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Yesterday's News

An archive of news articles and recently featured items.

Beyond the Beltway

A Secret Meeting on a Ban on Talks with the Media

The supervisors in Upper Makefield, Pa, have some real secrecy in mind. The supervisors met in executive session to discuss an ordinance that would ban conversations with the press by city officials unless authorized by a majority of the board. The proposal was leaked by the supervisor it appears the board is most interested in silencing. (4/23/08)

Reporter-Source Shield Revision Wins Support of Hawaii's Attorney General

A reporter-source shield law is back on the table in Hawaii after a meeting between the attorney general and a media representative at which a compromise was worked out. The new draft would grant a qualified privilege for reporters to protect their sources and would define journalists to include bloggers and citizen journalists when their work is in the public interest. The new draft now goes to legislative committees for discussion. (4/23/08)


Times-Picayune Sues New Orleans Police to Obtain for Records Delay

The New Orleans Times-Picayune sued the police department, saying it routinely delayed release of incident reports and that it failed to provide other records the newspaper requested. The newspaper listed six records requests, dating back to last December, that have not been fulfilled, including data on crimes by districts and arrest statistics. (4/23/08)

Difference Views on Records Law Compliance in Wichita

An audit of public records requests to three local governments by the Wichita Eagle produced records indicating most requests are granted, but the paper said some citizens involved may not agree with the record keeping. It profiled one resident who said his request for a council agenda was delayed and came after the meeting and a drainage study report did not have complete data. (4/21/08)

Oregon Construction Worker Keeps Busy Filing Public Records Suits

An Oregon construction worker and his attorney have turned the filing of public records suits into a business of sorts; a cottage industry in the words of one disgruntled public official. David Koenig just won $40,000 in legal fees and penalties from the city of Lakewood, which denied him records on the arrest of a police officer in a prostitution sting. In previous suits, he won legal fee and penalty judgments of $22,700, $27,000 and $83,500 against other law enforcement agencies. He said he has personally cleared between $30,000 and $50,000 from the penalties awarded. (4/21/08)

Require Local Officials Be Trained, Public Records Suit Demands

After being forced to go to court twice this year to obtain public records, a California newspaper filed a third suit, asking to court to order county officials to undergo public records training. Before the court could rule, the Glenn County Board of Supervisors agreed to set up the training sessions. (4/21/08)

Washington State Auditor Finds High Level of Records Compliance

A survey of public records compliance by the Washington state auditor found high levels of overall compliance in the 10 largest cities and counties but said some citizens got a runaround and others were ask inappropriate questions. The City of Seattle was the most bureaucratic. While there were no outright denials, the auditor’s office put the compliance rate at 87% overall. (4/21/08)

Ohio Supreme Court Rules Foster Parent Data Is Public

The Ohio Supreme Court, ignoring a recently adopted law, said the public has a right to know the names of foster parents assigned by the state to take care of children. The court said the law, which goes into effect May 14, does not apply retroactively. The ruling was 7-0. Access to the information became an issue after a child was killed by foster parents who both had criminal records. (4/18/08)

Ex-NY Governor Slow in Turning Records Over to Archives

Former New York governor George Pataki is slow in turning over records of his 12 years in office, archivists complained. They said they’ve received only press releases and files on legislation, but not letters and e-mails. Previous governors have turned over their correspondence upon leaving the office. The delay has prompted the filing of a bill that would define what records of the governor are public and must be retained. ()4/17/08)

Ohio AG Balks at Releasing His Own E-Mail Correspondence

Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann, who has said e-mails of government officials are public records, is refusing to turn over his e-mail correspondence with a former scheduler, Jessica Utovich. The AG’s office denied a request from the Columbus Dispatch for all written correspondence between Dann and Utovich last September, October and November because it was "overbroad." (4/17/08)


Phone Numbers Pulled from Accident Reports in Texas

Police chiefs in many Texas cities have agreed to discontinue putting phone numbers of those involved in auto accidents in their incident reports. The decision came after negotiations between Texas departments of public safety and a Committee on Insurance Fraud about ways to stop ambulance chasers. A bill to mandate a 30-day delay in disclosure of accident reports failed in last year’s Texas legislative session. (4/17/08)

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Sues WVU Over Access to Records

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sued West Virginia University, saying the university’s response to a request for records related to the award of an MBA to the daughter of the Gov. Joe Manchin violated the state's open records law. “"The university has engaged in a constant and consistent practice of delay, evasion and concealment," the newspaper said in its complaint. (4/17/08)

SF Chronicle: 911 Reports Show Emergency Response Short of Goals

The San Francisco Chronicle used the city’s Sunshine Ordinance and the state Public Records act to get records of four years of 911 dispatch logs, including more than 300,000 medical calls. It used the data to calculate emergency response times and found the emergency crew failed to meet response time goals one-fourth of the time. (4/17/08)


West Virginia University Sued Over Records on MBA Award

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sued West Virginia University, saying the university’s response to a request for records related to the award of an MBA to the daughter of the Gov. Joe Manchin violated the state's open records law. “"The university has engaged in a constant and consistent practice of delay, evasion and concealment," the newspaper said in its complaint. (4/17/08)

Yale Agrees to Release Records on Campus Police

Yale University said it would make public internal police records rather than go to court over an unfavorable ruling from Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Commission. The commission ruled after police refused to turn over disciplinary records of the arresting officers to the attorney for a teenager charged with riding his bike on a city sidewalk. (4/17/08)

Animal Rights Activists Prompt UC Bid to Seal Records of Academics

The University of California has asked the legislature to restrict public access to information about those who do animal research and to make illegal to put personal information about those research academics online. UC said the request followed months of harassment, threats and vandalism at the homes and offices of university researchers. But a spokesman for one animal rights group said it would not stop protests. (4/16/08)

California Senate Blocks Confidentiality Agreements with Contractors

The California Senate approved, 33-1, a bill to prevent private companies who contract with government from using confidentiality agreements to keep their deals secret. The bill followed an effort by the San Francisco Chronicle to obtain records on a $165,000 audit done by a private firm for the University of California. The bill now goes to the House. (4/16/08)

Federal Judge Denies New York Police Bid to Submit Secret Affidavit

A federal judge upheld an earlier ruling denying a request by the New York Police Department to be allowed to file a secret affidavit in a law suit involving the department’s arrests and detaining of people protesting at the 2004 Republican convention. In the initial ruling, Federal Magistrate James Francis denied Cohen's request, calling it "antithetical to our adversary system of justice." District Judge Richard Sullivan upheld that decision. (4/16/08)

Illinois Witholds Background Records on Governor's Pardons

The governor-appointed Prisoner Review Board refused to release details surrounding the pardons granted by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich since 2003, saying it would be an “unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.” The Chicago Sun Times had sought the records in the wake of two pardons that appeared politically connected. The governor’s office said the withholding of records was a decision of the board and the governor had no comment. (4/16/08)

Iowa Senate Approves New Records, Meetings "Sunshine" Law

By a 43-6 vote, The Iowa Senate agreed to create a new citizen’s board to help the public gain access to public records and meetings. The bill was strongly opposed by lobbyists for cities, counties, school boards and public hospitals and it has yet to be considered by the House. The local officials are particularly concerned about what they say is ambiguity in the open meeting provisions. (4/16/08)


Media Brief Opposes Closing Portions of Idaho Murder Trial

Eighteen news organizations urged a federal judge in Boise, ID, to keep his courtroom open in the trial of confessed killer Joseph Duncan. U.S. District Court Judge Edward Lodge is considering whether to close the courtroom if a kidnap victim is called to testify or if the jury is shown a graphic videotape Duncan made as he tortured and killed her brother. (4/16/08)

Nevada Sheriff Mum on Governor's Flawed Concealed Gun Permit

Nevada’s governor has nine handguns but the local sheriff isn’t talking about how the governor got a permit to carry them without obtaining the required training in the use of each. The sheriff said his interpretation of state law – an interpretation disputed by a number of other Nevada sheriffs – is that it gives confidentiality to all information related to the gun permitting process. (4/16/08)

Proposed Contractor FOIA Exemption Dies in Connecticut Legislature

The joint Senate-House ethics committee let die a bill that would have exempted state contractors from the state’s Freedom of Information Act. Rep. Christopher Caruso and Sen. Gayle Slossberg, co- chairs of the committee, adjourned the committee meeting without taking up the bill, effectively blocking action this session. They called the proposal a threat to public accountability. (4/16/08)

New Texas Solicitor General Helped Craft FOIA Reform Bill

James C. Ho, who as chief counsel to Sen. John Cornyn, R-TX, helped craft the OPEN Government Act reforming Freedom of Information Act procedures, has been named solicitor general of Texas. In his new role, he will be the top legal advisor to Attorney General Greg Abbott. (4/11/08)

Florida Judge Gags Sheriff, Others in Teen Beating Case

A judge in Florida’s Polk County barred the sheriff and others involved in the investigation of the videotaped beating of a teenager from discussing the case publicly. Judge James Franklin said the sheriff’s office had already released “a barrage of inflammatory” information about the case in which eight people have been arrested. Lawyers for area media said the ruling was premature and would effectively stop the flow of all information to the public about the crime. (4/10/08)


Maryland Judge: Blogger Can't Use Shield Privilege in Libel Case

A district court judge in Maryland ruled that a blogger being sued by a local police chief for defamation is not fully protected by the state’s shield law. Judge Gerald Purnell said the blogger must detail his efforts to verify the content of a letter he posted critical of the chief. He said, however, the blogger, Joseph Albero, did not have to identify the source. (4/10’/08)

North Carolina Media Sue Goverrnor Over E-Mail Destruction

Almost a dozen media organizations sued North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley, asking the Superior Court to declare that the governor violated the public records law in “systematic deletion, destruction or concealment” of e-mail messages. Easley has since acknowledged that the most prominent e-mail destruction should not have happened and he has appointed a commission to come up with recommendations on new procedures and laws. (4/16/08)


Colorado Court Releases Full Indictment in Case of Missing Girl

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the entire indictment of the father of a missing six-year-old girl must be released. Prosecutors had released only a listing of the 60-count indictment, with no supporting facts. The Denver Post and the Associated Press filed a lawsuit seeking the additional information in the indictment. (4/8/08)

FBI Turns to FOIA to Gather Records in School Corruption Probe

The FBI office in El Paso, which says it was gathering information on large government contracts, filed a state Freedom of Information Act request with two area school districts for their largest purchasing deals. An agent declined to respond when asked if the information was gathered as intelligence in a current public corruption case involving school systems. (4/7/08)

Open Government an Issue in Washington Appellate Court Race

Open government is all but certain to be a prominent issue in the campaign for a court of appeals judgeship in Washington state. Tim Ford, the public records advocate in the attorney general’s office, filed against incumbent Judge Joyce “Robin” Hunt, who ruled for non-disclosure of information in two high profile cases, one involving an gas pipeline and the other release of a school bus videotape that showed bullying of a child whose parents sued the school system. (4/7/08)

Iowa Economic Grants Bill Would Seal Additional Information

Iowa lawmakers are considering a bill that would keep confidential more of the information corporations submit in applying for state economic grants. The legislation has passed the House and a Senate committee. Supporters claim companies are reluctant to apply for grants to increase research into renewable fuel production without the safeguard. Opponents say it could keep the public from knowing about projects that they would oppose. (4/3/08)


Louisiana May Extend Exemption for Development Activities

A senate committee in Louisiana approved legislation that would permit economic development officials to negotiate privately with businesses considering a move to the state. Proponents claim businesses would look elsewhere if negotiations were not kept secret. “We’re in a competition that’s growing more and more challenging every day,” Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret told a Senate committee. The bill would extend the exemption until 2012. (4/3/08)

Maryland Homeowners Oppose Digital Photo Record Plan

More than 100 residents of Maryland’s St. Mary’s County persuaded the county commission to hold off on plans to take digital photos of all the homes as an aid to fire department emergency response efforts. The photos would be part of a mapping program. The homeowners said they didn’t want the privacy of their homes invaded. (4/3/08)

Tennessee Handgun Exemption Dies in Committee

A bill that would have made confidential handgun permit information died in the Tennessee House. As a result, names and addresses of permit holders will remain public. The vote was not without some political intrigue, including a hasty committee vote to support a records exemption for handgun records after two opponents left the room. Then the House speaker and the chamber’s newest member showed up, called for a new vote and defeated the exemption. (4/3/08)

WashingtonState Auditors Test Agenies, Cities on Records Compliance

Washington state auditors, after a near year-long survey of public records request compliance by 30 cities, counties and state agencies, concluded that officials are doing “fairly well.” The full results won’t be released for a month, but the Spokane Spokesman Review said. It took Spokane County 18 days to provide a job description and city police never did respond to a request for travel information for top officers. (4/3/08)

New Jersey Supreme Court Releases Some Records on Attorneys

The clerk of the New Jersey Supreme Court complied with the request of a Web site operator for limited information on the state’s lawyers. The operator, Seattle-based Avvo, petitioned the court after the clerk initially rejected the request. Released were name, business address, business phone, registration number and date of admission to the New Jersey bar. (4/2/08)

New Law Will Open Some Mississippi Law Enforcement Information

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour signed into law a new public records bill requiring law enforcement agencies to provide a narrative description of any alleged crime, including the name the person charged and the time, date and location of the crime. More detailed information, such as investigative techniques and names of informants, are exempt. A spokesman said the governor considered it a “good compromise.” (4/2/08)

Florida Legislature Urged to Exempt Closed Pre-Litigation Meetings

The city of West Palm Beach has asked the state legislature to approve a new law that would let council members meet privately to discuss upcoming tort suits, suggesting this would permit quicker, less expensive settlements in some instances. Current Florida law requires anyone who wants to file a tort claim against the government to give six months notice, but council members can’t meet privately to discuss a case until litigation is filed. (4/1/08)

E-Mail Battle Rages on Two Fronts in California City

Another e-mail battle. One California businessman filed a complaint with the public integrity unit of the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office to force the city of Colton to keep official e-mails for at least two years. A second filed suit seeking a court order forcing the city to release e-mail records it currently has. (3/31/08).


Open Records Advocates Question Number of Tennessee Exemptions

Tennessee lawmakers have written 250 exemptions to the state’s public records law since it was first adopted in 1957, leading open government advocates to contend the law is too easy to modify and lawmakers are too responsive to special interests who seek greater privacy. They also contend the exemptions are too broad, resulting in too much government secrecy, the Tennessean reports. (3/31/08)

Connecticut Ethics Officials Broke Records Law, FOI Panel Rules

Connecticut’s Office of State Ethics and the Citizen’s Ethics Advisory Board violated the state public records law when they refused to release records on the job performance of the state’s ethics director, the state’s Freedom of Information Commission ruled. The commission had previously ordered the records released to a Hartford Courant reporter after a four month delay. The reporter then asked for a specific ruling on the legality of the withholding. (3/27/08)

Federal Judge Blocks Limited Release of Michigan Voter Records

A U.S. District voided Michigan’s presidential primary election law, under which the Democrat and Republican political parties could obtain individual voting records but other political parties and the public were closed out. As a result of the ruling by federal Judge Nancy Edmunds, the voter information will not be released to anyone. (3/27/08)

Public Records Reveal Only Part of What's in Your Water

While federal regulations require that water providers issue annual reports that reveal levels of regulated contaminants, there’s no law that requires the public be given information on pharmaceuticals in drinking water – and few, if any, do, the Associated Press reported. However, several hours after being interviewed, a top EPA administrator said his office would do everything possible to encourage utilities to provide that information. (3/27/08).

Arizona Court: TV Reporter Didn't Waive Shield Law Rights

An appellate court in Arizona rules a Phoenix television reporter did not waive his rights under the state’s reporter-source shield law when he declined to identify who gave him documents used in a report on a fatal rollover accident. To rule otherwise, the court said, would chill the free flow of information to the public. (3/26/08)

Bill to Seal Handgun Records Introduced in Tennessee Legislature

A bill that would seal the records of those licensed to carry handguns has been sponsored in the Tennessee legislature by the Senate majority leader, Mark Norris. It would be the 28th state with such a law but the Norris proposal, which has a House companion, would go further, threatening to imprison anyone who published permit information. (3/26/08)

Oklahoma Supreme Court Withdraws Ban on Posting Court Records

The Oklahoma Supreme Court withdrew its earlier order restricting public access to court records. The reversal came in response to strong criticism from the law enforcement community, business, court clerks, lawyers, journalists and other open government advocates. The new rules, which were intended to provide greater protection against identity theft, were to take effect June 10. They would have prevented Internet posting of court pleadings. (3/26/08)

Washington's Sunshine Committee Makes First Recommendations

Washington State’s Sunshine Committee has come up with two early recommendations in its review of open government laws. It suggested that information be disclosed on finalists for top government jobs and on investigations into the deaths of children. The panel did not deal with appointments to volunteer boards. (3/26/08)

Exploring the Sometimes High Cost of Records Access

The cost of obtaining public records can often be a means of denial. That’s why a $223 bill to a citizen seeking records on a former employee prompted the Ft. Myers News-Press to take a long look at records pricing practices in its area. The Oregonian told of a local man told he’d have to pay $140 for a police report. And Flint Journal reporter Bryan Mickle said he could buy a book for less than the city wanted to charge him for two job descriptions. (3/25/08)


Family History Driving Much of Citizens' Public Records Searching

What are the records most frequently sought by the average citizen? Organ State Archivist Mary Beth Herkert says it’s birth and death certificates, marriage licenses and other data that help geneologists track family histories. And a lot of folks go to police logs when they’ve heard a siren in the neighborhood the night before. Environmental records drive a lot of online research, too. (3/25/08)

Florida FOI Audit Finds Agencies Helpful but Often Wrong

The Florida First Amendment Foundation conducted its third FOI audit, this time looking at the open records performance of 34 state agencies. It found officials generally helpful but often unaware, not only of the law but of who in the agency should be contacted to deal with a records request. Half of the agencies violated at least one of the law's requirements. The Florida audit was just one of many around the country conducted in conjunction with Sunshine Week. (3/25/08)


Michigan Schools Urged to Post Spending Informtion

What’s good public policy? The Mackinac Center in Upper Michigan launched an initiative to get public school districts throughout the state to open their check registers for public inspection on the Internet. The center said it would compile a single Web listing for all the districts that participate. The state and local districts spend about $19 billion tax dollars a year. (3/25/08)

Records Law Confusion Keeps Arizona Ombudsman Busy

In its first year handling public access issues, Arizona’s Ombudsman and Citizens’ Aide fielded 368 inquiries, with 198 of those coming from the public, 138 from government officials and 38 from the media. The agency decision-making on release of information “has become very subjective and discretionary” said Elizabeth Hill, who handles access disputes for the office. “That’s the fault of our public records law.” (3/25/08)

Connecticut FOI Commission Proposes Exempting State Employee Addresses

The Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission is seeking public records exemption that would keep the home addresses of all state employees private. The commission suggested the broader exemption after the Environment Committee backed a bill excluding addresses of Environmental Conservation officers, fearing they might be victimized by angry hunters. (3/24/08)

Minnesota Supreme Court Rejects Prosecutor's Bid for Reporter's Notes

The Minnesota Supreme Court has rejected a local prosecutor's effort to force the Mankato Free Press to turn over a reporter’s notes from a telephone interview with a man who took his own life during an armed standoff with police. The high court refused to review an appellate court decision that said the paper did not have to comply with a subpoena for unpublished information because of the reporter-source privilege granted by the Minnesota shield law. (3/21/08)


South Dakota Group Presses for Contract Data Online

A South Dakota open government advocacy group said it is submitting enough signatures to the Secretary of State to force a November vote on a series of initiatives, including a measure requiring the state to build a website with information on all state contracts over $500. (3/21/08)

Utah AG Publishes Pocket Guide to Open Government

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is publishing a pocket-sized guide to the state’s public records and open meetings laws called, “The Open Book.” Commenting that “open government is better government” he said he hoped the handbook, question-answer format, would help in assuring that “the public’s business is conducted in public.” The AG’s office also publishes a 190-page Handbook for the Utah Government Records and Management Act. (3/20/08)

Iowa Records Complaints Double; Lawmakers Consider Several Reforms

The Iowa ombudsman’s office says citizen complaints about government compliance with open meetings and records laws have nearly doubled in the last five years. The office has told legislators it lacks the authority to resolve many of the disputes. As a result, lawmakers are considering several proposals to give the laws more teeth, including a five member commission to mediate disputes. (3/19/08)


Access to Records, Meetings Increasingly Restricted After 9/11

An Associated Press analysis of laws passed in the 50 states since 9/11 shows a steady increase in limits on access to government information. Legislatures passed more than 1,000 new laws involving access, and more than twice as many restricted disclosure as opened government books. States passed 616 laws that restricted access — to government records, databases, meetings and more — and 284 laws that loosened access. Another 123 laws had either a neutral or mixed effect, the AP found. (3/18/08)


Florida Launches Online Training for State Records Managers

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and Secretary of State Kurt Browning announced an online training program in records management to help government workers provide better access to public records. The first four training session were quickly filled. The secretary of state’s office expects to hold four more by the end of March. (3/18/08)


Hello Sunshine, Here Are Five Open Meetings Lawsuits

A Washington state courts opened for Sunshine Week, a Spokane-based public interest group, the Center for Justice, filed lawsuits against five government agencies for conducting improper executive sessions or other secret meetings. One suit said the Regional Clean Air Agency met in secret for eight months in picking a new director. The suits also named a school board, fire district and two city councils. (3/18/08)

American-Statesman Looks at The Everyday Use of Records in Reporting

The Austin American-Statesman provided a Sunshine Week look at the role public records play in everyday reporting with a detailed look at its reporting efforts in the past year. "I pretty much always have a request for information out there," said one reporter who covers state government. The article also recounted some problems reporters ran into during the year when they sought routine information. (3/17/08)


Officials' E-Mail Increasingly Being Viewed as Public Record

Those supposedly private e-mails that public officials send on their government cellphones to friends and colleagues may not be private after all. Increasingly, those text messages are being treated as records subject to state and federal disclosure laws, USA Today reports in a review of some recent high profile e-mail records cases. (3/17/08)


Information Inquiries on the Increase in Illinois

The Illinois Attorney General’s Office reported a 38 percent increase in requests for information about the state’s open meetings and records laws in 2007. There were a total of 1,366 inquiries to the office in 2007. Attorney General Lisa Madigan said the largest number of complaints involved search and copying costs. “The most egregious one we found was 10 cents a line ... so it turned out to be ... over $14,000. No joke.” The government unit drawing the most complaints? School boards. (3/14/08)


New Jersey Forum Offers Ideas for Improved Information Access

New Jersey Lawmakers and citizens tossed out ideas for improved access to information at an open government forum sponsored in conjunction with Sunshine Week. The ideas included updating meeting rules, making it cheaper to get copies of records, and using the internet to broadcast meetings. One legislator suggested barring officials from text-messaging each other during public meetings. (3/18/08)


New Mexico AG Will Press for Records Law Revisions

New Mexico Attorney General Gary King said he will ask the Legislature to approve revisions to the public records law that require agencies to respond to e-mail requests for information and that provide a penalty for violating the law. The proposed change would also permit agencies to respond to requests by e-mail, speeding up the process. King said he will also ask the Legislature approve a law requiring university donors who are soliciting contracts or doing business with the school to disclose their contributions. (3/11/08)

New York's Project Sunlight Opens Path to Public Records

New York state’s Project Sunlight, a website created by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, is providing a useful window to government information that has long been public but frequently not easy to gather and analyze. The site compiles public records including campaign-finance documents, lobbying disclosure reports, text and supporting arguments for legislation and campaign donations from lobbyists supporting the various bills. (3/10/08)


Records Reform Proposal Advances in Tennessee

A Tennessee Senate subcommittee recommended a series of changes in the state’s open records law but was unable to reach agreement on tightening the open meetings rules. The proposal creates an open records ombudsman and sets a four day limit for public officials to respond to a records request. It also expands the law to cover circuit courts. (3/7/08)

Request Volume Prompts Mayor to Post Records Online

The mayor of Blount County, Tennessee found a practical way to deal with requests for information on the sheriff’s office vehicle inventory when that because subject of a local controversy. Rather than respond to a stream of records requests, he’s posting all the available data online and telling people to do their own research. “Every possible piece of data we possess is online,” he announced. (3/7/08)

Rhode Island Considering Shorter Records Response Time

Open government advocates in Rhode Island have put their support behind a new bill that would cut the time most agencies have to respond to records requests from 10 to 3 days. Police departments would have just 24 hours to make available arrest reports. The bill, however, allows up to 20 days for a response to complex requests. The proposal would also allow citizens to make a request without identifying themselves or providing a reason why they want the information. (3/7/08)


Fired North Carolina Official Alleges Deliberate E-Mail Destruction

A fired public affairs director claims the press office for North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley ordered executive branch agencies in private meetings to destroy e-mail correspondence with the governor’s office. A spokesman for the governor denied the allegation made by Debbie Crane, who had been public affairs director at the Department of Health and Human Services. (3/6/08)


Innocence Project Seeks Records on Mississippi Pathologist's Work

The New York-based Innocence Project filed a public records with the Mississippi crime and the state’s 22 district attorneys seeking records on the forensic work of a state pathologist whose credibility was challenged in a recent rape-murder exoneration. The president of the Mississippi Prosecutors Association said he would not comply with the records request, citing victim privacy. (3/6/08)

Iowa Lawmakeers Exclude Selves from Transparency Bill

Iowa legislators are moving toward passage of a bill that would create a new state agency to enforce the state’s open records and meetings laws but the agency would have no authority to investigate the governor, the courts or the legislature itself. (3/6/08)

South Carolina Comptroller Puts State Spending Data Online

South Carolina Comptroller General Richark Eckstrom said he’s going a governor’s directive on transparency one better and has posted online (http://www.SC.gov) detailed information on state spending, organized by agency, type of expense, and major expense category. The site is searchable for annual or month-to-month data. (3/6/08)

South Dakota Open Records Bill Fails to Clear House Committee

A committee of the South Dakota House killed an open-records bill that would require the government to justify denying public access to documents. Opponents said the bill raised too many questions about how records dealing with personal information, public safety or other sensitive issues would be treated. Sponsor Sen. Nancy Turbak said that opposition from Gov. Mike Rounds helped kill the bill. (3/5/08)

Kansas House Approves Bill Restricting Court Document Sealing

The Kansas House approved, by a 122-1 vote, a bill that requires courts to hold hearings before sealing documents or closing court proceedings. The bill, which goes to the Senate, was prompted by two abortion-related, sealed lawsuits pending before the Kansas Supreme Court. (3/4/08)

Virginia Senate Derails Concealed Gun Permit Exemption

A bill that would have limited access to records of persons licenses to carry concealed handguns died in a Virginia Senate committee. The committee voted 8-7 not to carry over the legislation for study until next year. The bill was introduced after a Roanoke Times editorial writer encouraged people to check the list of permit holders and provided a link to the state police database. (3/3/08)


Documents Released on Detroit Mayor, Despite Appeal

The Michigan Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to keep documents from a settlement of a whistleblowers' lawsuit from being made public. The documents, related to but not actually including sexually explicit text messages between Kilpatrick and a former chief of staff, were released after the Supreme Court ruled. (2/27/08)

Alabama University Refuses Drug Testing Records to Paper

An Alabama university claimed disclosing drug testing results would violate federal privacy laws, even though the Anniston Star modified its request to allow the university to black out identifying information. (2/25/08)

Arizona Considers Openness about Child Protective Services

Reacting to the deaths last year of several children in the state's protective custody system, Arizona legislators are re-thinking what the public should know about children in the state's protective services system. A committee in the Arizona legislature approved a bill that would exempt the state's Child Protective Service from the state's open records law and establish a separate process for releasing records. A separate committee is considering a bill backed by news media groups that expands transparency. (2/25/08)

Local College Board Opens Records

The board of McHenry County College is taking steps to disclose more information. It will post board packets on the Web and provide an appeal opportunity for requesters before taking the issue to court. The board had about 150 FOIA requests in the past year. (2/26/08)

NJ Councilwoman Battles Her Own City Over Public Records

A Hoboken, N.J., councilwoman is a litigation maverick for open government. Beth Mason has filed six lawsuits against the city since 2004, and has made at least 125 requests for records in 12 months under New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act. She has cost the city about $200,000 in legal fees, but is determined to seek out corruption in hidden places. President of the New Jersey Foundation for Open Government, Mason posts documents like the city budget on her Web sites, masoncitycouncil.org and wethepeoplereports.com. (2/26/08)

Utah House Passes Measure Concealing Animal Researchers' Info

The Utah House of Representatives passed a bill to conceal personal information of animal researchers at Utah colleges and universities. The Government Records Access and Management Act classifies the names, addresses and phone numbers of those who conduct medical or scientific research. Sen. Greg Bell, R-Fruit Heights, who sponsored the bill said it is in response to animal rights protesters who have harassed researchers. Utah Primate Freedom activists insist their records requests were consistently denied anyways. (2/26/08)

Councilman Stalls Requests, Outted by Paper

A California councilman appears to encourage stonewalling information requests from a reporter. In his e-mail to the city manager, Temecula Councilman Ron Roberts suggests using snail mail to maximize the response time for a request, saying “Now that would really slow him down." The Press-Enterprise obtained the e-mail through a public records request. (2/21/08)

Minnesota Court Unseals Court Cases

Numerous court records were unsealed after a Minnesota Star-Tribune investigation of federal court records showed that dozens of cases were closed over a nine-year period. (2/21/08)

New Orleans Officials Accused of Violating State Law

Critics charge that New Orleans officials are violating state law by requiring all requests for information to be made in writing, but the city defends the practice, citing existing policy based on the state's public records law. The chief counsel for the Louisiana Press Association said the law "does not contemplate that everything has to be in writing. That’s just not right." (2/20/08)

Secretive Multi-State Deal Over Water Rights Rejects Openness

Officials from Alabama, Florida and Georgia signed a confidentiality agreement with federal officials and two private utilities about ongoing negotiations over water rights. Many across the region, including local seafood industry workers and environmental protection groups, believe they are being denied information and any leverage in negotiations. The Franklin County Oyster & Seafood Task Force obtained a copy of the agreement through an open records request and has asked the state’s open government commission to throw the secrecy deal out. (2/20/08)

Should Private Colleges Release Campus Police Records?

After a recent court ruling that required Yale University to open its campus police records, private colleges across the country are debating whether they should release similar records. All colleges that take part in federal financial aid programs are required to produce annual reports about crime on campus, public crime logs and warnings, but these often do not provide detailed information, such as names or locations. (2/20/08)

Surge in Traffic for New York's Open Government Web Site

More than 2.5 million visitors logged on to the New York State Committee on Open Government's Web site, an increase of 40 percent over the year before, according to the committee's annual report. "It seems that there has been an explosion in the public's interest in open-government laws," said Executive Director Bob Freeman. The Committee report also included suggestions to strengthen the state's open government laws. (2/20/08)

Arkansas Police Chief Arrested for Violating State's FOIA

An Arkansas Police Chief was arrested for violating the state's Freedom of Information Act when he refused to provide 911 recordings to The Daily World in Helena. The paper requested the recordings after a family alleged that a 911 dispatcher made improper comments to their 6-year-old son after he called 911 and hung up. Mayor James Valley and the reporter disagree about whether the recordings exist, but the mayor said the system will be fixed so that outgoing calls will be recorded in the future. (2/18/08)

U.S. Whistleblower Web Site, Wikileaks, Shut Down

A California court has ordered a Web site to stop anonymously posting government and corporate documents. Wikileaks.org, operated by Dynadot, was taken offline in the U.S. Feb. 15. Access to Wikileaks pages hosted by other countries was still available. A Swiss banking group, Julius Baer, took legal action after “several hundred” documents about its offshore activities were posted. Journalists, dissidents and others from around the world founded the site in 2006; it claims to have posted over 1.2 million documents.

A Justice's Dilemma: Open Records and YouTube

Ohio’s chief justice pledges that the Supreme Court’s pending rewrite of court rules will follow a historical mandate of openness: “Public records are the people’s records. The officials in whose custody they happen to be are mere trustees for the people ….” But Justice Thomas J. Moyer adds that adapting court record rules to the Internet era will not be easy: “The question looms large when “public” no longer means available for review in a Courthouse, but now means accessible through Google, displayed on MySpace, or played on YouTube.” (2/14/08)


A Public Records Victory for a Kid on a Bike

The Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission told private Yale University that the records of its police department are subject to the state’s records law because the department is carrying out state police powers. Yale had refused an information request from the public defender representing a student arrested for riding his bike on a city sidewalk. “It's one small victory for a kid on a bicycle,” said the attorney. (2/14/08)

Louisiana Bill Would Make Many of Governor's Records Public

A bill to make public many of the records of the Louisiana governor’s office was approved by the state House. Rep. Wayne Waddell said his bill would treat the governor’s office like other state agencies. The governor’s lawyer said it would chill the flow of ideas, policy recommendations, communications from legislators and create problems for investors who want to do business in the state. (2/14/08)

Pennsylvania Legislature Approves Landmarks Records Law Reform

Pennsylvania’s legislature has approved, and the governor committed to sign, a landmark overhaul of the state’s 51-year-old public records law, considered one of the worst in the nation. The new law establish a presumption that government records are public and puts the burden on a public official who wants to withhold information to show otherwise. It also creates an Office of Open Records to hear disputes over requests for records denied by municipalities, school boards, county officials and the executive branch of state government. (2/14/08)

Florida Media: Too Many Exemptions, Abuses to Sunshine Laws

Media representatives told an open government panel appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist that there are widespread abuses of the state’s records laws, costing the public too much in time and money. They also said the legislature has approved too many exemptions, now somewhere past 1,000. The Commission on Open Government is collecting testimony toward suggesting changes to state law later this year. (2/14/08)


Kentucky Lawmaker Would Bar Editorial Writers, Cartoonists from Floor

Kentucky State Rep. Jim Gooch is pushing legislation which would classify editorial writers and cartoonists as lobbyists, barring them from the House and Senate floors while lawmakers are in session. Gooch’s proposal follows various editorial cartoons last year which were critical of him. The Kentucky Press Association called Gooch’s bill an clear violation of the First Amendment. (2/13/08)

Florida Governor Launches Open Government Essay Contest

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist announced a essay contest for high school students on open government, with a $5,000 scholarship as first prize. The contest will be held during Sunshine Week, March 16-22. The national recognition of the importance of access to government information with a “Sunshine Sunday” celebration in Florida in 2002. Gov. Crist said it offers “a tremendous opportunity” to learn more about open government. (2/12/08)

Sheriff Cuts Off News Releases to Paper After Critical Story

The sheriff in Shiawassee County, Michigan is cutting off a local newspaper’s timely access to police information because he didn’t like a recent story on a blogger’s criticism of him and his department. Sheriff Jon Wilson said the Owosso Argus Press will no longer get news releases but could still get the information by filing a Freedom of Information Act request. State law gives the department up to five days to respond. (2/12/08)

South Dakota Senate OKs Records Bill that Presumes Openness

With the help of three Republicans, Democrats in the South Dakota Senate passed a new public records bill that establishes a statutory presumption of openness of state records. It puts the burden on a government entity that wants to withhold a record to show there is a good reason in the law to do so. The Senate also approved a companion bill that lets a citizen denied a record to file a complaint with the state Office Hearing Examiners to get a ruling. The bills now go to the House. (2/12/08)

Virginia House Votes to Seal Concealed Gun Permits

The Virginia House approved a bill partially sealing concealed handgun permit information. The bill exempts a state police database of permit-holders from the public records law and directs circuit court clerks to release no more than the names of individuals granted permits but no other identifying information. The vote was 97-1. (2/11/08)


Court Released Records Show Detroit Mayor Tried to Coverup E-Mails

Just released documents that had been kept secret in an $8.4 million whistleblower settlement show that Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick personally approved the coverup of his text messages with an aide. City officials had denied the documents existed when the Detroit Free Press requested them. The city is appealing a judge’s order to release several other documents. (2/8/08)

Marco Island Council Member Guilty of Breaking Florida Records Law

A city councilman on Florida’s Marco Island was found guilty of violating the state’s public records law for failing to archive e-mail messages involving city business that he wrote from his home computer. Collier County Judge Mime Carr said he hoped the decision would serve as a “deterrent and warning to other public officials.” (2/8/08)

NY Open Government Committee: Invalidate Closed Meeting Votes

New York’s Committee on Open Government recommended that actions of city councils and other boards be invalidated if they fail to comply with the state’s open meetings law. In its annual report to the governor and legislature, the committee also called for the award of attorneys fees to those who successfully press open meetings cases, and greater use of the Internet to post meeting notices and provide access to records. (2/8/08)


Advocacy Group Files FOIA Request to Get Hospital Report

An advocacy group that has been pressing for better conditions at St. Elizabeths Hospital in the District of Columbia had to file a Freedom of Information Act request with the Justice Department to obtain a copy of a consultant’s report on the status of improvements. The report said patient care at the city-run psychiatric hospital had not been improved “in any significant way.” (2/7/08)

Court Again Hits Arizona Sheriff' on Denial of Records

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s disputes with the media over access to public records is costing the county money. He was ordered to reimburse the Tucson Citizen $25,000 in attorney fees one week after an appellate court remanded a case involving the Phoenix New Times to the superior court in Maricopa to determine legal fees owed that paper in its fight with the sheriff for public records. The sheriff’s office denied withholding any records in the Tucson Citizen case and said it would appeal. (2/13/08)


Michigan Judge Releases Some Records in Whistleblower Case

A Michigan judge agree to release some of the documents on the $8.4 million settlement reached by Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick with a police whistle-blower. The records show that the mayor and his chief of staff lied under oath. Circuit Judge Robert Colombo Jr also released a deposition given by the lawyer for the officer. The Detroit Free Press brought a lawsuit against the city seeking the records. (2/7/08)

North Carolina AG: Interpret Laws in Favor of Openness

http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ% North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said that information on retirement benefits for state workers is public record and should be available, even though the language of a new law seems to preclude it. Open government advocates said the law was unintentionally altered. "North Carolina has some of the strongest public records laws in the nation, and the interpretation of those laws should favor openness," Cooper said. (2/7/08)

Ohio Legislature Votes to Restrict Records on Foster Parents

The Ohio Legislature has passed a bill that restricts public access to information on foster parents licensed by the state. The non- disclosure provisions are part of a bill designed to improve training and mentoring of foster parents after the death of a three-year-old was bound and left in a closet by his foster parents. "The legislative solution is to add more secrecy," said Frank Deaner, executive director of the Ohio Newspaper Association. (2/7/08)

Okay, the Records Are Public, Now Let's Talk Money

The tax assessor in Kanawha County, West Virginia is suing a Web entrepreneuer to halt the posting of local tax maps, some 20,000 in number, that the assessor sells for $8 apiece. Seneca Technologies posted the maps after it won a law suit against the assessor to obtain the maps for something less than the $225,648 it was billed. The court settled on a $20 processing fee. (2/7/08)

Don't Force Taping of "Executive" Meetings, City Officials Argue

City and county officials do not like a Washington State legislative proposal that would require that all private, “executive” meetings be audio recorded with the tapes being preserved for review should the meeting’s legality be challenged. Lobbyists for cities and counties showed up in droves at a public hearing to protest. (2/6/08)


Michigan's AG Posts Office Financial Data on Website

Michigan Attorney General Mike Carr said his office has begun posting on its website all expenditures, including contracts, salaries, equipment purchases. “The public has a right to see how their tax dollars are being spent,” Cox said. His office is the first in Michigan to do so. (2/6/08)

Mississippi Open Government Laws Leave Enforcement to the Public

What’s missing in Mississippi are good open government laws, the Associated Press suggested in a series looking at the state’s public meetings and open records acts. The big problem is not so much what the laws provide but that they leave it to the public to enforce those laws through self-financed litigation. (2/7/08)


Prospective Donor Lists May Win Records Exemption in Virginia

A bill that would allow the University of Virginia to keep confidential its fundraising database, which lists about 450,000 potential donors, is moving forward in the state legislature. Open government advocates accept that personal information should be kept confidential but argue that the names should be public. (2/6/08)

Federal Judge Won't Unseal Blackmailer's E-Mails to Victim

A federal district judge declined to lift his order sealing the e-mails of a blackmailer to his victim, a former top aid to Hawaii’s governor. "The public interest lies in treating a crime victim with fairness and with respect to privacy," said Judge Michael Seabright. The Associated Press had sought access to the documents because of reports they included information on official misconduct on state financed trips to the Philippines. (1/31/08)

Pennsylvania Senate Unanimously Approves New Records Law

The Pennsylvania Senate unanimously approved a bill to revise the state’s public records laws, long considered by open government advocates to be one of the worst in the country. The bill goes back to the House which earlier approved a different version of the legislation. Importantly, the bill provides that all government records are public unless exempted by law. It also creates an Office of Open Records with an independent director and staff. It would take effect next year. (1/31/08)


Tennessee Newspapers Awarded $41,000 in Public Records Fight

The city of Jackson, TN, must reimburse the Jackson Sun for $41,000 in legal fees and expenses the paper spent on a lawsuit that forced the city to release three different sets of records. The records involved police stopping of motorists without making an arrest, 9/11 calls, and city records on a firm that was relocating. (1/31/08)

Wisconsin Bill Would Keep Some Court Records Off Internet

Two Wisconsin legislators have filed a bill that would remove from a state Web site court records of someone found innocent or who has charges dismissed. Rep. Robin Vos said the bill would protect innocent people from housing discrimination but the proposal drew quick objections from open government advocates. "I don't think the courts should attempt to hide things," said retired Circuit Judge Gary L. Carlson, who helped create the state's system of online court records. (1/31/08)


FOIA Request Uncovers School Supplier Operating from a PO Box

Detroit schools paid more than $300,000 to a company that operates from a post office box and may not have delivered the teaching materials it was paid for, the Detroit Free Press reported after reviewing records obtained under the state’s Freedom of Information Act. A former state superintendent called the payment “more than suspicious, it’s stupid.” (1/30/08)

Prosecutor Challenges Inmate's Request for Records on Officials

A Seattle prosecutor has asked a King County judge to permit him to ignore public records requests from a convicted arsonist who has filed a series of requests for information on those who helped send him to prison for firebombing the cars of two lawyers. Prosecutor Dan Satterberg said the requests, which include seeking photos and videos of public officials, are a form of harassment. (1/29/08).

E-Mail Shows Link Between New Haven ID Law, Federal Raid on Immigrants

An e-mail obtained by the Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act suggests a strong link between a New Haven ordinance creating an ID card program for illegal immigrants and a raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers that arrested 30 immigrants in the city one day later. The city’s mayor claims the e-mail, from New Haven agents to the ICE director, shows the raid was retaliatory. (1/28/08)

New Jersey Courts Adopt New Rules on Public Records Access

New Jersey’s Supreme Court has proposed a new set of rules aimed at making court records more accessible. The rules call for access to electronic records through terminals inside courthouses and making docket and criminal conviction information available on the Internet. Officials expect the new rules will touch off a debate, particularly on available of records online. (1/28/08)

Tennessee Legislator Introduces Conflicting Open Meetings Bills

The chairman of a Tennessee legislative study committee on open government has introduced two new bills – one that carries the panel’s official recommendations and a second that puts forward only the provisions he personally supports. Sen. Randy McNally’s “scaled-down version” eliminates a provision that would allow up to three officials of a body to meet privately to discuss public business. Current law says a “two or more” officials trigger a public meeting. (1/18/08)

Washington State Debating Bill on Release of Police Personal Data

A bill to exempt disclosure of personal information of law enforcement officials – home addresses, phone numbers, property and tax records and dates of birth – has touched off a heated debate in Washington state. It’s sponsor says it will protect people employed to protect the public but open government and media groups argue there’s sufficient protection in current law covering all state and local employees and police have yet to present a single example of harm harassment. (1/28/08)

Utah Supreme Court Approves Reporter-Source Shield Rule

The Utah Supreme Court approved a reporter-source privilege after a three-year discussion of the issue by court officials, lawmakers, prosecutors and journalists. The shield rule protects reporters from being compelled to divulge confidential sources, except where necessary to "prevent substantial injury or death." The rule also protects unpublished work, such as a reporter's notes, drafts, outtakes, photographs and research materials. "The rule protects whistle-blowers and allows them to come forward," said attorney Jeff Hunt, who represented a media coalition. "It also prevents lawyers from using journalists as one-stop shopping for all their information needs." (1/25/08)


A Gossipy Record of Texas Politics: The Governor's Office E-Mails

It’s only a few days worth, but the e-mails open government activist John Washburn has collected from Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s office provide a gossipy, behind-the-scenes look at the how top aides dealt with daily events and a crisis or two. The e-conversations included candid comments on a possible appointment and a Texas Weekly article. Washburn started filing twice weekly requests for e-mail records after reports that the governor’s office sent all e-mails to the shredder after seven days. (1/24/08)

South Dakota Lawmakers To Debate Conflicting Open Records Proposals

South Dakota's legislature will consider conflicting open records reform approaches, one offered by Republican House and Senate leaders that expands the definition of records covered by the law, the other by a Democratic state senator whose bill creates a presumption that all records are public unless exempted by the legislature. The governor has said he would veto that bill. And the Republican sponsors say their bill would result in just as many open records. (1/25/08)


Keep Records Sealed or Lose Insurance, City Told

A Washington state agency that handles insurance for 128 cities has told the city of Monroe that it’s plan to throw open city records will result in “immediate termination” from the pool. The Monroe council sought to make city business as open and transparent as possible, including waiving the town’s rights to withhold documents on legal advice and negotiations if their lawyers said it wouldn’t open the city to liability. (1/23/08)


Courtroom Cameras Getting Chilly Reception in Minnesota

A panel exploring the use of cameras in Minnesota courtrooms appears likely to recommend against any change in the current prohibition, the Associated Press reported. “We don’t need more ‘reality TV’ coverage,” a spokesman for the state’s prosecutors told the panel at the most recent hearing, hitting on a recurrent theme. Most panel members indicated they favor retaining existing no camera standards but several said they’d support a pilot program. ( 1/22/08)

Expungements Show a Steady Increase in Canton's Court

The Canton Repository reviewed the records in municipal court and found that 65 persons had had criminal records expunged in 2007, continuing what it said was a steady growth since the year 2000 when only two expungements were approved by the court. One official said the increase was a response to the growing ease of making criminal background checks via the Internet. (1/21/08)

South Dakota Lawmaker Pushes to Get State Spending Data Online

A South Dakota lawmaker has introduced a bill to create a searchable Internet database with information on salaries and wages of state employees, vendor contracts capital expenditures, bond issue debt payments and other financial information. Rep. Hal Wicks said he felt taxpayers should have a single source of information on what government is doing. (1/19/08)

Tennessee Judge's Fantasy Tapes Ruled "Not Public"

A chancellor in Tennessee ruled that a tape made by a former circuit judge and given to Chattanooga police by a fired secretary, was not public record and should be returned. Police the tape, containing the then-judge’s graphic fantasies describing murder and torture, contained no evidence of any crime. The judge resigned after the contents of the tape were described at a hearing. (1/19/08)

Texas Appeals Court Holds State Employee Birth Dates Are Public

A Texas appeals court ruled in a suit brought by the Dallas Morning News that state employees' birth dates are public and must be released. The court said the state controller’s office hadn’t proved its claim that release of the information posed identity theft problems. "The speculative and unproven threat of identity theft is insufficient to exempt date-of-birth information from disclosure," the court said. (1/19/08)


Arizona Lawmakers Move to Open Some Child Protective Records

Two Arizona lawmakers say they will introduce legislation to open some child welfare records, court proceedings and state employee documents in hopes of putting more transparency and accountability into the actions of Child Protective Services. One bill would open records in the event of the death, or near death, of a child. Another would allow a look at disciplinary records of state employees and a third would open court hearings involving permanent placement of a child or termination of parental rights. (1/17/08).

Bridgeport Mayor Says Economic Development Meetings Will Be Open

The new economic development advisory committee in Bridgeport, Ct., said it would keep its doors open. An advisory committee appointed earlier by Mayor Bill Finch had met privately but this time the mayor said, "We will comply with FOI law. There is debate about these ad hoc committees, but I don't care. We will comply.” The Connecticut Post had challenged the closed meetings. (1/17/08)

Gwinnitt County Gets AAA for Baseball, Big F for Transparency

Gwinnett County Commissioners secretly negotiated a deal to build a $45 million baseball stadium near the Mall of Georgia as a new home for a Triple A Atlanta Braves farm team being relocated from Richmond, Va. The talks spanned more than a year, with the public being told only that Gwinnett commissioners were interested until they met to approve the deal that will be financed in part by property taxes. There was no discussion, just a unanimous vote. "The people who take the time to follow these things trust us and like what we did," said one commissioner. (1/17/08)

Lawmaker Moves to Halt Reverse FOIA Suits by Government

A Washington state lawmaker wants to block government agencies from suing taxpayers to block suits for access to government records. Rep. Brendan Williams responded to the Spokane School District’s suit against the Spokesman-Review to keep it from seeking records on the death of a 9-year-old student: “It’s outrageous for governments to sue the governed in order to maintain secrecy.” (1/17/08)

Pennsylvania Debate Over Making Funding Committment Letters Public

Each year, Pennysylvania’s governor sends out a half dozen or so letters committing the state to fund various programs even before the legislature has provided funding. The letters are private; not even legislative leaders see them. Now lawmakers debating a new public records law are debating if the letters should remain secret. Gov. Ed Rendell says he has no problem if the letters become public. “It’s expenditure of funds.” (1/17/08)

Supervisors Will Provide Records but Won't Talk About Them

Supervisors in Glocester County, Va., say they’ll cooperate in an inquiry about the hiring of an interim county administrator – up to a point. They’ll honor Freedom of Information Act requests for e-mails, phone bills, notes and other records, but they won’t answer questions under oath. (1/17/08)

Government Employee Alert: Today's E-mails, Tommorrow's Public Record

Government employees across the country send personal e-mail from their office computers every day. Few give much thought to what might happen to those notes, something they may come to regret, writes Governing Magazine. The article notes that governments, treating the e-mails as public record, are increasingly setting policies that call for the long-term storage. Some states and local governments are beginning to write clearer rules for what employees can and can't do with their computers on office time. (1/14/08)


Michigan Sued Over Law Giving Voter Data Only to 2 Political Parties

A lawsuit was filed in federal court in Michigan challenging the state’s practice of providing access to information on who votes only to the two major political parties. The suite was filed by the ACLU for three smaller political parties, a weekly newspaper and a political consultant. The plaintiffs complained that the statute ”gives valuable political resources to the two major parties to use for almost any purpose while making it a crime for anyone else in the state to use or acquire this information.” (1/14/08)

New Orleans Police Decide to Modity Crime Reports to Media

The New Orleans Police Department said it will start giving modified crime reports to a French Quarter blogger and to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. The reports will exclude the names of victims and witnesses and may contain a less detailed narrative of each incident. The department had been giving detailed reports to the blogger for one precinct but revised its policy when the Times-Picayune filed a request for similar reports citywide. (1/14/08)

Iowa Legislative Panel Will Propose New Open Government Agency

A committee of Iowa lawmakers is drafting a proposal for a state open government board to investigate complaints and fine agencies and officials who violate open meetings and records laws. The proposed law would require agencies to make public financial and decision-making records and give citizens a method of challenging records and meetings closures short of going to court. (1/11/08)

New Mexico AG Joins Suit to Open Report on Waste Dump

New Mexico’s attorney general filed a motion to intervene in a suit to make public a report on leaks at a waste dump at the Sandia National Laboratories. The state’s Environment Department is trying to keep the document secret. "Our analysis is that the requested document is a public record and the report should be disclosed," said Attorney General Gary King. (1/11/08)

Pennsylvania Senate Leaders Expect Quick Action on Open Government Bill

Leaders in the Pennsylvania Senate say they expect to quickly approve a new public records law after the legislature reconvenes Jan. 14. The Senate, which earlier approved its own bill, will consider the House bill when it meets. Open government groups consider it is the stronger of the proposals. Unlike current Pennsylvania law, the bill declares public all records of local governments and the state's executive branch not excluded by a list of exceptions. (1/11/08)

A Public Body’s Absurd Protest of an Absurd Notion of Privacy

A small group of open government advocates showed up four at the opening of the 144th Delaware General Assembly wearing OOGA buttons – Open Our General Assembly – and lime green shirts. Well, all but one. He wore no shirt at all, having allowed supporters to write messages of support on upper body. “It’s an absurd protest,” he said, “but it’s also an absurd notion that the General Assembly doesn’t consider itself a public body.” (1/10/08)

Former Counsel Sues Missouri Governor, Claiming Records Destruction

A former deputy legal counsel to Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt claims in a lawsuit that the governor and four aides destroyed public documents and took other steps to evade the state’s open records laws. The actions involved e-mails detailing tactics to discredit Attorney General Jay Nixon, a political opponent. (1/10/08)

Illinois Governor Ordered to Release Subpoenas in Hiring Probe

The governor of Illinois has been ordered to release copies of subpoenas his office received from federal prosecutors investigating possible corruption in hiring. Circuit Judge Patrick Kelley said there is no evidence that release of the two-year-old subpoenas would harm the investigation. An attorney for Gov. Rod Blagojevich said the order would be appealed. (1/10/08)

Judge in Sean Taylor Murder Case Issues Broad Gag Order

The judge in the pending trial of four men accused of killing Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor has issued a gag order to all parties against talking to the press. Circuit Court Judge Dennis Murphy said he was concerned that publicity could jeopardize a fair trial, citing a Miami Herald story in which a defense attorney told the newspaper where the murder weapon had allegedly been discarded. (1/10/08)

Council's Evaluations of City Manager Are Requested, Destroyed

The Fort Morgan Times sent a Colorado Open Records Act request to the city asking for copies of the evaluation forms of each council member in rating the town’s new city manager. The council directed the city attorney “work with” the paper on the request, according to minutes of an executive session five days later. And five days after that, the city attorney advised the paper the documents were not public record and had been destroyed. (1/9/08)

No Constitutional Right to Witness Executions, Federal Judge Rules

A federal judge ruled that Arkansas does not have to allow public access to all stages of the execution process, rejecting a suit brought by the Arkansas Times. U. S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright said that the Constitution does not guarantee the public the right to witness an execution and that the state’s procedure of allowing witnesses to the final stage of the lethal injection process meets requirements of state law. (1/9/08)

Shoreline Group Wants Mailing List Used by University' Research Unit

A shoreline property-rights group in Bay City sued the University of Michigan in an effort to force the school to turn over the mailing list its Sea Grant division used in sending out a pamphlet on shoreline management. Citing privacy considerations, the university provided a list of businesses that received the materials, but not individuals. (1/8/08)

Hartford Appeals Ruling It Violated Sunshine Law

Hartford appealed a ruling by the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission ordering it to release documents on an investigation into possible corruption in city hall. The commission ruled in November that the city had violated state law but the city decided to take the dispute to court, saying it wanted to protect the investigation ana arguing that the ruling was "clearly erroneous … arbitrary and capricious." (1/7/08)

Ohio AG, Auditor Release New Guidebook to Open Government Laws

The attorney general and the state auditor for Ohio have released a guide to the state’s Sunshine Laws, the first combined effort to provide a comprehensive manual on the state’s records and open meeting laws. The guide is available electronically and in hard copy. (1/7/08)

Editor Sues California AG to Force Release of Investigative Report

The editor of the Sacramento Valley Mirror has sued California Attorney General Jerry Brown to force release of an investigative report on the alleged misuse of funds by a former schools superintendent. The report was requested by a grand jury more than a year ago. (1/4/08)

South Dakota Media Push New Open Government Laws

South Dakota media organizations are pressing lawmakers improve the state’s open government laws, including creating an appeal procedure when information requests are denied and another establishing the presumption that all records are public unless specifically closed by the legislature. The proposals were developed by the state’s Government Openness Task Force. (1/4/08)

Washington AG Says He'll Push Law to Record Executive Sessions

Washington state Attorney General Rob McKenna said he would push for legislation that requires the taping of closed or executive sessions of government boards. The audio record would then be available for review if there were a court challenge on whether the meeting was legally convened. His proposal has the support of the governor and the state auditor. (1/4/08)

Arizona AG: Open Meeting Law Not Against Talking to the Press

Arizona"s attorney general soundly rejected the view of some legal analysts who argue that public officials can break the state’s open meeting law by talking to the media. "I don't think there can be a worse interpretation of the Open Meeting Law," AG Terry Goddard said in a recent opinion. Talking to the media, he said, supports the interest of open government. (1/2/08)

Indiana Ombudsman Draws Positive Response from Users

A survey conducted by Indiana University found that 90 percent of those who had contacted the state’s Public Access Counselor at least once believe the office should have the power to punish government officials who violate the state sunshine laws.


Nevada Court Sets Tough Rule on Sealing of Records

Nevada’s Supreme Court, underscoring “the court’s belief in open government and our commitment to preserve the public nature of the business of the judicial branch” unanimously approved a new rule that provides civil court records remain open unless a compelling case can be made for sealing. It alows anyone, whether a party to a case of not, to request the unsealing of a court record and prohibits super-sealing – the closing of an entire file. (1/2/08)

Utah Archives to Release "Seminary" Meeting Records of Ex-Governor

The Utah State Archives has agreed to make public transcripts of a series of “seminary” meetings held by former governor Mike Leavitt with top staff and advisors to determine how to apply Mormon principles to the operation of Utah government. Leavitt, currently secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, sought to keep the transcripts private, saying the meetings were held before formal business hours and that some of the participants were friends who didn’t work for the state. (1/2/08)

Illinois AG: Search Warrants Are Public Record

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan held that search warrants are public records, noting that the state’s Freedom of Information Act does not apply to court records but are instead government by the Clerk of Court Act. That measure provides that virtually all court documents are public. The advisory opinion follows the refusal of a clerk to make public warrants outlining police investigations in Sangamon County. (12/28/07)

Media Challenge Judge's Ruling to Keep Juror Names Secret

Three news organizations are challenging the decision of a federal judge in the criminal trial of Allegheny County Coroner Cyril Wecht that will keep the names of jurors from the public record. U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab said he based his decision on the “unprecedented media coverage” of the case. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette, the Tribune-Review and WPXI filed the 22-page motion asking the ruling be reversed. (12/28/07)

Washington Court Gives Attorney "Work Product" a Broad Definition

The Washington Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, held that the Spokane School District may keep secret records from its investigation into the death of a school boy who suffered an allergic reaction while on a field trip. The majority agreed the documents were protected as attorney “work product.” The court also said agencies can challenge records requests in court before releasing information. The court minority said the decision was effectively a judicially created nondisclosure act. (12/28/07)

Yale Police Told to Make Incident Reports Public

The Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission ruled that Yale University cannot keep crime reports and other campus police reports secret and should instead be governed by state laws on police records. A commission hearing officer said Yale police function as a public department and that its officers are trained by the city. (12/28/07)