Sunlight Foundation

National News The Hill’s list of 2013’s top lobbyists includes influencers of all stripes, but not all of them are... View Article

National News The 29 lawmakers tasked with solving the most recent budget issues held their first hearing yesterday. This meeting... View Article

National News There’s a lot for the White House to like in a new study from McKinsey & Co., notably... View Article

National News

• Yesterday I noted that new legislation would allow businesses to ignore open data requirements, turns out that it's sponsor has decided not to introduce the legislation without significantly scaling it back first. (Data Transparency Coalition)
• Rumors are swirling that one of K Street's top firms is looking at a merger opportunity. Patton Boggs, the law and lobbying giant which has seen its revenues and prestige decline recently, may be in talks with Locke Lord, another large firm. (The Hill)
• A group of prominent Latino fundraisers for Obama are moving on to other priorities, namely vulnerable members of Congress that are against immigration reform. The group, the Latino Victory Fund, is planning to use as much as $20 million to target lawmakers with substantial Latino populations in their districts. (Washington Post)

• The Philippines is looking for public input on one of its key open data websites. The Transparency and Accountability Initiative for Lump Sum Funds website will begin asking citizens for feedback on how lawmakers are spending Priority Development Assistance Funds, detailed on the site. (Future Gov)
• The Open Knowledge Foundation launched its 2013 Open Data Index on the eve of this week's Open Government Partnership Summit. The Index found that many countries around the world are still struggling to provide important data to the public. (Open Knowledge Blog)

National News

• A new bill being considered in the House could allow companies to avoid filing reports to the SEC in open data formats. (fed scoop)
• The Supreme Court has been notoriously hesitant to adopt new technologies or open up their proceedings to appease transparency advocates. While state courts are beginning to embrace webcasting and other technologies the Supreme Court of the land seem unlikely to follow suit. (Washington Post)
• A few years ago, the argument that campaign finance disclosure was a threat to first amendment rights, personal safety, and liberty, was championed by only a few conservative voices. Today that same argument is being embraced almost as gospel by many prominent, right wing, members of the Republican party. (National Journal)
• The Defense Department revealed their internal "revolving door" database in response to a FOIA request from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Military officer's have to request ethics rulings when they plan to leave the Pentagon for civilian employment. The department has kept a list of these rulings for the past several years. (Government Executive)

• With the OGP Summit in London set to kick off later this week a new report looks at the "influence of the Open Government Partnership on the Open Data discussions." (EPSI Platform)

• A top Humane Society official in California has a side gig walking the state's First Dog, Governor Jerry Brown's Corgi Sutter. Jennifer Fearing's influence with the political pooch may have spilled over to its owner. The legislature passed and Brown signed all six bills that Fearing lobbied on during this year's session. (Washington Times)
• President Obama acting locally with his campaigning prowess, biting in to some famous Brooklyn cheesecake during a campaign stop for Bill De Blasio, who is likely to win the race to replace Michael Bloomberg as mayor of New York.   (Washington Post)
• A new report from Justice at Stake, the National Institute on Money in State Politics, and the Brennan Center for Justice explores the gorwing role of big money in judicial elections. Judicial elections, which were often relatively sleepy affairs in years past, have been inundated by the same flood of spending and negative ads as other races in the post Citizens United world. (Roll Call)

National News A group of the most conservative members of the house reached out to some of K street’s most... View Article

National News

• The government shutdown has officially pushed back the first round of requirements associated with President Obama's recent open data Executive Order. The requirements, now due November 30, include enterprise data inventories and public data listings.(Project Open Data)
• President Obama looks to escape some of his Healthcare.gov related troubles by hitting the fundraising trail. Between now and the end of November he is scheduled to appear at 8 fundraisers for national Democratic groups. (POLITICO)
• FedBizOpps, a top destination for Federal contracting data, underwent a significant change this summer that may hinder open data. A significant portion of the site's information is now behind a login wall, restricting its ability to be indexed. (Fed Scoop)
• The Open Government Partnership's Independent Reporting Mechanism has weighed in on the United States' OGP progress. This is the 8th IRM report and found that, while significant progress was made by the US on a number of commitments, progress has been slow on controversial issues. (Open Government Partnership)

• Philippines is looking to launch an open data portal next month. The portal, set to go live on November 27, will host government data sets in machine readable formats. (ABS-CBN News)

• Folks in Philadelphia now have a user friendly way to browse, search, and use the Philadelphia code. The site is still working out the kinks and the organization behind it is looking for feedback. (Technical.ly Philly)
• After years worth of campaign finance scandals and drama, the Washington, DC Council is inching closer to a vote on reform legislation that would improve disclosure and shut down the avenues for some controversial donations. (Washington Post)