2009 Polk Award Winners

Long Island University announced its 13 George Polk Awards for 2009. A number of the recipients appear to have used FOIA and state open records laws in their reporting, including:

• The Bloomberg News team of Mark Pittman, Bob Ivry, Alison Fitzgerald and Craig Torres for their work to open the Federal Reserve Board's books on the bailout;
• Raquel Rutledge of The Journal Sentinel for investigating the fraud, waste, and criminal activity tied to the $350 million Wisconsin child-care system;
• George Pawlaczyk and Beth Hundsdorfer of The News-Democrat for an investigative series exposing cruel conditions in an Illinois "supermax" prison;
• A "60 Minutes" team of Steve Kroft and Leslie Cockburn for a segment detailing Wall Street's influence in speculative oil transactions;
• Kathy Chu of USA Today for a series showing how banks and credit-card issuers used unscrupulous practices and fees to gauge billions from customers;
• Charlie Reed, Kevin Baron and Leo Shane III of the independent military newspaper Stars and Strips for exposing the Pentagon's secret use of a PR company to steer reporters to "positive" coverage of the war in Afghanistan;
• David Grann of The New Yorker for an investigative report challenging the evidence against Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed in 2004 after being convicted of setting a fire that killed his three young daughters;
• Abraham Lustgarten of ProPublica for investigating the potentially carcinogenic effects of hydraulic fracturing, a natural gas drilling process.

For more about the Polk Award winners, click here.

Ugandan Ruling Shows Difficulty in Establishing Freedom of Information in Sub-Saharan Africa

A Ugandan judge has ruled that reporters from Uganda's leading independent newspaper had not proved there was public benefit of disclosing certified copies of oil exploitation agreements. The journalists, along with the Open Society Institute's East Africa Initiative and Human Rights Network Uganda say they are considering an appeal of the ruling.

The journalists had argued the information was of interest to Ugandans seeking to hold the government and its partners accountable for multinational oil deals.

The ruling comes ahead of the African Regional Conference on the Right of Access to Information, an event featuring media leaders, press freedom advocates, officials, and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

For more information, click here.

South Carolina County Council May Have Violated Public Meetings Laws Conducting Business Via E-mail

In a three-part series, TheState.com reports that Horry County, South Carolina council members have repeatedly conducted business via e-mail, without a quorum, and out of the public's view. The Sun News obtained 1,348 pages of e-mails sent between January 2009 and January 2010, which reveal that the council may have violated the state's Freedom of Information Act by having conversations that should have taken place in a public meeting.

For more, click here.

Video and Reports of Former Utah State Senator's DUI Arrest to be Public

The Utah State Records Committee will release the three-hour long dash-cam video of former Utah state Sen. Sheldon Killpack's arrest for allegedly driving drunk. They will also release the Utah Highway Patrol's incident report. However, the release of the public records could be delayed by up to a month as the records committee has five days to sign an order stating its decision, and the Department of Public Safety has 30 days within which to appeal to the district court.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Killpack was stopped at 12:17 a.m. on January 15 and failed field sobriety tests. After Killpack refused a Breathalyzer test, a blood draw showed his blood-alcohol content at 0.11, which is above the legal limit of 0.08. Killpack resigned his political office the next day, and was charged with DUI and failure to signal.

For more information, click here.

Transparency or Financial Stability? The Arguments in Bloomberg v. Fed

The New York Times brings this fascinating account of the legal wranglings of Bloomberg News against the Fed for information pertaining to the Bailout. Described as a "principled grudge match," the feud over the financial news giant's FOIA requests has the Fed arguing that the information sought could cause stigmatization of certain banks, potentially bank runs, and could jeopardize the government's efforts to stabilize the economy, while Bloomberg argues it is seeking transparency in order to fulfill its watchdog role.

Idaho House Committee Considers Hunter Identity Protection Bill

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

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

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

Washington Senate Votes to Make Voter Petitions Public Records

Washington Senators voted 28-20 to make voter petitions public records, including the names and addresses of people who sign initiatives and referenda.

In January, the U.S. Supreme Court said it will decide whether the people who signed Referendum 71 petitions should have their names publicly disclosed. Referendum 71 sought to overturn an expanded gay rights law.

For more about the bill, click here.

Editorial: "Public Records are Public Records"

Recent assaults on police officers have spawned proposed bills in the Washington legislature that would prohibit a law enforcement officer's month and year of birth and official photograph from being disclosed to the public, although the news media would still have access to it.

The Spokesman-Review editorializes that such a strategy is an unacceptable precedent and that the media should not have selective privileges. Instead, public records should remain public records.

For more, click here.

Mexico Tries to Weaken its Transparency Law

Mexico's Interior Department has made suggestions to weaken the country's Law of Access to Public Information, which has been in force since 2002.

The Interior Department has proposed changes that would allow government offices to refuse to hand over data or to turn to the courts if they believe a request affects national security, defense, foreign relations, the economy, the money supply, or if it threatens "the life, security, or health of any person."

For more about the consequences of the so-called reform effort, click here.

Critics Say Using Confidential Informants Compromises Judicial System

Critics of the government's use of confidential informants are calling for more safeguards and guidelines to establish accountability against the secrecy of having thousands of informants on the government payroll. Despite guidelines established by the DOJ and the FBI, a 2005 Inspector General report shows that in 85% of the cases reviewed, the guidelines weren't followed.

Loyola Law School professor Alexandra Natapoff has authored a news book, Snitching, in which she says informants commit all sorts of crimes that compromise the judicial system and betray the national integrity.

Read more here.

Examples of Information Obtained Using FOIA

AnnArbor.com has compiled news stories that were based on FOIA requests, including thousands of 9/11 photos obtained by an ABC News reporter who was reading the Federal Register. The list also includes a status update on several pending FOIA requests.

Check it out here.

Washington Considers Removing Officials' Photographs from Public Records

In the wake of the deaths of four Lakewood, Washington police officers, the state's House and Ways and Means Committee voted to remove from public records photographs and birth dates of police, court and corrections employees.

Newspaper representatives say the bill would make it harder for the press not only to investigate where tax money goes and what lies in officials' pasts, but also to get images from the cameras that record police traffic stops or violent incidents inside jails or prisons.

Read more here.

Wyoming City Council Meeting May Have Been Illegally Closed

Three Cheyenne, Wyoming council members say part of a January 11 closed executive session was an illegal violation of the state's open meetings law. But city attorney Dan White disagrees, saying the meeting was closed so that he could update the council on ongoing lawsuits and settlement negotiations. He claims the meeting was exempt from the open meetings law, relying on the litigation clause and the exemption "to consider or receive any information classified as confidential by law," including attorney-client privileged information.

At issue is whether the city attorney could meet with the governing body in a closed meeting to discuss potential litigation. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has not yet addressed this issue.

For more, click here.

Yale Law School Launches Media Freedom and Information Access Practicum

Yale Law School has announced the launch of a Media Freedom and Information Access Practicum (MFIA). Law students aim to use litigation and policy work to increase government transparency. MFIA is an initiative of Yale's Information Society Project and the Knight Law & Media Program.

For more information, click here.

Circular Logic and "Hypothetical" Privacy Concerns

Roll Call had an interesting FOIA experience leading up to the big DC snowstorms. In a paralyzing blizzard of its own making, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection responded to Roll Call's request for passenger manifests for flights on government airplanes by responding that it couldn't release those names until Roll Call first got those people to sign a waiver allowing customs to release their names.

As Roll Call notes, "In other words, [Customs is saying] we are prohibited from telling you who those people are until you contact them and get them to authorize us to tell you who they are."

If that circular logic isn't enough, Customs also noted that its response was not a denial, but a notice of a deficient request, which cannot be appealed.

For more on the Air Force's response to a similar request, click here.

Washington Open Records Office Bill Dies in Committee

A Washington Office of Open Records won't happen this year.

A bill to create a dispute resolution center for open government issues died in committee last Friday. It carried a $1.3 million price tag at a time when the state government faces a budget deficit.

Read more about it here.

Reed Anfinson to Receive John R. Finnegan Freedom of Information Award

The Minnesota Coalition on Government Information will honor Reed Anfinson, publisher of the Swift County Monitor-News, with the 2010 John R. Finnegan Freedom of Information Award on March 16 at the Minneapolis Central Library.

Anfinson is a journalist and an advocate for open government at the local, state and national levels. He has testified frequently before the Minnesota Legislature and the U.S. Congress on Freedom of Information and First Amendment issues.

He has co-chaired the Minnesota Newspaper Association's legislative committee and chairs the National Newspaper Association Government Relations Committee. In 2012 Anfinson will become president of the National Newspaper Association.

Virginia Bill to Curtail FOIA Harassment is Threat to Transparency

Legislation proposed by former newspaper editor and Virginia state delegate R. Lee Ware Jr. (R-Powhatan) to protect public bodies from FOIA harassment is headed nowhere fast. The proposed bill would allow any public body in the state to petition a court for relief from a person deemed to be abusing rights granted under FOIA.

Powhatan County's attorney and the county board of supervisors urged the bill after being receiving 25 FOIA requests from one individual last year relating to utility projects in the county.

The bill has now been sent to the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council for review, which means it will be at least a year before the legislature considers the measure again.

Open records advocates say the proposed law would crush the spirit of FOIA because it could allow the government to stymie requests with threats of litigation.

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.

E-mails Show Palin's Husband Involved in State Business

MSNBC.com and NBC News obtained nearly 3,000 pages of e-mails that Todd Palin, former Alaska Governor and Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin's husband, exchanged with state officials. The e-mails show the "First Dude" was involved with a judicial appointment, monitored contract negotiations with public employee unions, received a background check on a corporate CEO, and added his opinion to state board appointments. He also passed "confidential" financial information from his oil company employer to a state attorney.

The e-mails are available here on msnbc.com's online archive, and they are asking the public to help with the document review. "We're still going through the documents, and invite readers at msnbc.com to search for themselves, connect the dots with public issues, and send us an e-mail with your own analysis," writes investigative reporter Bill Dedman.

Former North Carolina Governor Had Secret E-mail Account for State Business

In depositions stemming from a public records lawsuit against former North Carolina Governor Mike Easley, an aide testified that Easley kept a secret e-mail account and used it for state business. Former communications director Sherri Johnson said the e-mail address was "Nick Danger" spelled backwards in a likely reference to a fictional, satirical private eye. Johnson testified the backwards part was because Easley's learning disability left him writing backwards.

Public information officers also testified that the Easley administration instructed workers to delete e-mails and to use the telephone for sensitive issues.

For more, click here.

New Hampshire Affirms Right-to-Know Law

The New Hampshire Supreme Court ordered an umbrella organization representing municipalities and schools to release individual salary records to a firefighters' union that tracks the organization's use of taxpayer money paid for health insurance.

Affirming the state's Right-to-Know Law, a unanimous court said public access gives direct insight into the operations of a public body through scrutiny of wages paid to particular job titles.

"Public scrutiny can expose corruption, incompetence, inefficiency, prejudice and favoritism," Chief Justice John Broderick wrote.

Read more here.

OMLN Partners with NFOIC

The Berkman Center's Online Media Legal Network (OMLN) is partnering with the National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC) to assist with freedom of information lawsuits and to provide online journalists with FOI information and assistance.

The NFOIC received a $2 million, three-year grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to launch the Knight FOI Fund and support open government groups by funding up-front litigation costs, such as filing fees, depositions and initial consultation fees if attorneys are willing to take FOI cases that would otherwise go unfiled.

Read more about the partnership here.

FBI Investigated Late Rep. Henry Hyde

FBI files obtained by Gawker using the FOIA show that the late Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) was investigated for four years by the FBI. Hyde represented a west suburban Chicago district and chaired the House panel that impeached President Clinton.

Read more here.

University of Illinois Sued Over Admissions Clout Lists

The Chicago Tribune has sued the University of Illinois for information explaining why applicants were placed on admission clout lists, specifically the names of applicants' parents and identities of the patrons who advocated on behalf of the applicants.

The university has refused to provide the information to the newspaper, saying the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act prevents its disclosure.

Read more about the lawsuit here.

Michigan Court of Appeals Asks Legislature to Update the State's FOIA

In a "friendly" lawsuit set up to determine whether emails from teacher union leaders are public records if they are contained in a school district's computer system, the Michigan Court of Appeals said no, they are not.

The Court also asked the Legislature to clarify and update the state's 33-year old Freedom of Information Act to address electronic records. Judges Mark J. Cavanagh, E. Thomas Fitzgerald and Douglas B. Shapiro wrote that the case presented a "difficult question requiring that we apply a statute, whose purpose is to render government transparent, to a technology that did not exist in reality (or even in many people's imaginations) at the time."

Read more about the decision here.

Proposed Iowa Public Information Board Being Considered

Iowa State Sen. Pam Jochum (D-Dubuque) is proposing a new state agency called the Iowa Public Information Board that would aid citizens with access to public records, assist local governments interpret open records laws, and aid in enforcement if a government agency has violated the law or mediation isn't successful.

Jochum says funding is an issue for the state. She proposes a five-member panel be appointed to outline the agency and the functions of the executive director. The Iowa Freedom of Information Council has offered to cover the $6,000 expenses for the exploratory panel.

Read more about the proposed agency here.

Records Show Who Wanted to be the New USF Football Coach

The Tampa Tribune filed a public records request to find out who applied for the University of South Florida head football coach position after the university dismissed former coach Jim Leavitt.

Although Skip Holtz got the job, records show that the university received materials from coaches all over the country who were interested in the position, but not from Holtz.

Click here to find out who applied for the spot.

Wisconsin Bill Proposes to Remove Certain Court Records from Public Access

A Wisconsin Assembly committee is considering a bill that would remove public access to online information about pending court cases or cases where a person was found innocent or there was no civil liability, including cases where orders or charges are reopened, vacated, set aside or overturned on appeal.

Proponents of the bill say online access to court records creates an opportunity for employers, landlords and others to discriminate against individuals who were accused, but not convicted of any wrongdoing.

Critics say the bill is an insult to the public, and note that the information is publicly-available at the courthouse.

The bill would permit access to the records by judges, court officials, law enforcement officials, attorneys, accredited journalists and bill collectors.

Read more here.

New Jersey Supreme Court Makes City' Confidential Settlement Public

The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that an out-of-court settlement of a sexual harassment lawsuit is a public document. The Asbury Park Press and John Paff of the Open Government Advocacy Project made a request under the state's Open Public Records Act for the settlement document of a lawsuit brought against Monmouth County officials. The Board of Freeholders refused, citing a confidentiality agreement among all parties. The Court rejected those grounds.

Read more here.

Proposed Law Would Extend FOIA Reach to Private Prisons

Congress is considering proposed legislation to extend the Freedom of Information Act to private prisons that contract with government agencies. At present, the companies that run private prisons say they are not subject to FOIA because they are not public agencies.

Read more about H.R. 2450 here.

Connecticut Considers Restricting Inmate Access to Open Records Laws

Connecticut may restrict prison inmates from using open records laws to get personal information to harass or threaten their guards, prosecutors, or other inmates. Washington, Arkansas, Michigan, Virginia, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Kansas, Alabama, Georgia and Arizona have laws that limit or block inmate access to state open-records laws.

Connecticut prison guards are concerned about the requests of Richard Stevenson, who is serving an 86-year sentence for sexual assault and who is seeking off-duty arrest records for more than 100 guards.

Read more here.

Mississippi Student Faces Costly Hurdles in Public Records Assignment

A journalism student at the University of Mississippi learned how hard and expensive it can be to obtain public records.

The senior attempted to obtain two city budgets from Oxford, Mississippi, but the fees estimates changed from week to week, ranging from $30 to $96.

Click here to read how city officials admitted to charging more for records to slow down the process when the city is "inundated" with requests. Another city official says it receives "about six" requests per year.

Washington Post and Obama Disagree Regarding Administration's Open Government Track Record

The Washington Post reports that 319 lawsuits were filed under the Freedom of Information Act during Obama's tenure in the White House so far, and plaintiffs complain that little has changed since the Bush administration in terms of openness, despite Obama's promise that his administration would be the most open in history. The paper reports that 278 records suits were filed in 2007 and 298 in 2008.

But the White House responded, contradicting the report and saying that 22 fewer FOIA cases were filed in 2009 than 2008, and the Department of Justice has granted 13% more FOIA requests in 2009 than it did during the Bush administration.

U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Washington Referendum 71 Petition Dispute

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear Doe v. Reed, the case to determine whether the names of Washington voters who signed a ballot petition for Referendum 71 can be made public. The referendum sought to overturn expanded rights for same-sex couples, and supporters of gay rights filed a public records request for the names of those who signed the petition. Referendum sponsors objected, saying the signers would be harassed.

Meanwhile a Washington state legislative committee is considering competing bills over the dispute. One would provide an exemption to the state's Public Records Act for the names and addresses on initiative or referendum petitions; the other would declare them public records.

Read more here.

Virginia Bill Would Add Another FOIA Exemption

A bill pending in the Virginia General Assembly seeks to exempt all records generated by campus threat assessment teams from the state's Freedom of Information Act.

The University of Virginia supports the legislation, saying it would allow teams to discuss potential threats to campus safety openly and would allow campus mental health providers and law enforcement officials to share confidential information.

Open government advocates disagree, cautioning the measure would make it more difficult to hold public officials accountable and identify any gaps in the campus security system if an incident were to occur.

Read more about the proposed bill here.

SEC Treated AIG Bailout Document Like a Matter of National Security

Emails turned over by the New York Federal Reserve to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform reveal that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission originally treated the New York Fed's request to keep secret details of the American International Group (AIG) bailout like a request to protect matters of national security.

Reuters reports that the New York Fed was only comfortable with AIG submitting a bailout-related document tot he SEC after it received assurances that "special security procedures" would be used to handle the document. The SEC also agreed that only two SEC employees would review the document and it would be kept in a locked safe.

For more on the protective measures of the AIG bailout details, click here.

Testing Illinois Localities on FOIA Compliance

The Herald-News did an interesting test of state and local government response times to new Illinois FOIA laws, which took effect January 1. The news organization sent FOIA requests to more than 100 local towns, school districts and counties, seeking information on where taxpayer money is being spent.

Check out the results here and an interactive feature here.

Alaska Judge Rules in Favor of Palin; State Business May Be Conducted through Private Email Accounts

An Alaska judge ruled in favor of former Gov. Sarah Palin in a lawsuit that urged that Palin and the governor's office had a responsibility to save email messages related to state business, even if they were sent through private email accounts.

In the ruling, Judge Patrick J. McKay of Anchorage Superior Court writes that, "The language in our case is clear — the Legislature simply chose to give state agencies some discretion in determining which e-mails are worthy of preservation and which are not." McKay noted that the statutes as currently written allow Alaska's state business to be conducted through private email accounts.

Read more here.

Delaware House Considers Setting a 10-Day Compliance Deadline for State FOIA Requests

Delaware Online reports that a Delaware House committee has approved a bill giving public agencies 10 days to respond to public records requests as a way to help correct existing FOIA law in Delaware that does not set a compliance deadline for FOIA requests.

The bill will be considered by the full Delaware House.

Click here for more information.

Short Documentary Film Traces First Year of Obama's Open Government Initiative

Check out this video from Delib. It's a short documentary about the first year since Obama's Open Government memorandum and features interviews with such insiders as Beth Noveck, Tim O'Reilly, and Jeffrey Levy, among others.

Proposed Law Could Limit Public Information in Mississippi

A Mississippi state representative is proposing a bill to ban businesses and government agencies from sharing personal information about employees, including their work telephone numbers or email addresses, a move that could make Mississippi less responsive to the public.

Read more about House Bill 691 here.

Illinois Police Officer Fell Asleep, Crashing Car Into Home's Foyer

Records released pursuant to a FOIA request reveal that a Wheaton, Illinois police officer fell asleep at the wheel of her squad car in September, causing her to crash the car through the front door of a house at 4 a.m.

Although no one was injured in the accident, the records show the officer said she fell asleep, but woke upon impact and believed she hit the gas pedal, accelerating through the front door.

The unnamed officer faces a possible suspension and disciplinary hearing after the city determines how much it will cost to repair the home. The officer's identity was redacted from records because of a clause in the contract between the union and the department.

Read more here.

Records of Alleged Sexual Assaults by a Former NC Police Officer Ordered to be Released

A Mecklenburg, NC judge has ordered the release of all 911 tapes and police radio communications associated with former Officer Marcus Jackson, who was arrested and fired after several women accused him of sexually assaulting them during traffic stops.

Superior Court Judge Richard Boner ruled the recordings are public records subject to disclosure, and did not find that the release of the recordings would jeopardize the state's prosecution of the former police officer or his right to a fair trial.

For more information, click here.

Federal Agency Datasets Now Available; Interactive Transparency Tracker Marks Progress

Federal agencies have posted nearly 300 new sets of raw data online as part of the Open Government Directive.

Click here for ProPublica's interactive chart, the Transparency Tracker, which provides an independent assessment of the federal agencies' efforts toward more open governmental transparency

Indiana House Considers Restricting Access to Gun Owner Information

The Indiana House of Representative will consider a bill to restrict access to information about handgun permit holders, including a prohibition against the release of names, addresses, and other information about the gun owners.

More here.

Sen. Kerry Pushes for Release of King Records

Senator John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) has introduced legislation that would require all records relating to the life and death of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to be located, reviewed and released by a National Archives review board. The legislation is part of a larger movement to force the release of information about violence against blacks during the civil rights era, including unsolved lynching and bombing cases.

Read more about it here.

Oklahoma Bill Would Exempt Government Employees' Birth Dates from Public Disclosure

An Oklahoma state legislator has filed a bill that would exempt government employees' birth dates from the state Open Records Act, which critics say would make it virtually impossible to identify state employees and determine if they have committed crimes, avoided taxes, filed for bankruptcy or made political contributions.

The Oklahoman has reported that more than 250 Oklahoma City and Oklahoma County employees match those of registered sex offenders, though the paper isn't able to confirm identities because city and county officials have refused to disclose their employees' birth dates.

The state attorney general recently opined that birth dates are presumed open and may only be withheld on a case-by-case basis upon a showing that the disclosure would amount to an unwarranted invasion of privacy.

Read more about the proposed legislation here.

West Virginia Supreme Court to Hear Important FOIA Case

The West Virginia Supreme Court has made two important decisions regarding FOIA cases.

In one, the Court declined to reconsider its decision not to force the release of former Justice Spike Maynard's email exchange with Massey Energy President Don Blankenship.

In the other, the Court will hear a full appeal of a FOIA case from Jefferson County wherein The Shepherdstown Observer is trying to force the release of persons who signed a zoning petition. The case considers a lower court ruling's that allows state and local agencies to withhold documents that were submitted to them.

Read more here and here.

Virginia Bill Would Block Public Access to Concealed Handgun Records

A Virginia state representative is sponsoring legislation that would prohibit a clerk of court from providing public access to concealed handgun permit applications and information without the written consent of the applicant or permittee.

Currently, individuals records are open for inspection at the courthouse of the locality that issued the permit, but the state does not maintain an electronic database.

Read more about the proposal here.

Illinois Legislators Move to Exempt Teacher Performance Records from Public Disclosure

Illinois legislators passed a bill exempting performance evaluations of teachers and school administrators from public disclosures. Lobbyists for the teachers' unions had urged the change to the sweeping overhaul to the state's FOIA enacted five months ago, contending that performance evaluations are private and their disclosure would interfere with the evaluation process. Open records advocates disagree, saying it's in the public interest to know whether teachers or school administrators are substandard in their performance.

Get more information here.

Proposed Law Would Force Wisconsin's Athletic Association to Comply with Open Government Laws

The Green Bay Press Gazette reports that a proposed bill before Wisconsin's Assembly would prevent public schools from joining athletic associations unless the organizations adhere to state open records and open meetings laws.

Read more about it here and an editorial here.

Washington Open Records Office Gains Gubernatorial Support

Washington Governor Chris Gregoire says she supports the creation of a new Office of Open Records, but doubts that it can happen this year given the state's $2.6 billion budget deficit. The proposed Office of Open Records would serve as a dispute resolution center for open government issues. While Gregoire said the proposed office's $1.3 million price tag is too steep for the state now, she said state and local governments should be given more training on open government laws.

Read more here.

CREW Files Suit to Obtain SEC Reform Documents

The legal watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington ("CREW"), filed a lawsuit seeking a court order that would require the SEC to provide documents the organization sought under FOIA on October 6. The group seeks records showing that the agency has implemented promised reforms in the wake of the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme.

The SEC says it has not yet provided the records because of the voluminous requests, but a spokesperson says they expect to release documents regarding the reforms later in January.

Get more information here.

Georgia State Attorney General's Office Requests Criminal Investigation of Former DOT Treasurer

The Georgia state attorney general's office has asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to conduct a criminal investigation of former DOT treasurer Earl Mahfuz. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained the October 28, 2009 letter seeking the GBI investigation through a Georgia Open Records Act request.

The letter asks the GBI to determine whether Mahfuz instructed DOT employees to stop recording contracts before the end of fiscal year 2008 and whether Mahfuz lied to investigators about the unrecorded contacts, which total $153.4 million.

Read more here.

Nice look at federal secrcey from an FOI warrior

Jon Wiener, the author of, among other books, "Gimme Some Truth: The John Lennon FBI Files," wrote this for the Los Angeles Times.

New Vick Dogfighting Docs Released

The United States Department of Agriculture, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by WSBTV.COM, has released hundreds of pages of new evidence in its high-profile investigation of NFL quarterback Michael Vick.The newly released documents include summaries of interrogations conducted by federal investigators with member of Vick's dogfighting ring and with confidential informants in the case.

Story here.

The Robert Jackson Steering Committee Seeks Bush-Era Legal Memoranda Regarding Torture

On Thursday, January 7, an organization of attorneys, journalists and advocates filed a FOIA request for the DOJ's Office of Professional Responsibility's report regarding the conduct of President Bush's top lawyers in the Office of Legal Counsel who authored memoranda purporting to authorize torture and aggressive war. The request also seeks a 10-page rebuttal of the 2008 report by then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey.

See the request and transmittal letter here.

Columbia Journalism Review Rates Obama's First Year on Transparency Issues

The Columbia Journalism Review has issued its report card on Obama's first year in office, grading him on transparency and access issues and finding there's still plenty of work to be done.

Click here to see Obama's marks on use of the state secrets privilege, FOIA, the Open Government Directive, online data, White House Visitor Records, a journalist's shield law, and background briefings.

Palin Used Personal E-Mail Account for Public Business

The Alaska Dispatch has published a two-part series on former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's attempt to divide her public and personal life by using two different email addresses while in office. Except, it turns out the dividing line wasn't so clear-cut; for example, she discussed hiring for public positions with other government officials on the Yahoo e-mail account because "everyone and their mother will be able to read emails that arrive via that state address."

For more, click here.

Pressure Builds to Make Secret Chemicals Known

The Washington Post reports lawmakers are facing pressure to make it more difficult for manufacturers to keep chemical compounds a secret. Under the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, manufacturers must report new chemicals they intend to market to the federal government, but the law exempts from public disclosure any information that could be considered trade secrets. Practically speaking, that means 20 percent of the 84,000 chemicals in commercial use in the United States are kept secret.

Critics, including the Obama administration, say consumers should know what toxic substances they might be exposed to. Congress is expected to rewrite chemical regulations this year.

For more information, click here.

Federal Agencies Need Not Confirm or Deny Electronic Surveillance under FOIA

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed that the National Security Agency and the Department of Justice do not need to confirm or deny the existence of electronic surveillance records under FOIA. The appellate court found that federal agencies are allowed to file "Glomar" responses, which were first judicially recognized in 1976 and grant an agency express refusal to even confirm or deny the existence of any records responsive to a FOIA request in the national security context.

The lawsuit was brought by advocates for former Guantanamo Bay detainees after the agencies invoked FOIA exceptions to information request regarding warrantless electronic surveillance conducted by the Terrorist Surveillance Program.

Get more particulars here.

Federal Law Restricts Public Access to Gun Shop Inspection Records

As part of its investigation into the West Milwaukee gun store known as Badger Guns & Ammo, Badger Outdoors and Badger Guns, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has sought records to determine the compliance history of these gun dealers whose guns were used to wound six officers in Milwaukee over the past two years.

But the papers efforts have been stymied by a law that strictly limits what information the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives can release on gun shop inspections. The law requires heavy redaction of inspection documents and a limit of the ATF's release of gun trace data.

Read more about the law's effect on law enforcement here.

Posts Made on Social Networking Sites Are Public Records

Wisconsin Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen issued an opinion in which he states that electronic communications made by elected officials are public records, even when they are posted on social networking site. Van Hollen states that the Wisconsin Public Records laws applies whenever the content is connected to the official's purpose or function.

Get more info here.

Contracts Obtained by FOIA Requests Show Football Coaches Rewarded for Performance, Not Academic, Successes

No surprise here. The San Francisco Chronicle obtained contracts from 70 public universities playing big-time football to see how "performance-based" bonuses compared to bonuses given to coaches for their players' academic achievement. On the whole, the paper found that the contracts are quite specific in the monetary rewards of winning on the field, but are much more vague when it comes to academic achievement bonuses.

For specifics on the contracts, including the coaches of University of Florida and UCLA, click here.

New Knight Foundation Grant to Fund FOI Advocacy

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has approved a new $2 million, three-year grant to the National Freedom of Information Coalition to launch the Knight FOI Fund and support state open government groups.

In light of the declining levels of FOI advocacy due to the economic crisis and the evolution of the news media, the Knight FOI Fund will fund litigation costs, such as filing fees, deposition costs, and initial consultation fees, if attorneys are willing to take cases that otherwise would go unfiled. Additionally, the NFOIC will offer sustainability and project grants for state FOI coalitions, with a call for new grants to be made in the spring of 2010.

Read more information about the Knight FOI Fund and the underlying need for the new funding here and here.

Obama Issues New Executive Order for Classified Documents

President Obama's recent executive order and accompanying presidential memorandum declares that "no information may remain classified indefinitely." The executive order is part of an overhaul of the executive branch's system for protecting classified national security information.

The executive order requires agency heads to conduct a periodic review of the agency's classification guidelines to ensure that classified information that no longer requires protection can be declassified.

Obama also eliminated a 2003 rule by the Bush administration that allowed the leader of the intelligence community to veto decisions by an interagency panel to declassify information. Under the Obama rule, spy agencies who object to a decision will have to appeal to the president.

Obama also established a new National Declassification Center at the National Archives to streamline the process of declassifying historical documents and set a four-year deadline for processing a 400-million page backlog of such records, including archives relating to military operations during World War II and the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

For more information, see the New York Times article here.

The King of Pop's FBI Files

In response to a FOIA request by several news organizations, the FBI released more than 300 pages of its file on the late pop star, Michael Jackson, which detail its investigation into charges of child molestation against the singer in 1993 and 2004 as well as extortion threats made against Jackson in 1992.

Read more, here.

Judge Orders NYPD to Release Racial Data of Persons Under Police Gunfire from 1997 to 2006

Ruling on a case filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union in 2008, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Joan Madden ordered the NYPD to turn over the racial breakdown of all people shot at by police officers between 1997 and 2006.

The NYPD had agreed to release racial breakdown of those injured by police gunfire, but not data about those who were shot at but not hit.

For more information, click here.

Illinois Attorney General Names New Public Access Counselor in Advance of Revised FOIA Effective Date

Cara Smith, deputy chief of staff for Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, will be the agency's new public access counselor to enforce the state Freedom of Information Act, revisions to which will take effect on January 1, 2010.

The revised FOIA includes fines for failure to comply with the law and tighter deadlines for government to respond to FOIA requests.

Click here for more on the new revisions to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.

Attempting to Examine the Relationships Between Drug Companies, Medical Device Makers, and Med Schools

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and reporter John Fauber have filed suit against the University of Wisconsin's medical school and its supporting foundation for violating the state's public records laws. The lawsuit alleges that the school and foundation have wrongfully refused to release faculty comments about a proposed conflict-of-interest policy.

The institutions have refused to provide the faculty comments on the ground that they were not public records, and even if they were, there was a greater public interest in keeping them secret than in disclosing them.

Critics contend that the money drug and medical-device companies pay to doctors and medical school lead to higher health care costs.

For more information, click here.

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Journalism Students Pleased with Attorney General's Response

In April, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee journalism students filed a request with Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen regarding the applicability of the public records and open meetings law to student governments in the University of Wisconsin System. They say they are pleased with the Attorney General's response, which concludes that a student government organization is subject to the requirements of Wisconsin's open meetings law under certain circumstances.

Proposed Federal Legislation to Protect Petition and Free Speech

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) has introduced the Citizen Participation Act of 2009, H.R. 4364, which encourages civic engagement and protects against meritless lawsuits brought against those who petition the government or speak out on a public issue. If someone is sued without merit for exercising his or her First Amendment rights, the bill would allow the defendant to have the lawsuit dismissed and recover attorney's fees.

Get more information about the bill here and a link to the bill here.

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Oregon Attorney General John Kroger has appointed an attorney to be a full-time public records chief who will develop a statewide standard for releasing government documents, and instead of requiring a $25 fee, Kroger has placed a citizens guide to using public records law and the Attorney General's Public Records and Meetings Manual online. These moves signal greater efforts to improved government transparency.

But, at the same time, Kroger has also signaled his office will no longer confirm or deny open investigations on civil matters involving businesses accused of consumer fraud.

For more information, click here.

USA Today Investigation Shows Norovirus Sickened 7500 Children Since 1998

A USA Today investigation found that the norovirus is the most sickening food-borne illness for schoolchildren, and it is most often spread through improper food handling in cafeterias. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show that norovirus caused about 7,500 children to be sick from food-borne illness from 1998 to 2007 with more than 8,500 failing to have their kitchens inspected last year.

For more details, click here.

What French Toast Has to do with FL Commuter Rail Negotiations

A Florida state representative says the Department of Transportation used food names, like "pancakes" and "French toast" as the subject line in emails about the state's commuter rail negotiations in order to foil public records requests.

The DOT head counters, saying the food names were used simply to get his attention. But critics are skeptical, asserting that the DOT officials were actively circumventing transparency laws.

For more on the scandal, click here.

AP Asks West Virginia Supreme Court to Rehear Email Dispute

The Associated Press has filed a request for rehearing of a November ruling that decided a former justice's emails to a coal company executive were not subject to West Virginia's Freedom of Information Act.

The AP's petition asks the Court to reverse its opinion and rehear the case because the state's FOIA law should be liberally applied. "The dreadful message sent by this Court's opinion is that questions about a judge's impartiality are none of the public's business," the AP filing states. "To suggest that such records are non of the public's business is not just wrong factually and legally, it is bad public policy."

For more information, click here.

FOIA Request Shows FBI Scrutinized John Hope Franklin

TPMmuckraker obtained the FBI file for the late John Hope Franklin, which reveal the FBI scrutinized the historian in the 1960s for supposed ties to communists, his opposition to the House Committee on Un-American Activities, and his support for W.E.B. Du Bois. Franklin was 94 when he died in May. Franklin authored the classic work From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African-Americans.

The FBI file is comprised mainly of background checks when he was up for presidential appointments. The FBI withheld 18 pages of the 515-page file.

For more information and an excerpt of the historian's file, click here.

Redaction Run Amok!

The Puget Sound Business Journal has been seeking internal communications between Washington Mutual (WaMu) and federal regulators, including the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC).

Of interest are internal emails, which the news organization hopes will help explain why regulators seized the bank in September 2008 even though WaMu appeared to meet regulatory standards for operating banks.

The results of the FOIA requests have been less than forthcoming. OTS denied the request in full, citing FOIA exemptions that protect records concerning the operations of financial institutions and to protect inter-agency communication. Meanwhile, the FDIC produced emails, but they were so heavily redacted as to be meaningless. In doing so, the FDIC relied on FOIA exemption 8, which allows the government to redact information related to the regulation or supervision of financial institutions.

To see the emails, click here.

Millions of Bush Administration E-mails Found

The AP reports that computer technicians found 22 million missing White House e-mails from the George W. Bush administration as part of litigation brought against the Executive Office of the President in 2007 by two private groups - Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and the National Security Archive. The two groups alleged the Bush White House failed to install an electronic record-keeping system.

Before the emails are released to the public, the National Archives will have to process the records for release. The records won't be available until 2014 at the earliest.

For more details regarding the e-mail discovery, click here.

Investigation into Use of Confiscated World Series Tickets to be Public

Writing that, "if anyone should obey the law, the Metropolitan Police Department should," a judge in St. Louis order the Board of Commissioners to release records of the investigation of police officers who let family and friends use dozens of 2006 World Series tickets that had been confiscated from scalpers. Circuit Judge Philip D. Heagney said the board ignored open records laws and court decisions.

Heagney rejected the arguments of the police lawyers that the report should be kept from public scrutiny because it did not involve criminal activity, only personnel issues exempt under the law.

For more regarding the decision and the disciplinary actions taken against the police officers, click here.

Pennsylvania Judge Says Addresses Don't Need to be Released in Emergency Logs

A York County, Pennsylvania judge ruled that the county could refuse to release addresses in emergency time response logs and still comply with the commonwealth's Right-to-Know law. In making his ruling, President Judge Richard K. Renn noted that the citizen's privacy concerns were compelling, particularly in an emergency situation. The York Daily Record/Sunday News requested time response logs in order to audit emergency response times.

Click here for the judge's opinion and here for some community response.

High Speed Chase Video Obtained by FOIA Request

Watch this video obtained by 24 Hour News 8 through a FOIA request of a high-speed crash involving a Michigan State Police trooper on September 19 when the trooper was trying to pull over a speeding motorcyclist.

Open Government Foes Argue Freedom of Speech is Protected Best by Secrecy

Three Texas cities and the Texas Municipal League have endorsed a legal challenge to Texas' Open Meetings Act, claiming the law unconstitutionally restricts their freedom of speech. The Texas Municipal League also passed a resolution to support changes that would lessen the penalties for violations of the open meetings act.

Critics point out, of course, that government officials enjoy freedom of speech under the state law, but simply must say it in front of the public at an open meeting when they are part of a quorum of a governmental body.

Click here for more.

Delaware Representative Wants Quicker FOIA Responses

A Delaware state representative has pre-filed a bill designed to ensure timely responses to FOIA requests. House Bill 300 would establish a deadline of 10 business days for government agencies and public entities to respond to FOIA requests.

Click here for more, including an audio report.

Federal Media Shield Bill Advances

The Senate Judiciary Committee cleared the media shield bill, a bill to protect reporters' confidential sources in federal court, except in cases of national security.

The bill defines journalists broadly, including bloggers, citizen journalists and freelancers.

For more information, click here.

NJ School Board Members Need to Take it Outside

An attorney advising the Pequannock, NJ school board opined that using a cell phone or PDA to communicate during meetings could violate the state's Open Public Meetings Act, saying such messaging is "probably a violation of the spirit and intent" of the law. The attorney has asked school board members to step outside the board room to use their cell phones or PDAs if they need to use them during meetings.

Get the full story here.

Open Government Initiative's Progress Report

The White House's Open Government Initiative published this post with a link to its Progress Report on Open Government to the American People regarding the Obama administration's goal to increase government transparency, participation, and collaboration. Check it out - it's quite good, actually.

NY Sheriff's Office Charges for Inaccurate Records

The Onondaga County Sheriff's Office in New York has found itself amidst a bit of controversy after a retired state trooper was denied a job as a volunteer mentor in Syracuse schools because the county sheriff's background check turned up a 33-year-old arrest for shoplifting, even though the case was forever sealed by a judge.

The Sheriff's Office admits that its records rarely show the court disposition of charges. In addition to being inaccurate, the records cost $10 to obtain. Robert Freeman, executive director of the state Committee on Open Government says the Sheriff shouldn't charge for these public records, except for copying costs.

For more information, click here.

Obama Administration Releases Open Government Directive

This morning, the Obama administration released its Open Government Directive, which calls for "transparency, participation and collaboration" by all federal departments and agencies. It seeks to "create and institutionalize a culture of open government."

The initiative directs the governmental departments and agencies with specific requirements and deadlines. It will allow the public to soon have immediate access to all sorts of federal information and will provide for public feedback on the quality of information provided.

See the Directive here.

Click for more views and commentary.

Disclosure of Concealed-Handgun Permits Weighed by Oregon Court of Appeals

Attorneys have argued the case pending before the Oregon Court of Appeals to decide whether Oregon's sheriffs must disclose the holder of concealed-handgun permits under the state's public records law. The lower court ruled in favor of the newspaper and openness of public records. There is no deadline for the court to render its decision.

The case stems from the Mail Tribune's request to obtain the list of people with concealed-handgun permits in 2007. The Jackson County sheriff refused to make the records public, arguing that privacy concerns weighed against disclosure. An attorney for the sheriff said he was asserting a right of privacy for the permit holders, asserting it may be "stigmatizing" for permit holders to have that information made public.

The Mail Tribune's attorney disagrees and argues that the concealed-handgun permit form at the time contained an acknowledgement that the information was subject to state public records law.

Click here for more info.

Oklahoma Attorney General Opinion Leaves Agencies with Discretion to Release Employees' Birth Dates

Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson has released an opinion that leaves it to government agencies to decide whether to release public employees' birth dates. The opinion states government agencies have the discretion to determine whether the release of an employee's birth date falls within the exemption to the state's Open Records Act that allows records to be kept confidential if releasing them would be an "unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."

The opinion came in response to Oklahoma City's refusal to release the birth date of the city's Weed and Seed program director, Ed Martin, who was placed on administrative leave after city officials found federal grant funds had been mismanaged. The Oklahoman, arguing it is impossible to match common names without a birth date, sought Martin's birth date in order to conduct background research after he was identified as part of the investigation.

For more information, click here.

What a "Presumption of Openness" Means

The Janesville Gazette in Wisconsin reports it battled with the Rock County corporate counsel, Jeff Kuglitsch, to obtain documents related to the resignation of former Human Resources Director John Becker. Yet it took the newspaper two months and four letters to obtain the documents, which were sitting in Kuglitsch's office the whole time.

Attorney Robert Dreps with the Wisconsin Newspaper Association was outraged when he learned of the tactics used to respond to the newspaper's records request, calling them "semantics" and noting, "Open records law provisions aren't determined by where you put the document or what you call it."

For his part, Kuglitsch maintains he followed the law.

Examining the Breadth of Sunshine in the Sunshine State

A Florida representative has asked the state attorney general to determine if a regional economic development organization is subject to the state's open records and meeting laws.

Florida's Great Northwest, an economic development group designed to push workforce development in 16 northwest Florida counties, was not created by law or public agency, but it does receive federal and state money. The group maintains that it is exempt from the open meeting and open records law.

For more information, click here.

Social Research Conference: February 24 - 26, 2010

The New School in New York City will host a social research conference, Limiting Knowledge in a Democracy, on February 24, 25, and 26. The conference will investigate how our government and other institutions organize, fund, restrict, facilitate or affect the flow of knowledge, and examine how limits may support or undermine democracy. The conference will begin with a keynote address by Seymour Hersch.

For more information, click here.

FOIA Request Reveals How a School Lunch Program Ordered Recalled Tainted Beef

The USA Today obtained through FOIA that raises questions regarding whether the government took adequate steps to ensure meat purchased for schoolchildren is safe. During a recall of ground beef products made at Beef Packers Inc. from June 5 to June 23, four orders were produced for the National School Lunch Program.

Get the full report here.

Lawsuit Asks Government How it Cyber-Stalks

The Electronic Frontier Foundation and UC Berkeley's Samuelson Center has sued a number of federal agencies to force them to release documents regarding the use of social networking sites, like YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, as part of investigative procedures.

The FOIA requests seek manuals on the procedures for accessing social sites, policies for creating fake identities, and software used to analyze data harvested.

Read more here.

Open Records Advocate Says He Knows How to Save the Government Billions

Open records advocate Carl Malamud obtained information through a FOIA request showing that the Department of Justice paid more than $4 million in 2009 and the IRS paid nearly $1 million in 2008 for access to the federal court's electronic filing system, which is composed entirely of documents in the public domain. Malamud says an open source repository of U.S. legal materials could save the government billions of dollars.

Malamud has filed 34 requests with federal agencies and is preparing to file another 100 to offices in the executive branch as part of his campaign to make court records available in bulk.

The federal courts search system known as Public Access to Court Electronic Records, or PACER, charges $.08 per page to look at federal court filings (excluding tax courts and the Supreme Court) and pulled in nearly $50 million in 2006. The system does not allow for bulk download.

For more information about Malamud's campaign, click here.

Former Arizona Diamondbacks Pitcher's Wife Died of a Cocaine Overdose

An Arizona Court of Appeals disclosed the cause of death for former Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Scott Schoeneweis' wife in a ruling on whether an autopsy report and other records must be disclosed under Arizona's public records law.

Gabrielle Schoeneweis was found dead on May 20 in the couple's suburban Phoenix home. Her death was caused by an overdose of cocaine and an anesthetic, lidocaine.

Read more about it here.

High Copying Costs Thwart Open Public Records Act Goals

The New Jersey Foundation for Open Government says outmoded copying fees are exorbitant in light of technological advances that make copying easier, faster, and cheaper than in years past, and that such fees present a real deterrent to the open government goals espoused in the Open Public Records Act.

The current fees are at least 75 cents per page for the first 10 pages, 50 cents per page for the next 10 pages, and 25 cents per page for additional pages. While litigants can petition for a fee reduction on a case-by-case basis, open government advocates urge the NJ Legislature to lower the fees by statute.

For more information, click here.