2Day in #OpenGov 12/21/2011

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Policy Fellow Matt Rumsey wrote this post.

Here is Wednesday’s look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events.

News Roundup:

Government

  • A new GSA report shows that almost one in five federal web domains are inactive. The GSA hopes to significantly cut down the number of these sites. (Lobby Comply)
  • The House Judiciary Committee will continue to markup SOPA after the holiday break. Debate over the controversial legislation has already stretched over two days. (National Journal)
  • AT&T spend nearly $16 million lobbying, with another $2 million in campaign contributions thrown in for good measure, on their failed bid to merge with T-Mobile. (Politico)
Campaign Finance
  • Super PACs supporting Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum launched ad attacks this month, suggesting that these independent groups will take the onus of negative campaigning off of the candidates. (Politico)
  • Meanwhile, Newt Gingrich accused Mitt Romney of changing his position on Super PAC’s after Romney’s recent statements opposing the independent groups. Gingrich supports PACs running ads in his favor, as long as they are positive in nature. (Politico)
State and Local
  • CitySourced, a location-based mobile reporting platform active on the west coast and around the world, secured more than $1 million in new funding to expand their reach. (Gov Fresh)
  • The Washington, DC Council approved an ethics reform bill. The bill creates a new ethics board and strengthens some disclosure requirements. Critics have attacked it for not going far enough to change campaign finance rules. (DCist)
International
  • A new report focusing on parliamentary monitoring identifies more than 190 organizations worldwide, documents best practices, and suggests ways that interested donors can show support. (ICT in Parliament)

Relevant committee hearings scheduled for 12/21:

  • None

Relevant bills introduced:

  • None.
Transparency events scheduled for 12/21:
  • None.

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