop and Congress's efforts to bail out the financial services industry -- transparency has been a key part of the debate: how much should be disclosed, when and by whom.
Last week, Wall Street blamed its woes in part on accounting rules that require regular release of balance sheet information. To wit: one article on the issue bore the headline, “Wall St. Points to Disclosure As Issue.”
Some experts say the problem is not that banks and other financial services companies are required to give out more data than before, or that they’re not following the rules, but others disagree.
More here.
Roanoke Times files second open records suit of the month
After the city of Radford, Va., heavily redacted parts of FOIA requests related to an internal city investigation of a harassment complaint, The Roanoke Times filed suit. Earlier this month, the newspaper challenged the sheriff's office policy of withholding photos of inmates released on bond.
More here.The Roanoke Times filed suit Monday against the city of Radford over the city's decision to withhold portions of documents the newspaper sought under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
The lawsuit -- technically called a "writ of mandamus" -- centers around two FOIA requests filed with Radford officials in August and September by Roanoke Times reporter Tim Thornton. Among other things, Thornton asked the city to provide him copies of any other FOIA requests the city received between June 15 and Sept. 18.
In response to Thornton's requests, City Attorney Jim Guynn provided heavily redacted copies of two FOIA requests, erasing names and other pertinent information and in one case excluding two pages of a two-and-a-half-page document.
Conn. FOI Commission handling average of 72 monthly complaints
The Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission has seen a steady increase in the number of grievances filed. It expects to receive 864 by the end of the year. The commission attributes the increase to citizens being better educated about FOI laws and an increase in government secrecy. Private residents account for 70 percent of requests filed.
In December, when Fairfield First Selectman Ken Flatto removed the town Conservation Department from overseeing the largest development in town history, he did it behind closed doors.
In response, Kathryn Braun, a Fairfield attorney, helped draft a Freedom of Information complaint against the selectman for the Fairfield Friends of Open Space, a preservation group. She alleged the private meeting was illegal because it concerned matters meant for the public.
"We considered it a secret meeting in which government business was conducted," Braun said. "If you're going to change the structure of government, do it publicly."
Her complaint now is one of a record number before the state Freedom of Information Commission, which is hard-pressed to explain a cause for this year's increase.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Public records reveal details of Cascade High newspaper controversy
It was a simple process for a trained technician. Just push up a white ceiling tile, connect a few wires, and a hidden camera was ready to record everyone coming and going in a Cascade High School classroom.
Veteran English and journalism teacher Kay Powers was in trouble.
A proud 1960s lefty whose idea of vacation was to get arrested protesting at a federal military installation, Powers helped students work on the Free Stehekin, an underground newspaper, using school equipment. That was in direct violation of district orders, but she believed she was fighting for freedom of the press.More here.
Former Everett School District Superintendent Carol Whitehead was angry. She was determined to make sure Powers and her students obeyed. On May 10, 2007, the school district had a vendor install a hidden camera in Powers' classroom -- something school officials denied for four months until evidence emerged proving otherwise. The elected school board members, largely silent during the controversy, later sent an e-mail to all Everett's principals saying Whitehead had their full support.
Ask candidates about their open government stance before voting
Nice column from The Capital Times in Madison, Wis., with sample questions to ask election candidates:
More here.Openness in government is critical to democracy. Wisconsin state law makes that clear in this high-minded preamble to the Wisconsin open meetings law:
"In recognition of the fact that a representative government of the American type is dependent upon an informed electorate, it is declared to be the policy of this state that the public is entitled to the fullest and most complete information regarding the affairs of government as it compatible with the conduct of governmental business."
How are we doing in real life? Not always so good.
That's why it's important, in an election year, to ask the candidates questions that help reveal their commitment to openness in government.
Hartford mayor fined for violating sunshine law
If Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez doesn't get a better grasp of the "public" part of being a public official, it's going to keep costing him and the city.More here.
The state Freedom of Information Commission on Wednesday ruled unanimously that Mr. Perez broke the state's sunshine law when he convened closed meetings to see if the city's major corporations would support a new arena in Hartford.
The commission fined Mr. Perez $500 and recommended that he and city corporation counsel John Rose attend a workshop on the state's freedom of information laws. This was an unusual step for the commission, but an appropriate one. The meetings of a task force initiated by the mayor to study the feasibility of a major downtown building that almost invariably will need public assistance are clearly in the public interest.
More word of officials using personal e-mail accounts
The technology is there but some officials are not up to speed -- or don't want to be up to speed. While government officials are provided with official e-mail accounts, many continue to use their personal accounts, making it harder to obtain e-mails through FOIA requests.
Douglas White wanted to exercise his right as a citizen to see some public records. What he found is that some Blacksburg town officials, like many others in the New River Valley, tread a fine line between open government and secrecy.
White lives just outside the Blacksburg town limits, close to a proposed workforce housing project along Harding Road. He and many of his neighbors do not like the project for a host of reasons.
The project's prospects do not look particularly promising right now, what with all the thumb twiddling the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors has been doing in secret meetings. That will not stop White and his neighbors from keeping up the fight until it dies officially.
More here.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Records show Palin pushed for millions in earmarks
As a vice presidential candidate, Gov. Sarah Palin has railed against federal earmarks, or congressional funding for pork-barrel projects. "In our state, we reformed the abuses of earmarks," Palin recently boasted to a rally in Lancaster, Pa. "We championed earmark reform up there," she said, "to stop Congress from wasting public money on things that didn't serve the public interest."But musty records culled from the archives of the Wasilla, Alaska, city government reveal that Palin was directly involved in soliciting millions of dollars in earmarks for Wasilla when she was mayor. And she got help from a well-connected Washington lobbyist.
In a monthly status report to the city on March 7, 2000, newly hired "City Lobbyist" Steve Silver describes how the Palin administration had requested $6.6 million in federal earmarks for water and sewer improvements for Wasilla, and another $1 million for police equipment. Mayor Palin reviewed and signed the lobbyist's report, dated April 5, 2000.
More here.
Bloggers not considered legitimate journalists by Coast Guard
This spring, the Coast Guard allegedly faked a key test of its flagship National Security Cutter, according to sources close to the program. The maritime service denies this. But six months later, the Coast Guard essentially has rejected two blogs' Freedom of Information Act requests for documentation related to the test. (The Coast Guard asked for $18,000 in fees to honor the request, and denied applications for the standard fee waiver for journalists.)More here.
On Monday, Coastie Commandant Thad Allen explained why: The service doesn't necessarily consider blogs legitimate media, and so didn't feel they were owed the same considerations under FOIA. Allen made these points during a Pentagon-sponsored conference call with bloggers, to announce a new "social media engagement" strategy.
Missoula County denied information from U.S. Forest Service
Many workers keep little secrets from their employers — how much time they spend on private e-mail, for example, or how many pens find their way home in pockets.More here.But it's less likely that they have a lot of big secrets — such as contracts or deals with other organizations that alter the way they do business in significant ways — ways that may adversely affect the employer.
There's one organization, though, where large secrets are routinely, head-shakingly, kept from the boss: the government of the United States — more important, the bureaucrats who run it.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
W. Va. Supreme Court to determine whether police time sheets fall under FOIA
West Virginia’s capital city is asking the state Supreme Court to weigh in on a records request from its largest newspaper.Lawyers for The Charleston Gazette and the city of Charleston are scheduled to argue Tuesday over the city’s 2007 denial of a Freedom of Information Act request for police time sheets and activity logs.
The newspaper sought records for 28 officers after four officers pleaded guilty to charges alleging they worked second paid jobs while on duty.
The city’s denial cited privacy concerns, an ongoing criminal investigation and court orders sealing some records. But the city also sought a Kanawha County Circuit judge’s guidance on the law, and appealed when it was turned down.
More here.
University of Nebraska administrators refuse to speak with campus newspaper
The relationship between a university and its student newspaper is typically one of give and take. Some of this professional courtesy, however, has fallen by the wayside at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.In response to numerous sweeping Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests by The Daily Nebraskan, the university is now denying student reporters direct access to top administrators for interviews. All information and comment previously sought from these individuals must now be gathered from the institution’s public relations office.
The administration claims the student newspaper’s recent history of seeking broad and, some argue, pointless FOIA requests of the university has burdened their previously harmonious working relationship. Student journalists at The Nebraskan, however, maintain that their document requests are within reason and that the university’s new policy of shielding administrators from interviews is hurting the newspaper’s coverage.
More here.
Abu Ghraib photos not exempt from FOIA, court rules after five years
It's been a long battle, but a federal appeal court has ruled that photos of torture at Abu Ghraib are not exempt from FOIA and dismissed arguments that the images could "lead to the endangerment of the life or safety of any individual." Although, the images were public long before now, the victory for the public's right to know is nonetheless an important one.
After nearly five years of fighting between the federal government and the American Civil Liberties Union over images of torture at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, a federal appeals court ruled today that the photos must be made available to the public.
The U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan (2nd Cir.) affirmed a 2006 district court order that dismissed the government's arguments that privacy rights of the soldiers and detainees in the images would be violated -- noting the redactions in the form of black bars over the subjects' faces -- and agreed that any potential damage caused by the release of the photos was "far too speculative" to justify their withholding.
The Department of Defense had initially only argued the privacy implications warranted withholding the 29 images under the Freedom of Information Act. Months after oral arguments, the defendants asserted a second rationale for non-disclosure -- essentially that the images were so incendiary that the government "reasonably believed" their release could lead to endangerment of "the life or safety of any individual."
More here.
Records show nearly every Long Island Rail Road employee gets disability pay
The New York Times analyzed federal records to find that practically ever L.I.R.R. employee, even those with desk jobs, applied for and received disability pay. Apparently, most are able-bodied until they retire. However, the Railroad Retirement Board rarely rejects a disability claim.
To understand what it’s like to work on the railroad — the Long Island Rail Road — a good place to start is the Sunken Meadow golf course, a rolling stretch of state-owned land on Long Island Sound.
During the workweek, it is not uncommon to find retired L.I.R.R. employees, sometimes dozens of them, golfing there. A few even walk the course. Yet this is not your typical retiree outing.
These golfers are considered disabled. At an age when most people still work, they get a pension and tens of thousands of dollars in annual disability payments — a sum roughly equal to the base salary of their old jobs. Even the golf is free, courtesy of New York State taxpayers.
With incentives like these, occupational disabilities at the L.I.R.R. have become a full-blown epidemic.
More here.
UPDATE: Agents raid office in L.I.R.R. Disability Inquiry; The New York Times
FOI at Work: School cafeterias not meeting inspection requirements
More here.Nearly two-thirds of schools in New York state are not receiving the twice-yearly health inspections required by federal law to curb food poisoning, making the state among the nation's worst offenders.
Compliance is even lower in Monroe County, where almost eight in 10 schools were not inspected twice in the 2006-07 school year, the most recent on record at the state Education Department. One in four were not inspected at all.
Meanwhile, inspection reports reviewed by the Democrat and Chronicle showed that one in five public school cafeterias in Monroe County failed to meet health standards in the last two years.
Complete details on salvaged cars coming in early 2009
Determining if the vehicle you're about to purchase has been in an accident or flood isn't easy. There is no consistent nationwide reporting system, which has led to numerous cases of fraud.
According to the LA Times, the implementation of the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System will require state motor vehicle administrators, insurers and junkyards to report title information to a central database.Sixteen years ago, Congress passed a law requiring the creation of a national database of vehicle title information that would allow consumers to determine whether a vehicle had been in a serious accident. It seemed like a great idea, but it was never implemented.
Thanks to a federal court ruling today, however, that should soon be changing.
A U.S. District Court judge for the Northern District of California handed down a decision that requires the federal government to create a database of stolen cars and state, insurance and junkyard title information. Government-supplied data are to be made public by the end of January, with private industry data coming out by the end of March.
The ruling comes after years of pressure from consumer groups, which pointed out that without access to such information, motorists cannot really know whether a vehicle has been severely damaged or "totaled." That's a serious safety risk, because badly wrecked cars can be unsafe to drive even if they're repaired.
More here.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Individual emergency response records kept private in Ohio
You are far more likely to need an ambulance than a firetruck.But Ohio won't let you see the records that show how fast the paramedics in your community respond to calls.
Since 2002, the Ohio Emergency Medical Services agency has kept track of response time for each medical emergency in the state. But the agency issues a report card only for each county, not for each fire department.
That's because state lawmakers decided to keep individual departments' records -- not just individual patients' records -- from the public eye.
More here.
First Amendment Center to offer advice, education
Northeastern University said Friday that it has created a research and advocacy center to increase access to public records, which have become increasingly shielded by government.The New England First Amendment Center will offer citizens, journalists and public policy organizations information on access to government. The university-based center will have a hotline to advise people seeking public documents and will host seminars for journalists, municipal officials and lawmakers on public records and open meeting laws.
Walter Robinson, Northeastern's coordinator of the center, said the federal government has restricted access to more records since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
More here.
Visit the New England First Amendment Center Web site here.
Federal judge orders that Cheney's records will be public
Vice President Dick Cheney must preserve a broad range of records from his time in office, a federal judge ordered Saturday, ruling in favor of a private watchdog group.More here.U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly found that the records are not excluded from preservation under Presidential Records Act, which gives the national archivist responsibility over the custody of and access to the records at the end of a president's final term.
The Bush administration had sought a narrow interpretation of the act to allow for fewer materials to be preserved by the National Archives.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Northeastern University establishes center to promote open government
From the Boston Herald:
More here.Northeastern University has established a research and advocacy center to focus attention on increasing efforts by government to limit access to public records and meetings.
The "First Amendment Center of New England" will offer citizens, journalists and public policy organizations information on open access to government. The center, announced Friday, will also have a hotline to advise citizens seeking public documents and will host seminars on public records and open meeting laws.
The university-based center is a joint project of the New England First Amendment Coalition and Northeastern’s School of Journalism.
AP wins suit over chief justice's e-mails
Five e-mails sent by West Virginia Supreme Court Chief Justice Elliott “Spike” Maynard to Massey Energy chief Don Blankenship show the justice was concerned with a Democratic challenger’s candidacy ahead of a primary that he ultimately lost.More here.
The e-mails were released today, one day after a Kanawha County Circuit judge sided with the Associated Press, which sued the Supreme Court to have the messages released under the state’s Freedom of Information Act.
Judge Duke Bloom ruled yesterday that judicial officers are not exempt from the state’s open-records laws. Bloom’s order gave the Supreme Court 10 days to release the documents.
Former U.S. Rep. challenges reporters to follow the money
More here.She was the first woman to climb the north face of the Grand Teton, but former U.S. Rep. Jolene Unsoeld feels that exposing big money in politics is an even grittier, more hazardous challenge.
Unsoeld, of Olympia, received the James Madison Award from the Washington Coalition for Open Government at a Friday breakfast in Seattle.
The award honored Unsoeld as a driving force behind the state Public Disclosure Act, and as compiler of a book ("Who Gave? Who Got? How much?" ) that put footprints on the large vested interests pulling the strings of state government.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Future of Illinois public access office becomes questionable?
Terry Mutchler, the counselor hired, operated with the principle: "No one is above the state's public access laws." But now she's leading Pennsylvania's new open records office. A hiring freeze has been imposed. And, most disturbing of all, the governor has cut the attorney general's budget by 25 percent, more than any other state agency.
The public access office is left with a counselor and fewer resources to continue handling more than 1300 open meetings and FOIA cases a year, most requested by citizens.
During Lisa Madigan's campaign to become Illinois' attorney general, people took note when she pledged to throw back the shades and shed light on the inner-workings of state, local, and county government. Her plan was simple: to hire a public access counselor who would help average citizens and those elected officials with an independent streak understand state laws and, when needed, ride public bodies until they disclosed credit card statements, closed session minutes, cell phone records, and the like.
More here.Dropping the hammer on Illinois public officials who have earned a reputation for doing their bidding behind closed doors -- from single-school districts all the way up to the governor's office -- may have come at a cost, Madigan's deputy chief of staff Cara Smith said. The governor decided to trim AG's budget by more than any other state agency this year. "Do I think this is a coincidence that our budget was cut by 25 percent? Absolutely not," Smith added.
And the public access office has become a casualty of the cuts.
Last spring, Public Access Counselor Terry Mutchler called it quits, after landing a job to head up Pennsylvania's new open records office. With the attorney general's budget gutted, a hiring freeze has been imposed, which has left her position vacant for nearly four months.
Palin's Yahoo e-mail practices echo Bush practices, expert says
It's not a great idea to run a government using Yahoo! e-mail accounts.More here.That's the word from experts, anyway, reacting to news that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's Yahoo! e-mail had been hacked earlier this week. McCain's vice-presidential pick reportedly used the accounts to communicate with key aides about government business.
The practice is dangerous, said experts, and can run counter to laws ensuring government is open and accountable -- a tough point for Palin, who has made "open government" a catchphrase of her political identity.
Vermont Legislative Council chief says making certain e-mails public could infringe on rights
In Vermont, the legislature has a policy of deleting e-mails after 90 days. Therefore, when a teacher requested records of communication concerning a school funding bill, none were available.
The Legislative Council is also arguing that communication between constituents and individual lawmakers are not open records and that making them public could infringe upon the right of constituents to petition their government.
Curt Hier has been trying to find out if a teachers' union influenced lawmakers' votes on a school funding bill, but says his requests for public records from the Vermont Legislature have produced nothing but frustration.More here.
Hier, a Fair Haven teacher who heads school reform group First Class Education-Vermont, said he has been trying to investigate the Vermont National Education Association's failed efforts to get lawmakers to repeal a 2007 law designed to put the brakes on rising school costs.
"I've gotten a whole lot of different stories," Hier said. "All the roadblocks I see lead me to believe there might very well be some embarrassing e-mails to be had."
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Government officials may be using personal e-mail accounts to bypass FOI laws
More here.John McCain and Sarah Palin say they want to reform Washington.
But Palin's personal Yahoo e-mail account raises questions about the validity of that claim. The Alaska governor apparently uses the account to conduct state business, as do others in her office. And a fight has been under way for the release of hundreds of e-mails from that account that were withheld from public-records requests.Palin should speak out about the issue, letting the public know why she used a personal account to conduct state business and why that doesn't cast a shadow on her reformist image. Before Palin was selected as the Republican vice presidential nominee, she presented her 2006 campaign as one that was "open and transparent."
Senate passes 2007 E-Government Reauthorization Act
For five years, the E-Government Act has promoted improvements in the federal government's use of information technology, including increased transparency for government information. The Senate is expected to pass the E-Government Reauthorization Act of 2007 by unanimous consent later tonight. CDT believes that the reauthorization includes two key improvements to the E-Government Act in a call for the development of best practices for Privacy Impact Assessments, and to make online government information more accessible to search.More here.
Lawsuit could have deleted e-mails recovered by a forensic computer expert
The Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday grappled with the realities of the computer age as it weighed the question of when a “deleted” public record becomes a “destroyed” public record.More here.At issue is a lawsuit by The Blade seeking to force the Seneca County commissioners to hire a forensic computer expert at county expense to recover deleted e-mails from an 18-month period, some of which the newspaper contends may contain illegal private communications related to the proposed razing of the county’s historic courthouse. “We’re talking about a very finite amount of time here, and we’re talking about e-mails from two or three people to one another,” said Justice Maureen O’Connor. “It just doesn’t seem to me to be that overwhelmingly burdensome or such a huge task here for the county to not even attempt to comply.”
Suggestions for Office of Government Information Services reforms arise in congressional hearing
Activists stressed the importance of the Office of Government Information Services continuing to serve as independent mediator in FOIA disputes.
More here.Open-government advocates renewed their calls Wednesday for quick implementation of the latest Freedom of Information reforms, including the establishment of an ombudsman office.
Congress has appropriated $1 million for the Office of Government Information Services but the money will not be available until the next fiscal year. The reforms were slowed by Bush administration efforts to move the new office from the National Archives, where Congress placed it in legislation last year, to the Justice Department.
As a result, the National Archives has yet to get the office up and running.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
White House employees, several others yet to pay 2007 income taxes
Federal agency with the most delinquent employees? The U.S. Postal Service, but it's also the largest agency.
Agency with the best compliance rate? The Federal Housing Finance Board.
From the U.S. Postal Service to the Executive Office of the President, thousands of federal workers have not paid their 2007 federal income taxes.
The Internal Revenue Service is trying to collect billions of dollars in unpaid taxes from nearly half a million federal employees. According to IRS records, 171,549 current federal workers did not voluntarily pay their federal income taxes in 2007. The same is true for 37,752 active duty military and nearly 200,000 retired civilian and military personnel.
Documents obtained by WTOP through the Freedom of Information Act show 449,531 federal employees and retirees did not pay their taxes for a total of $3,586,784,725 in taxes owed last year.
More here.
Open government benefits citizens as well as media
The Iowa Freedom of Information Council's annual meeting takes place Friday in Des Moines, so it has me reflecting on the status of public access to government.
The bottom line: It could be worse, but it could be a whole lot better.
The council, of which I am an executive committee member and past president, recently published an update on various legal actions involving government access.
There are some victories -- but at a cost.
More here.
Use of city's take-home cars remains secret
More here.City Hall officials maintain that the city keeps no records that they are required to show the public on how take-home vehicles issued by the city to 194 municipal employees are used.
The Journal News requested records of the amount of gasoline used and the miles driven by employees with the city-owned vehicles dating to 2003. The newspaper made the request under the state's Freedom of Information Law.
"Please be advised that no individualized records exist," wrote city Records Access Officer Eric Arena last month, responding to a May 9 request for information.
Miss. Ethics Commission's first ruling favors openness
In its first ruling since gaining new authority, the Mississippi Ethics Commission has ruled a private citizen is entitled to redacted Jackson police initial incident reports involving George Bell III in the slaying of his ex-girlfriend.
More here."We came down on the side of openness," Ethics Commission Executive Director Tom Hood said of the first advisory opinion in a records dispute.
In May, Gov. Haley Barbour signed the legislation into law, and it was later cleared by the U.S. Department of Justice giving the Ethics Commission authority to mediate disputes over open meetings and public records and issue rulings or opinions based on the law.
Read our blog post on the decision to create the ethics commission here.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
FOI at work: Taxpayer money used to fund trips
An unpaid adviser to the Westchester County board isn't so unpaid - taxpayers were billed for his trips to destinations like Hawaii, Chicago, Kansas City and Scotland.More here.Herman Geist, an adviser to Board of Legislators Chairman William Ryan, is also equipped with a BlackBerry, bringing his total expenses to $13,270 over four years, according to records obtained under the state Freedom of Information Law.
That money is in addition to nearly $150,000 in travel, cell-phone and transportation costs incurred by the 17-member county board since 2003 - including $54,968 for legislators to attend various conferences and events.
Va. Supreme Court decides wrongful death settlements should be public
The settlement terms of several wrongful death lawsuits brought in Spotsylvania County against a pharmaceutical company must be disclosed publicly and cannot be sealed in the court records, a Virginia Supreme Court ruled today.More here.The unanimous opinion upholds a circuit court ruling that it was improper to permit the suits to be settled without the details disclosed in court.
The deaths occurred at Mary Washington Hospital 2004 and 2005 and the defendants in the case were B. Braun Medical Inc. and its subsidiary, Central Admixture Pharmacy Services (CAPS). After the cases were settled with the settlement terms filed in the court records, The Free Lance-Star and the Richmond Times-Dispatch intervened and, after hearings, a circuit judge ruled that the terms of the settlements must be filed in the court clerk’s office. The judge agreed to seal the settlements until the Supreme Court decided the appeals.
E-mail saga involving Missouri governor continues
Attorneys representing Gov. Matt Blunt and Missouri's top computer officer are seeking dismissal of a lawsuit over access to the governor's office e-mails.More here.Blunt and information officer Dan Ross filed motions this week in Cole County Circuit Court claiming the lawsuit fails to make clear, specific allegations and fails to support its assertions. Judge Richard Callahan scheduled a hearing on the dismissal motions for Sept. 24.
Ross' attorney contends that the state information officer is not the custodian of any public record and therefore should not be named in a lawsuit seeking access to documents.
Posts
