Keep reading for today’s look at #OpenGov news, events, and analysis including the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s stamp of approval on the controversial CISA, the British Parliament’s struggle to impose a lobbying code of conduct, and plenty of state and local news.

National News

• The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence passed the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA), but its current draft faces significant pushback from civil liberties supporters in the Senate, as well as civil liberties organizations, before the legislation can even get a vote on the senate floor. (The Hill)
• “This is not your father’s Farm Bill,” Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) said of the most recent iteration of the Bill, which was signed in Feburary and will set U.S. food policy for the next decade;  indeed, the newest Farm Bill lies far from its humble Great Depression roots after 600 companies spent half a billion dollars on Farm Bill-related lobbying, Nebraska’s NPR and PBS stations found. (Net Nebraska)
• Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas, candidate in the 2008 Republican presidential primaries, and projected “regular Joe” politician, has quietly developed a taste for private air travel. As Huckabee toys with another presidential run in 2016, a newly disclosed $253,000 of private plane expenses may change perceptions of the politician once critical of “other candidates were stepping onto their Gulfstream jets.” (Politico)

International News

• Even after a member of Parliament recently resigned after he accepted £4,000 in return for requested parliamentary actions, parliamentary conduct and lobbying rules proposed 18 months ago have yet to be brought before the House. (The Telegraph)
• South Korea’s Open Government Plan commits to releasing over 9000 datasets in 2 years, a substantial increase from the 3,395 datasets made available in 2013. These datasets will complement a proposed online platform that plans to rope South Korean citizens into policy discussions. (FutureGov)

State and Local News

• In Massachusetts, the State House passed a campaign finance bill requiring superPACs to regularly report how much money they spend supporting specific candidates. The bill awaits approval from the Senate before moving to the Governor’s desk. (Boston Globe)
• As Silicon Valley companies seek to influence legislation, their lobbying efforts have moved beyond the federal level to the state level. The Internet Association–a lobbying group that represents many large Internet companies such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, eBay, Twitter, Yahoo, Yelp, Uber and Lyft–recently opened a new Sacramento office to complement their D.C. one. (Capital Public Radio)

Events This Week

• Successfully Manage Your Agency’s Information in a Continually Mandated Environment. Iron Mountain. Tues., 7/15. 2:00 PM. Webcast.
• The State of VA Healthcare. United States Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Wed., 7/16. 10:00 AM. Room G50, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.
• Big Data at Work for Citizens: Applying Data Analytics for Empowerment and Fraud Prevention. Software and Information Industry Association. Wed., 7/16. 12:00 PM. Room G11, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.
• Publishing Content: If Not in PDF, Then What? OpenGov Hub. Wed., 7/16. 12:30 PM. 1110 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005.
• White House Office of Political Affairs: Is Supporting Candidates and Campaign Fund-Raising an Appropriate Use of a Government Office? House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Thurs., 7/16. 10:00 AM.  2154 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C.
• Examining the Justice Department’s Response to the IRS Targeting Scandal. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Thurs., 7/17. 9:00 AM.  2154 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C.

Do you want to track transparency news? You can follow the progress of relevant bills, court cases, and regulations using Scout. You can also get Today in #OpenGov sent directly to your preferred news reader. If you would like suggest an event, please email mrumsey@sunlightfoundation.com by 7 am on the Monday prior to the event.