Here's Monday's look at the week's transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Super Committee
- Sen. Kerry (D-MA) says he will avoid lobbyists and fundraisers while the Super Committee tries to find $1.5 trillion in spending cuts. (Boston Globe)
- Ogilvy Government Relations, a major K Street lobby firm, has launched a separate Spanish-language website to cater to clients from the Hispanic community. (The Hill)
- Set to be launched next month, YouLobby intends to help voters combine their resources to buy the expensive lobbying influence that previously only well-resourced groups have had access to. (Roll Call $) The site is expected to serve as a "sort of Kickstarter for lobbying campaigns." (techPresident)
- Boutique lobbying firm Thorn Run Partners has hired a former staffer to House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith. (National Journal)
- National Journal provides commentary on the White House's new E-Petition site, "We the People," which will be launched next month. (National Journal)
- Public Knowledge is planning to build a micro-site to draw attention to the impact of when Internet service providers cap the amount of data customers can use. (National Journal)
- A bilateral codeathon will be held in Washington, DC and Moscow, Russia to promote open government initiatives. (Huffington Post)
- The New York City Campaign Finance Board has proposed new rules requiring certain independent expenditures to be reported. (Lobby Comply Blog)
Open States API: 1 Year Later
Last September we announced the first public release of the Open States API. The API enables programmatic access to all of the key artifacts of the state legislative process. The API currently provides a standard interface to bills, votes, legislators, committees, and events across 36 states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico.
Seeing as it has been a year since this first public release it seems like a good time to check on on where we are today and where we're going next.
Continue readingE-Gov Funding Up for Consideration by Senate Approps on Wednesday
This Wednesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee will markup legislation that appropriates funding for the electronic government fund. The e-gov fund... View Article
Continue reading2Day in #OpenGov 9/9/2011
It's still raining, but at least it's Friday! Here's today's look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Government
- Watchdog groups want the SEC to require full disclosure of corporate political spending by publicly traded companies which, according to a new Harvard/Public Citizen report, could even boost the companies' market value. (TPM)
- House Democrats are pushing for tougher ethics standards for Supreme Court justices, advocating for a hearing on a bill that would require justices to witdraw from cases where they may have a financial or political conflict of interest. (NYTimes)
- The Health and Human Services Department is updating its regulations to address new technologies. (Federal Computer Week)
- The FBI is investigating half a billion dollars in federal loan guarantees granted to Solyndra, a California-based solar panel manufacturer that collapsed last week. (Washington Post)
- Former presidential candidate John Edwards' campaign finance trial has been delayed until January. (Washington Post)
- American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS have set a fundraising goal twice the $120 million goal they announced earlier this year. (iWatch News) Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour has signed on to aid Crossroads' fundraising efforts. (Roll Call $)
- As part of its fellowship program Code for America is sending technologists to spend a year in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Macon, Georgia; and Detroit, Michigan. (techPresident)
- A new NYC app provides zoning, building, and property information for specific properties around the city. (Government Technology)
- Philadelphia's proposed redistricting will count as a measure of the success of a group of political activists attempting to influence the redistricting process through do-it-yourself technology. (techPresident)
- California is reorganizing the state's Technology Agency into two distinct sections. (GovTech)
Who’s in the super committee audience?
Yesterday the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, better known as the "super committee," met publicly for the first time to outline its mission and adopt rules to govern its process. We were on hand and turned our cameras 180 degrees to take pictures of the audience.
With your help, we'd like to identify those watching the committee. So, take a look at the photos below and if you recognize anyone, please send us an email at jhatch@sunlightfoundation.com describing which person you've identified, who he/she is (name, firm, etc.), and how you know who that ...
Continue readingSunlight Live to cover first-ever Tea Party hosted debate in Florida
Republican presidential candidates will face off before some of their fiscally conservative, libertarian Tea Party allies on Monday night during a debate in Florida sponsored by the Tea Party Express and CNN. It's the first time the Tea Party has hosted a presidential debate.
GOP candidates Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul, Rick Perry and Herman Cain, whose messages often align with the goals of the Tea Party, might find themselves in good company Monday evening.
The Sunlight Foundation will stream the debate and cover it live at http://sunlightlive.com to add context, campaign finance and lobbying information, and real-time ...
Continue readingMore on Open Meetings for the Super Committee
A number of press reports suggest today that the Super Committee’s rules permit it to close meetings to the public.... View Article
Continue readingLobbyists golfing with Clyburn have friend on Super Committee
In early August, Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., a member of the newly created congressional super committee, held his annual charity golf tournament, welcoming nearly 600 golfers to spend the weekend in Santee, South Carolina.
Prior to the tournament, the charity’s website posted a list of golfers signed up for the tournament, which raises money for college scholarships for needy students. Among those golfers, we identified 34 lobbyists, many of who represent companies with a stake in the decisions of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, a 12-lawmaker body tasked with trimming at least $1.2 trillion from the ...
Continue readingBeige Alert
Recently I've begun work on a new project here with a very simple idea: tell us the issues or keywords that you're interested in, and we'll let you know right away when something happens in state or federal government that you care about.
A straightforward idea, but very powerful. If you're a reporter focusing on immigration, you can know as soon as a state introduces a border control bill. If you're an environmental activist, you can learn right away of all the attempts in Congress to give or take away power to the EPA.
Continue readingSuper Committee Transparency Update: Rules Adopted
The “Super Committee” has just finished its first organizational meeting, and we now know a little more about how it’s... View Article
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