FOIA Beyond Our Borders

 

The states with the most media coverage of their FOIA activity in recent months are Illinois, South Carolina, Virginia and Connecticut.

ILLINOIS:  Most of the news about FOIA results from municipal denials of FOIA requests which citizens appeal to a special section of the state’s Office of Attorney General.  When the Assistant AG in this section rules in favor of the appellant, the AAG usually fires a shot across the municipality’s bow.  If the warning isn’t heeded, the AAG can compel compliance.  The Illinois statute has real teeth.

SOUTH CAROLINA:  The legislature floats a lot of trial balloons about tinkering with FOIA.  Notable among them are proposals for legislative transparency.

VIRGINIA:  Much of the activity here concerns partisan political bickering over FOIA adjustments, reflecting transition turmoil prominent in the state over the past couple of years.  There was an uproar when the legislature banned out-of-state FOIA requests.

CONNECTICUT:  The  increased volume of FOIA news in this state can be attributed to privacy issues arising from the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy.

On the international scene, Ireland, India and Nigeria have had frequent news coverage of FOIA events.

Bermuda and the Philippines are struggling with initial FOIA legislation.  (Better late than never.)

CELEBRATE SUNSHINE WEEK !

Coordinating FOIA and Open Government

The importance of coordinating the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Open Government (OpGov) initiatives is reflected in a recent article from the Philippines.  Perhaps I was too quick in the preceding post to accept and approve the separation of OpGov from FOIA.

Excerpts:

“ ‘The primary goal of data.gov.ph is to foster a citizenry empowered to make informed decisions, and to promote efficiency and transparency in government,’ it says on its website.”

“[Gladys Regalado, deputy national coordinator of the Computer Professionals’ Union] added, ‘It is too early to tell if the open data web portal will enhance transparency, accountability and citizen engagement.’ “

“Regalado also stressed that, ‘open data initiatives should not be a substitute to a Freedom of Information Act,’ which she pointed out, ‘can mandate what kind of data will be 'open' to the public to ensure transparency.’ ”

" ‘With the current culture of corruption...where information is hidden purposely, it would be difficult to find data that can actually help in transparency and good governance. We should have an (sic) FOIA and more patriotic whistleblowers and not just a repository website,’ Regalado said.”   http://www.interaksyon.com/article/79278/only-foi-not-ph-data-portal-can-guarantee-transparency---computer-experts

Stateside, a recent op-ed piece put it succinctly:  “The state... and our biggest municipalities* should build on the state's FOIA law and adopt comprehensive open data policies. All public records, save those that would violate privacy laws or undermine security, should be proactively made available to the public for free on the Internet in a structured, sortable, downloadable format.”

http://www.arktimes.com/arkansas/the-open-data-revolution-is-coming/Content?oid=3187194

*As I pointed out in the preceding post, the mandate mentioned above should apply to small municipalities, as well.