Today in #OpenGov 12/2/2013

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National News

  • There is a strong revolving door between the office of the United States Trade Representative and private sector jobs in the pharmaceutical, major media, and technology industries.  (Washington Post)
  • The SEC appears to be backing away from a proposal that would force public companies to disclose their political spending. The commission had included the proposal in their list of 2013 priorities, but it is nowhere to be found in their 2014 list. (Washington Post)
  • Most members of Congress set up Leadership PACs in order to spread love and boost their standing within their own party. But, two recently elected lawmakers want to use their organizations to support candidates that “want to make government work and who want everyone at the table.” (Roll Call)

International News

  • The Open Knowledge Foundation, along with the Open Data Institute has finalized a “memorandum of understanding” with the BBC. They are joining the Europeana Foundation, Open Data Institute, and Mozilla Foundation in pushing the BBC to commit to “open data and open standards.” BBC representatives hailed the move as a sign that the organization is “here for the audience’s interest and not just,” their own. (Open Knowledge Blog)

State and Local News

  • The Mayor of Honolulu, Hawaii signed an open data bill into law last week. The bill was first introduced in August and garnered support from the city’s CIO. (Hawaii Open Data)
  • Philadelphia Chief Data Officer Mark Headd teamed up with Textizen CEO Michelle Lee to pitch the idea that open data can help companies innovate at Interop, an IT conference in New York City. (Technical.ly Philly)

Events

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