FOI and Open Government News
Louisville Metro Government releases first Open Data Report
6 November 2014 - Louisville Metro Government has put 71 new datasets online in the past year, bringing the total to 107, a 197 percent increase, according to the city’s first annual Open Data Report released today. Contnue>>>
Open access allows scholars to find information on nearly anything
6 November 2014 - It’s easy for students to take the amazing information resources available through the College of University Libraries and Learning Sciences for granted. Continue>>>
L.A. County supervisors violated open-meeting law, D.A. finds
6 November 2014 - Los Angeles County supervisors violated the state’s open-meeting law earlier this year by discussing compensation negotiations behind closed doors without properly informing the public, according to the district attorney’s office. Continue>>>
Opinion: Freedom of Information and Our Eroding Open Government
6 November 2014 - This election cycle, the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information asked candidates to sign a pledge - to oppose weakening the state’s public document disclosure law, and to require that any attempts to weaken the law be subjected to public hearings and debate. Continue>>>
Retiring head of OGIS hails FOIA portal a success
6 November 2014 - The retiring chief of the agency that acts as an ombudsman for federal Freedom of Information Act requests pointed to FOIAonline as a major agency achievement Friday. Continue>>>
Local legislative candidates sign FOI pledge
6 November 2014 - A number of local legislators have signed a pledge to keep the state’s Freedom of Information law intact, but most of those same legislators voted to weaken the law after the Sandy Hook school shooting. Continue>>>
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FOI Summit Wrap-up and All Things Summit
2013 FOI Summit from New Orleans, LA
While the 2013 FOI Summit in New Orleans is now complete, we have a few things left to share. Obviously, any endeavor of this nature takes a lot of work and a lot of cooperation, and we could not do it ourselves. Continue > >
Knight FOI Fund
About the Knight FOI Fund
The Knight FOI Fund offers financial support in open government lawsuits, fueling and assisting the pursuit of important FOI cases. The need arose from the realization that the economic crisis and the evolution of the news media has resulted in declining levels of FOI advocacy. Continue > >
Who We Are & What We Do
About NFOIC
We are a nonpartisan alliance of state and regional affiliates promoting collaboration, education & advocacy for open government, transparency and freedom of information. We award grants, publish FOI and FOIA news, provide transparency education and support to state and local governments, supply state sample FOIA request letters and Federal FOIA request letters. Continue >>
NFOIC News
2014 NFOIC FOI Summit a Success!
Held Oct. 23-24 in St. Petersburg, the annual conference showcased ideas and insights on FOI, transparency, open government and open data
Hosted at the incredible Poynter Institute for Media Studies, the FOI summit brought together state and regional affiliate members and experts in an informative series of presentations and discussions. Topics ranged from increased FOI fees, to differentiating between open government and open data, to how to govern the governors when it comes to transparency in their administrations. The annual meeting featured keynote speaker Tom Blanton, Director of the National Security Archive at George Washington University and recognized this year's State Open Government Hall of Fame Inductee John Paff of New Jersey. NFOIC wishes to thank its Platinum Sponsor Bloomberg LP and its co-hosts the Society of Professional Journalists and the Florida First Amendment Foundation. Read more...
NFOIC FOI training proposal receives Knight Foundation grant
October 2014 - The National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC) has been awarded a Knight Prototype Fund grant to create pilot projects aimed at developing open government training modules for public officials and records custodians, particularly in states where open government training is mandated. Continue...
NFOIC and Knight FOI Fund contributes to successful litigation for news media coalition
Using a litigation grant from the National Freedom of Information Coalition’s Knight FOI Fund, a coalition of news media companies –the Carroll County Times, Washington Post, Baltimore Sun and Scripps Media’s WMAR-TV—successfully challenged the Carroll County (MD) Board of Commissioners under Maryland’s Public Information Act (MPIA).
County commissioners were ordered by a judge to produce all email distribution lists that they use to send messages to select groups of their supporters. The lawsuit began after a February 2013 request to the commissioners by Carroll County Times journalist, Christian Alexandersen, for copies of the commissioners' email distribution lists. Continue>>>
NFOIC/MLRC Open Government Survey
NFOIC’s third biennial joint survey with the New York-based Media Law Resource Center (MLRC) showed a continuation of trends that are troubling to open government advocates. Just as similar informal surveys in 2009 and 2011 had, the 2013 Open Government Survey found a substantial decline over the last two to five years in the amount of resources devoted by media organizations to FOIA and open government issues.
FOLLOWING THE MONEY 2014 - How the 50 States Rate in Providing Online Access to Government Spending Data
U.S. PIRG Education Fund’s fifth annual evaluation of state transparency websites finds that states are making progress toward comprehensive, one-stop, one-click transparency and accountability for state government spending. Over the past year, new states have opened the books on public spending and several states have adopted new practices to further expand citizens’ access to critical spending information.
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