Improving Transparency in Michigan
From Sunshine Week: Welcome to Sunshine Week, and no, I am not talking about the fickle weather in the state. I am talking about the public’s right and responsibility to keep an eye on what our...
View ArticleIRS approves MiCOG as tax-exempt organization
From Michigan Coalition for Open Government: The Michigan Coalition for Open Government is proud to announce our new tax-exempt status. We received notification on June 3, 2013, from the Small...
View ArticleMich. House committee votes to define 'journalists' and delay access to...
From Michigan Capitol Confidential: The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved House Bill 4770, which among other things, attempts to define what a journalist is to restrict access to motor...
View ArticleCharles Hill: Bill would make government information easier and cheaper for...
From Michigan Coalition for Open Government: Most government officials and politicians will agree in public that the work of government should be transparent so citizens can judge whether money is...
View ArticleCharles Hill: Bills would help keep Michigan government honest
From Detroit Free Press: Most government officials and politicians will agree in public that the work of government should be transparent so that citizens can judge whether money is being spent wisely...
View ArticleOpEd: State's $62 billion unfunded liability demands transparency
Michigan is facing a looming problem that is already affecting our schools and all levels of state government. This problem is our state’s unfunded accrued liability (UAL), also known as “legacy...
View ArticleBills in Michigan State House Would Exempt Firearm Records from FOIA
The Michigan House will soon consider bills that exempt firearm records from the Freedom of Information Act. The bills also set up a method for law enforcement to obtain the records if it's needed for...
View ArticleSen. Casey (MI) Presses State for Transparency In Effort to Purge Voter Rolls
U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) announced that he has sent a letter to Pennsylvania Secretary of State Carol Aichele pressing the state government to engage in a transparent process as it participates...
View ArticleMany FOIA bills on deck in Michigan Legislature
The battle over access to public records has had fits and starts in Lansing, with mixed results as the Legislature has taken up bills that would expand or restrict access.read more
View ArticleCoalition joins others calling on D.C. Council to reject mayor's proposal to...
DCOGC President Kevin Goldberg testified to the D.C. legislature Wednesday this week on the latest proposals from the mayor that would limit public access to police body camera video, calling them...
View ArticleEditorial: Twitter's encouraging promise to "reboot" transparency
During the keynote address at Flight, Twitter’s 2015 Developer Conference, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey made a commitment to “reboot” Twitter’s relationship with the transparency sector. Even more...
View ArticlePennsylvania Senate approves open records changes
A bill that would change Pennsylvania's Right to Know law to require additional disclosures for state-related universities and curb some records access for prison inmates passed the Senate in a...
View ArticlePittsburgh councilman calls bill passage a "new era of transparency"
Pittsburgh councilman Dan Gilman’s campaign finance and ethics reform bills received final approval from the City Council this week. He said the bills are part of a “new era of transparency” in city...
View ArticleSnyder signs Michigan civil asset forfeiture laws requiring more...
Michigan is making law enforcement agencies report more details of their civil asset forfeiture programs and making it a little bit harder for them keep property they confiscate from residents.read more
View ArticleEditorial: Lawmakers should reject bill to shroud police misconduct
The wave of public outcry over incidents of police brutality has made it clear that citizens want their police departments to be held to a far higher level of public scrutiny than at any time in the...
View ArticleReport: Charter school budgets are a ‘black hole’ of public information
The nation's charter schools largely are created, overseen and policed by pro-charter advocates, resulting in "an epidemic of fraud, waste, and mismanagement that would not be tolerated in...
View ArticleProposed legislation calls for more transparency in police militarization
A new bill set to be presented at the next legislative session in Maryland's state house aims for more transparency when it comes to law enforcement militarization according to it's sponsor, Sen Bryan...
View ArticleEditorial: Strengthen FOIL in New York
If you've ever filed a Freedom of Information request with a public agency in New York, you probably know that it can be way too hard to get the goods.read more
View ArticleGOP changes to Wisconsin's John Doe law create exceptions for politicians,...
Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature are pushing a bill that would change the state’s so-called John Doe law, which allows for criminal investigations -- like two that were related to Gov. Scott...
View ArticleEditorial: Ensure access to body cam video
As Denver police get ready to introduce its body camera program next month, the department must do a better job of defining public access to the video.read more
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