2Day in #OpenGov 3/21/2013

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NEWS ROUNDUP:

  • Curtis Bostic, a former Charleston County councilmember who is likely to face Mark Sanford in a runoff for the GOP nod for an open South Carolina House seat, benefited mightily from Kentucky natural gas executive James Willard Kinzer. Kinzer donated the maximum to Bostic’s campaign and funelled $30,000 to a super PAC supporting him. (Public Integrity)
  • New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Comptroller John Lui announced that the Big Apple is going to be the first city in the country to launch a comprehensive subcontracting database to track payments made by primary contractors to subcontractors. (Tech President)
  • Boris Bershteyn, the OMB general counsel and acting head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, will be leaving his post at the end of the month. (The Legal Times)
  • Salomon Melgen, the Florida eye doctor whose ties to Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) are drawing scrutiny from federal investigators, also tried to court other leading politicians including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. (Politico)
  • Asheville, NC, a city of 85,000, is taking small steps towards opening their data and getting inspired by the results. Asheville recently held its first hackathon-style event in October and the city is seeing fewer open records requests. (Government Technology)
  • According to a new GPO report, designing official publications primarily for digital use has saved the country more than $16 million since the office started the practice in 1995. (National Journal)
  • White House officials are indicating that they might be considering shifting responsibility for drone operations from the CIA to the Pentagon, where the program would be subject to different rules and, hopefully, some more sunlight. (Politico)

RELEVANT BILLS INTRODUCED:

  • H.R. 1133. Presidential Library Donation Reform Act of 2013.
  • H.R. 1270. To provide for greater transparency and honesty in the Federal budget process.
  • H.R. 1249. To amend section 403 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to improve and clarify certain disclosure requirements for restaurants, similar retail food establishments, and vending machines.
  • H.R. 1118. Pick Your Poison Act.
  • H.R. 1111. Business Should Mind It’s Own Business Act.

HAPPENING TODAY 3/21:

 

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