by Carrie Tian, policy intern NEWS: The libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute held its annual fundraising dinner with Rand Paul as... View Article
Continue readingAg money can’t buy the farm bill love
Agribusiness interests lost out as the farm bill went down to a surprise defeat at the hands of liberals who thought it cut food stamps too much and conservatives who thought it didn't cut them enough.
Continue readingLocal Advocate Helps Amp Up Atlanta Open Meetings Law
States have complex levels of authority over municipalities, but that doesn't stop cities from crafting transparency reforms that lead locally and could impact state operations, too.
This week, Atlanta proved to be a great example of such leadership. The city council unanimously approved an amendment to the open meetings ordinance making it stronger than the language of Georgia's state law.
The events leading up to this change are explained in this story by Matthew Charles Cardinale of Atlanta Progressive News. Cardinale helped draft and push for the legislation after filing a lawsuit challenging closed-door sessions of city council committee meetings. Cardinale argued that there was case law, decided by the Court of Appeals of Georgia, supporting his position that even some meetings without a quorum of members have to be open to the public. State law only explicitly states that meetings with a quorum have to be open.
Continue reading2Day in #OpenGov 6/20/2013
by Carrie Tian, policy intern NEWS:
- The Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs may be neck and neck for the NBA championship, but in the political arena, it's a blowout. Spurs owner Peter Holt donated $500,000 during the 2012 election cycle, the vast majority going to Republicans. That's four times as much as Heat owner Mickey Arison, who split his money between the Dems and the GOP. (Public Integrity)
- Last year, Rhode Island's General Assembly overhauled their Access to Public Records Act to open up new records, but now state agencies are releasing less information than in years past. The trouble is because of the "balancing test", which asks that officials consider whether the information is a unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Police clerks across the state are redacting information about incidents, even in arrest records, which have long been public. (Providence Journal)
- Lobbying coalitions are on the rise: these groups bring together competing companies to focus in on a specific issue, becoming a vital source of information for Congressional staff, before disbanding as soon as the legislation runs its course. (The Hill)
- Associated Press President Gary Pruitt blasted the DoJ's seizure of the AP's phone records, saying their long-standing sources have clammed up. The AP seeks DoJ acknowledgement of the right of the press to get advance notice in subpoenas of records, a federal shield law, and to formally institutionalize that no journalist will be prosecuted for doing his job. (POLITICO)
- A new spending-data directive from the OMB mirrors the DATA Act that Congress is considering. Like the DATA Act, the OMB's directive requires agencies to establish unique identification numbers for financial awards, though the directive is weak in that it doesn't track awards across agencies and doesn't apply to procurement. (FCW)
- The powerful potato lobby is pushing for an amendment to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). The USDA originally ruled that monthly WIC stipends could not be used to purchase white potatoes. A spokesperson for the National Potato Council, which wants to reverse that ruling, claims it's not a matter of money, but rather of correcting public misperceptions about the potato's nutritive value. (NPR)
What does California have against transparency in local government?
The California legislature is on the brink of cutting local governments loose from compliance to public records requests. If signed... View Article
Continue readingCrossroads GPS pushes Congress to pass immigration overhaul in web video
Crossroads GPS, the nonprofit co-founded by Karl Rove that backs GOP candidates, has released an online video to push Congress to pass immigration reform as the Senate moves closer to a final vote on the overhaul.
Continue reading2Day in #OpenGov 6/19/2013
by Carrie Tian, policy intern
- Tom Wheeler, Obama's nominee to lead the Federal Communications Commission, cited his experience in leading lobbying groups of cable television and cell phone groups for shaping his opinions and preparing him for the job. (New York Times)
- The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board meets today to discuss NSA surveillance for the first time. The board's five appointees only recently received security clearances, and the group is virtually untested, maintaining a low profile for much of its eight years of existence.(Yahoo)
- Labor unions see the Snowden-induced scrutiny on contractors as a chance to fight proposals for increased federal contracting. At the height of the Bush administration, there were over 7 million federal contractors, with only a third as many executive branch employees. (POLITICO)
- Early filings for May show strong activity for PACs, with Democratic PAC ActBlue raising $5 million, on par with the DNC and NRCC, and other early filers such as American Crystal Sugar Company PAC and AT&T Inc. Federal PAC giving hundreds of thousands to members of Congress. (Roll Call)
- Texas became the first state to require a warrant for e-mail searches - the current federal law only stipulates that a warrant is necessary for recent emails the recipient has not yet opened. (Ars Technica)
New G8 Open Data Charter
The G8 countries today released a new declaration, and with it an Open Data Charter policy paper, which together constitute... View Article
Continue reading2Day in #OpenGov 6/18/2013
by Carrie Tian, policy intern
- A California budget facing a vote on Friday would save millions - at the cost of crippling existing public record laws. The budget would remove the need for agencies to provide documents electronically and respond to records requests within 10 days. California would no longer need to reimburse its agencies for compliance with the laws, but right to know advocates worry about the impact on citizens and members of the media. (LA Times)
- How many times can a man retire? At least 3, according to Senator Cornyn (R-TX), who currently collects three separate pensions for his stints as district judge, Texas Supreme Court justice, and state attorney general. Fiscal watchdog groups blast this practice as "double-dipping." (National Journal)
- Czech PM Petr Necas resigned on Sunday, with the rest of his government to follow suit shortly. Necas stepped down after his chief of staff, Jana Nagyoya, was charged with bribery and ordering surveillance of people including Necas's wife. (techPresident)
- George Soros might be one of the nation's most prominent liberal donors, but his foundation donates to dozens of conservative organizations each year. Soros Fund Management promises to match all of its employees' charitable donations, resulting in the firm giving hundreds of thousands to religious organizations in 2012. (Public Integrity)
- In a shocker of the century, the government is inefficient ...but wait, we now have numbers measuring exactly how much inefficiency we're talking about. A new report by Project Management Institute show that the federal sector loses $148 million for every billion it spends. The private sector is better, though not by much, losing $135 million for every billion spent. (Fierce Government)
- Billionaire Ron Perelman has often brought political friends into companies he controls, including Nancy Reagan and Henry Kissinger. The latest through his revolving door is Diana Cantor, wife of Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, to the board of directors of Revlon. (National Journal)
Americans for Prosperity takes aim at farm bill
Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a 501(c)4 non-profit backed by the family behind the Koch Industries conglomerate, is lining up with some unusual partners as it launches a multi-media campaign against the farm bill that the U.S. House of Representatives is set to consider this week.
As the House takes up the bill, AFP has started an Internet ad campaign targeting 15 members of the House of Representatives, including House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, according to a press release the group issued Monday. In addition, the organization has launched an email campaign urging voters to contact their lawmakers ...
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