Today in #OpenGov 11/22/2013

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National News

  • Republican Representative Tom Petri (WI) introduced a bill that purports to encourage more individuals to give small amounts to political campaigns. The Citizens Involvement in Campaigns (CIVIC) Act would restore tax credits and deductions for small donations that were in place between 1972 and 1986. (Roll Call)
  • The FEC declined to grant the Tea Party Leadership Fund an exemption from disclosure that they have in the past given to small, leftist political parties. Commissioners opposing the request suggested that the Socialist Workers Party, and other similar groups given the exemption, were niche parties with small donor bases ripe for harassment, while the Tea Party Leadership Fund is a member of a nationally recognized movement with a wide base of support. (POLITICO)

International News

  • Japan has an open data policy in place. But according to an Open Knowledge Foundation Index the country is lagging behind many of their first world counterparts. (Global Voices)

State and Local News

  • There was good and bad news to be had at an oversight hearing on the implementation of New York City’s oepn data law earlier this week. The city has been a leader on open data issues, but technologists, advocates, and city councilors have found frustration in the available data and timelines set by agencies for releasing more. (Tech President)

Events Today

  • The ethics of lobbying. Georgetown University. Fri. 11/22. 8:00 am – 5:00 pm. Georgetown University, Rafik B. Hairir Building, Fisher Colloquium, 37th st and O st, NW, Washington, DC.

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