Pennsylvania's weak FOI law, news from DE, CT,TN, AZ, TX and Canada
Pennsylvania and its weak FOI law
The very essence of open government is transparency. But the concept
doesn't play well in Pennsylvania.
In its government reform campaign, "Brighter Pennsylvania," the
Pennsylvania Newspaper Association lays out the case against the Keystone State:
"Access to public records and meetings is critical for
the public to understand its government and to make informed judgments about
how to exercise its political power. Yet citizens across the Commonwealth
continue to struggle for access to even the most basic information about state
and local government." York
Dispatch, See
more info about the Brighter Pennsylvania campaign.
Pennsylvania's
Right to Know Law is toothless, a Bloomsburg
University professor said during a
program on the law at Bucknell
University. Daily
Item
Panel: Open Connecticut courts
A governor-created task force has recommended the Connecticut courts apply the state's open
records laws to judicial meetings and allow cameras in Supreme Court and
Appellate Court hearings. Boston
Globe
Tenn. Sunshine law update stalled
Legislative leaders’ failure to appoint members of a public records review
panel may delay efforts to update Tennessee’s
public records law. The panel was to have recommendations ready by Dec. 1. Tennessean
Editorial: Delaware lawmaker wants sun to shine on
Legislature
State Sen. Karen Peterson announced last week that she will again
introduce legislation to expand the Freedom of Information Act to include the
heretofore exempted General Assembly. Her past efforts to turn sunshine on the
way the Legislature works have been stopped in committee chairmen's desk
drawers, the latest belonging to Sen. Jim Vaughn. Deleware
Online
New Arizona
FOI laws on the books
Two new Arizona laws — one
that went into effect Sept. 21 and one that will be in effect on Dec. 31 — are
pushing the doors of government wider so the Arizona and public can get a better view of
what’s inside. East
Arizona Courier
Texas AG to fight open meetings act lawsuit
The state attorney general says he'll fight a lawsuit in federal court which
threatens the Texas Open Meetings Act. Houston
Chronicle
National Canadian Sunshine audit shows widespread complacency
The Canadian Newspaper Association
has found that most Canadian governments are lax in responding to requests for
information under provincial and federal laws. Published in newspapers across Canada, the
CNA’s second National
Freedom of Information Audit, which tested access to information systems in
10 Canadian provinces, shows that Canadians are likely to face unreasonable
barriers in obtaining basic, uncontroversial information that should be readily
available. Out of more than a hundred information requests submitted by
reporters from 39 newspapers and the Canadian Press news agency, the
information requested was denied or provided only in part in nearly one third
(31%). CNA
Release
Compiled by Joel Campbell
SPJ FOI Committee Chairman
joelcampbell@byu.edu