The first major deadline for agency compliance with President Obama's open data Executive Order arrived this past Saturday. Agencies were required to, among other things, provide the Office of Management and Budget with an "Enterprise Data Inventory" and release a list of all their public data via a /data page on their websites.
We had hopes that some agencies might choose to publicly release their entire Enterprise Data Inventories, providing a full picture of their data holdings. Unfortunately, so far, that does not seem to have happened. Until the full inventories are available, the public will still be stuck in the dark, not knowing what we don’t know about government data holdings.
Nonetheless, most cabinet level agencies, as well as a number of independent agencies that were not required to comply, have taken steps to publicly fulfill the other aspects of the Executive Order. Levels of compliance have been varied, but we will try to highlight some of the worst and best examples below.
Continue readingRemember Sunlight this #GivingTuesday
First, there was Black Friday, then Cyber Monday and now there is #GivingTuesday, a day dedicated to inspiring individuals, families, communities and businesses to give back and to raise awareness about charitable activities. So, take this opportunity to give back to the opengov movement with a donation to Sunlight today!
So, in the midst of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, don’t forget to give back! Donate $10, $25, $50 or more to Sunlight! Whether it’s a little or a lot, participating in #GivingTuesday will bring us closer to the open government we seek while raising awareness about philanthropic activity worldwide.
Continue readingAnnouncing Sunlight’s international lobbying disclosure guidelines
With more and more civil society organizations in the open government universe recognizing that “thorny issues” -- such as political finance transparency or surveillance -- need to be tackled somewhat more vehemently, we are eager to seize the momentum and start a hopefully constructive dialogue around an embarrassingly under- or unregulated area: lobbying disclosure. A few weeks back, with the support of our friends at the Open Knowledge Foundation, we took the first steps to create a community of interested advocates, activists and academics, and launched a public working group around the world of influence.
Today, we are excited to announce our draft lobbying disclosure guidelines and invite the community to provide input on these recommendations.
Continue readingToday in #OpenGov 12/3/2013
National News
- Ceasars' Casino needs to get its PAC money right, according to FEC auditors. The auditors found that the PAC had under-reported its receipts by over $150,000 and its expenditures by more than $90,000 over a two year period. (Roll Call)
- Journalists and free-press advocates are keeping up the pressure on the White House a week after close to 40 news outlets filed a formal complaint over the Obama Administration's policy limiting access to photographers. (Washington Times)
- The Spanish Senate approved a "transparency" law last week, despite widespread opposition from civil society groups and political organizations who argued that the bill ignored international standards for right to information laws. (Access Info)
- Austria and Bosnia have joined the growing ranks of countries making budget information available online. Austria's recently launched system covers all of the country's 2,356 municipalities while Bosnia's aims to help citizens understand the tax system and how funds are spread across the government. (International Budget Partnership)
- The Speaker of the British House of Commons is setting up a Commission on Digital Democracy to explore ways to further modernize parliament and government more broadly. (Global Center for ICT in Parliament)
- The Iowa Public Information Board is up and running, but it might be heading backwards when it comes to ensuring government transparency. The board has already made a series of decisions that hinder journalists and members of the public. (Columbia Journalism Review)
- New York's Moreland Commission, set up to investigate corruption in the state, is set to issue its report next week. In the meantime, the New York Public Interest Research group urged the commission to consider a series of campaign finance reforms. (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)
Today in #OpenGov 12/2/2013
National News
- There is a strong revolving door between the office of the United States Trade Representative and private sector jobs in the pharmaceutical, major media, and technology industries. (Washington Post)
- The SEC appears to be backing away from a proposal that would force public companies to disclose their political spending. The commission had included the proposal in their list of 2013 priorities, but it is nowhere to be found in their 2014 list. (Washington Post)
- Most members of Congress set up Leadership PACs in order to spread love and boost their standing within their own party. But, two recently elected lawmakers want to use their organizations to support candidates that "want to make government work and who want everyone at the table." (Roll Call)
- The Open Knowledge Foundation, along with the Open Data Institute has finalized a "memorandum of understanding" with the BBC. They are joining the Europeana Foundation, Open Data Institute, and Mozilla Foundation in pushing the BBC to commit to "open data and open standards." BBC representatives hailed the move as a sign that the organization is "here for the audience's interest and not just," their own. (Open Knowledge Blog)
- The Mayor of Honolulu, Hawaii signed an open data bill into law last week. The bill was first introduced in August and garnered support from the city's CIO. (Hawaii Open Data)
- Philadelphia Chief Data Officer Mark Headd teamed up with Textizen CEO Michelle Lee to pitch the idea that open data can help companies innovate at Interop, an IT conference in New York City. (Technical.ly Philly)
As IRS Takes Aim at Fake Social Welfare Organizations, Will Some in Congress Take Aim at the IRS?
In a surprise announcement, the IRS has opened the door to re-writing outdated rules regarding political activity of so-called social welfare organizations. The move is long overdue. Over a year ago, Sunlight urged the agency to take a look at rules that have not been updated since 1959. We also told Congress that after it held hearings on the IRS’s targeting of groups with conservative sounding names, it should provide guidance for the agency as to how it could more effectively, efficiently and fairly enforce the law. Even though that congressional leadership never materialized, the IRS should be congratulated for taking the first steps toward reforming its broken rules.
The IRS doesn’t have an easy road ahead of it. In the best case scenario, rules won’t be finalized until after the 2014 elections, ensuring that fake social welfare organizations—organizations like Crossroads GPS on the right and Patriot Majority USA on the left—will continue spending the vast majority of their money on election-related activity, not "social welfare." The IRS will face obstruction from congressional Republicans (in the form of legislation attempting to ban the IRS from enacting new rules, threats to its budget, or still more hearings) as well as court challenges that will further threaten the adoption of clear regulations.
IRS takes aim at $300 million campaign influence industry
Updated: 11/26; 6 p.m.
Tuesday's surprise announcement that the Internal Revenue Service intends to take aim at campaign spending by so-called social welfare non-profits could substantially alter the political landscape -- if the tax agency's proposed new regulations eventually take effect. That's a big if given the lengthy and, given the stakes involved, highly contentious path ahead.
Outside groups organized as non-profits poured at least $305 million into the 2012 elections, according to Federal Election Commission figures compiled by the Sunlight Foundation. Those figures likely represent the tip of the dark money iceberg as the groups ...
Continue readingRule behind the ‘Hobby Lobby’ case was the most commented
Today, the Supreme Court announced that it agreed to hear two cases around the contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act. The SCOTUSblog writes:
The Court granted review of a government case (Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, 13-354) and a private business case (Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius, 13-356). Taking the Conestoga plea brought before the Court the claim that both religious owners of a business and the business itself have religious freedom rights. The Hobby Lobby case was keyed to rights under RFRA.Continue reading
Announcing the Docket Wrench API
Presenting the new Docket Wrench API! This API allows developers to utilize the same analytics that power Docket Wrench to build innovative new services and tools. Sign up for a free key and check it out!
Continue readingHappy Thankgiving! How does campaign cash affect the food on your plate?
Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, with President Barack Obama scheduled to deliver the annual stay of execution for the National Thanksgiving Turkey on Wednesday. But on Capitol Hill, there's less goodwill: An end to the impasse on the farm bill is not in sight. Last year at this time we reported that Congress had let the massive bill that governs farm programs as well as food programs for the needy expired months before the holiday; this year is much the same, with little hope of the lawmakers -- who are off on their own holiday recess -- coming to agreement come ...
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