2Day in #OpenGov 11/4/2011

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Policy Fellow Matt Rumsey wrote this post.

Finish the week strong with Friday’s look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events.

News Roundup:

Government

  • The Justice department is dropping their controversial rule that would allow government officials to lie about the existence of certain records in response to FOIA requests. The rule had been met with skepticism from Republican Lawmakers as well as government watchdogs. (The Hill) Last week, our own John Wonderlich wrote about the many problems with DOJ’s proposed rules.
  • FEC commissioners faced tough questions from members of the House Administration Committee on their lack of transparency at a hearing yesterday. A coalition of good government groups took the opportunity to call on President Obama to reform the commission and install new commissioners. (Politico)
  • The SEC Inspector General found that the agency’s Enforcement Division routinely destroyed preliminary investigative files that should have been retained as federal records. The investigation confirmed allegations by whistleblower and SEC Enforcement attorney Darcy Flynn. (POGO)
  • The House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee favorably reported the Government Results Transparency Act, H.R. 3262, to the full House. The bill would amend the DATA Act to require agencies to post performance information on specific programs. (Government Executive)
  • California shut down a government transparency website. The site was launched under Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, but hadn’t been updated since he left office in January. The information is still available online, but at different locations. (Government Technology)
Ethics
  • The House Ethics Committee has voted to move forward with their investigation of Rep. Laura Richardson (D-CA) despite her best efforts to convince them not to. The committee will look into allegations that Richardson threatened to fire members of her congressional staff if they did not work on her campaign. (Politico)
  • During his tenure as Governor of Texas, Rick Perry has taken over 200 free flights from corporate executives and wealthy donors. Many of these flights involved government business, sometimes related to the planes’ owners. (New York Times)

Relevant committee hearings scheduled for 11/4:

  • None.

Relevant bills introduced:

  • None.
Transparency events scheduled for 11/4:

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