Sunlight Foundation

POIA in the News

• Dems reintroduce Public Online Information Act

  04.05.11—The Hill newspaper reports the latest on POIA: Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) reintroduced a bill Monday that would require the federal government to post all publicly available information online in user-friendly formats. Every day, 78 percent of American adults use the internet. It’s become our first stop for news and research. Our government needs to catch up,” Israel said. “People across the country – from scholars to school children – should be able to see any public government information from the convenience of their computer. Public should mean online."

• Guest Editorial: Creating online, public accountability for government

  04.01.11—March 18—Every day, the federal government releases vast amounts of useful information about every aspect of our nation and how government works. This public information has a deep impact on almost every aspect of American life. Some of it can be used to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions, or have a profound effect on health, economic development and commerce. The problem is, much of this government information is too often hard to find, difficult to understand, expensive to obtain in useful formats, and available in only a few locations.

• COMMENTARY: It’s time for Massachusetts to pursue greater online access to public information

  04.01.11—March 12—The computer has become the first stop for many of us when looking for the answers to a question. We turn to the Internet to find a store or a restaurant, a phone number, directions and updates from friends. Yet, when it comes to finding information about our own government, public records are commonly not available online except, of course, if they are coming from WikiLeaks. Often, to access documents from state agencies, we must go in person, submit a records request by hand or mail, and wait 10 days or longer for a reply.

• Time to expand government accountability online

  04.01.11—March 17—Every day, the federal government releases vast amounts of useful information about every aspect of our nation and how government works. This public information has a deep impact on almost every aspect of American life. Some of it can be used to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions, or have a profound effect on health, economic development and commerce. The problem is, too often, much of this government information is hard to find, difficult to understand, expensive to obtain in useful formats and available in only a few locations.

• Guest Editorial: Creating online, public accountability for government

  04.01.11—March 18, 2010—Every day, the federal government releases vast amounts of useful information about every aspect of our nation and how government works. This public information has a deep impact on almost every aspect of American life. Some of it can be used to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions, or have a profound effect on health, economic development and commerce. The problem is, much of this government information is too often hard to find, difficult to understand, expensive to obtain in useful formats, and available in only a few locations.

• Demand open government

  05.12.10—The Helena Independent Record editorializes in favor of POIA: "A bill introduced last week by a Montana senator would go a long way in making our federal government more open and more responsive to its people, and as a result, put more trust back in our democratic process."

• Washington forecast: More government sunshine

  05.12.10—The Billings Gazette editorializes in favor of POIA. "Last week in Washington, D.C., Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., introduced legislation that would help bring federal government openness into the 21st century. The Public Online Information Act would require the executive branch to post all public documents online, to make them available at no charge to the public and expresses a sense of the Senate that legislative and judicial documents should be posted online, too."

• Editorial: Welcome bills push online public information

  05.12.10—The Spokesman-Review editorializes: "No wonder the Sunlight Foundation, a national organization that advocates for open government, last week saluted Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who has introduced a welcome new political app, known as the Public Online Information Act. A companion bill has been introduced in the House by Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y."

• Tester Pushes for Transparency in Bill

  05.12.10—The Montana Policy Institute reports, "Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., is pushing a bill that would put many government documents online in a big public database."

• Shining light on the feds

  05.07.10—The Missoula Editor writes, "We love sunshine here in the Missoulian newsroom, and I don’t just mean the occasional glimpses we get out the window. That’s why we’re cheering the Public Online Information Act introduced today by Montana Sen. Jon Tester."

• Tester behind measure for open records

  05.07.10—Ledyard King of the Great Falls Tribune writes, "Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont, has introduced a bill requiring the Obama administration to put more of its records online and give people easier access to public documents that often don't see the light of day."

• Sen. Tester introduces bill to get more info to public on the Web

  05.07.10—Jennifer McKee of the Helena Independent Record writes, "Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., is pushing a bill that would put many government documents online in a big public database."

• Bill Would Require Most Gov't Documents to Be Online

  05.07.10—Grant Gross of PC World writes "A U.S. senator has introduced legislation that would require U.S. government agencies to post all public documents online in a free, searchable database."

• Tester sponsors public information bill

  05.07.10—The Hill's Kevin Bogardus writes, "Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) introduced the Senate companion piece Thursday to transparency legislation already offered in the House. "

• Tester: Leave no public document off the web

  05.06.10—Jennifer McKee of the Billings Gazette State Bureau writes: "Sen. Jon Tester this morning sponsored a bill that would put most government documents online in a big, public database."

• Sen. Tester's Total Transparency Bill Hits Senate Today

  05.06.10—The Capitol News Connection's Elizabeth Wynne Johnson interviews Senator Tester about POIA.

• Sunshine online

  03.28.10—A Washington Post editorial endorsing the Public Online Information Act as "a sensible and modest bill that could nevertheless be a catalyst for important changes in how the federal government thinks about and handles public information. It could also lead to greater transparency in the workings of the government."

• Your Rights Online: Bill Would Require Public Information To Be Online

  03.24.10—Slashdot story submitted by Andurin, with a lively debate

• NY Congressman introduces sweeping Open Gov legislation

  03.21.10—OhMyGov.com calls POIA "a move for true transparency"

• Group Pushes for More Gov't Documents to Go Online

  03.21.10—PC World's Grant Gross reports on POIA.

• Public Equals Online: H.R. 4858, Public Online Information Act (POIA) Mandates Executive Branch Online Publication and Calls Upon Legislative and Judicial Branches To Do the Same

  03.21.10—The Law Librarian Blog takes a closer look at POIA.

• Links and photos from @sunlightnetwork’s Public=Online discussion and launch with @jakebrewer #tcamp2010 #gov20 #opengov

  03.21.10—Eric Brown takes a look at the Public=Online campaign and POIA.

• Getting Public Information out of the Metal Filing Cabinets

  03.21.10—The FOI Advocate briefly looks at POIA.

• New Legislation Will Bring Light to Government's Dark Spaces

  03.21.10—Allen McDuffee of Truthout.org explains the goals of POIA.

• Support the Public Online Information Act

  03.21.10—The Good.Is blog calls for public support of POIA.

• Fixing Washington: The Public Online Information Act

  03.17.10—Craig Newmark expresses his support for the Public Online Information Act in his column on Huffington Post.

• Rep. Israel liveblogging about POIA on DailyKos

  03.17.10—March 17 liveblog on DailyKos.

• Bill would require agencies to post public documents online

  03.17.10—Article by Aliya Sternstein of NextGov.

• ‘Sunshine Week’ highlights transparency

  03.17.10—An article by Kevin Bogardus of The Hill.

• Legal Information Institute: Sunlight Foundation Proposes Public Online Information Act (POIA)

  03.17.10—An article from Resource Shelf.

• Editorial: Let the sunshine in

  03.17.10—An editorial from the Summit Daily News.

• Editorial: Good, bad news on sunshine front

  03.17.10—An editorial from the Post-Star.

• K Street Files: Banking Backlash

  03.17.10—A Roll Call article ($) by Anna Palmer.

• Meet POIA: "Public Means Online" Becomes a Bill

  03.16.10—TechPresident on making "public equal online."

• Making Public Information Available Online: Rep. Israel Introduces the Public Online Information Act

  03.16.10—Sunlight Foundation blogpost announcing the introduction of the Public Online Information Act, with links to resources.

• Introducing POIA

  03.16.10—An explanation, from Sunlight Labs, on how POIA can be useful to the technology community.

• POIA aims to make public records truly public

  03.16.10—An example, from Sunlight's Reporting group, on why POIA is so important.

• The Federal Eye on POIA (and other stuff)

  03.16.10—Ed O'Keefe at the Federal Eye writes about POIA and Sunshine Week generally.

• Redefining “Freedom of Information” in the 21st Century

  03.16.10—Interview with Elizabeth Johnson on the Capitol News Connection.

• Nashua Telegraph op-ed on making public info available online

  03.15.10—Every day, the federal government releases vast amounts of useful information about every aspect of our nation and how government works.