National News

• Miriam Nisbet, the outgoing head of the Office of Government Information Services, cited FOIAonline as a major cross-government achievement at a Friday event examining OGIS in honor of its fifth anniversary. (FedScoop)
• Candidates aren’t technically allowed to talk to the super PACs that spend huge sums on their behalf, but few are letting the law get in the way as they figure out how to tell committees what they need without drawing the attention of the FEC, which doesn’t have much energy anyway. (National Journal)
• The Center for Public Integrity is out with an index of 2014 money-in-politics. (Public Integrity)
• The Supreme Court is slated to hear oral arguments in Homeland Security v. MacLean, an important whistleblower case. (SCOTUSBlog)

International

• A number of major civil society organizations across Bosnia and Herzegovina teamed up in advance of elections last month to mobilize “broad-based citizen oversight of the election process.” (NDI)

State and Local News

• DC Mayor Vince Gray, who will know his successor as early as Tuesday night, is pushing forward with some open government efforts, notably by appointing a 15 member advisory group made up of city officials and local activists. There is some speculation about the future of such efforts as the city prepares to elect a new mayor to replace the ethically embattled Gray . (Technical.ly DC)
• The Office of the California Controller has added public pension data, which has been collected and published for 35 years, to the state’s open data portal. (Government Technology)
• Big money interests have been working over time to capture elected judges across the country in recent campaign cycles, they have now turned their attention to Montana, a state with a long history of resisting the influence of money in politics. (New York Times)
• A benchmarking study released by Socrata last week found that 80 percent of federal, state, county, and city level government respondents are planning to invest the same or more energy into open data over the next six months. (Government Executive)

Events This Week

• Ethics Under Fire. Sixth and I. Mon. 11/3. 7:30 pm. Sixth and I Historic Synagogue, 600 I Street NW, Washington, DC.
• Open Data and Foreign Policy. Young Professionals in Foreign Policy. Tues. 11/4. 2098 T Street NW, Greeley Hall, FHI 360, Washington, DC 20009.
• Transparent Government in Latin America’s Extractive Industries. Brookings Institution. Tues. 11/4. 2:00 – 3:45 pm. 1755 Massachusetts Ave NW, Falk Auditorium, Washington, DC 20036.
• Data Transparency: The DATA Act and Beyond. Government Executive Events. Wed. 11/5. 2:00 – 3:00 pm. Livestreamed.
• How Open Source Can Help Overcome Government’s Biggest Challenges. GovLoop. Thurs. 11/6. 2:00 – 3:00 pm. Livestreamed.
• Dr. Claudia Paz y Paz: Organized crime and corruption in Central America. George Mason University School of Policy, Government, and International Affiars. Thurs. 11/6. 12:-1:30 pm. George Mason University Arlington Campus, 3351 Fairfax Drive, Founders Hall, Room 111, Arlington, VA 22201.

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.