Sunlight Foundation

Here is Tuesday’s transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Lobbying

• The 12 member “Super Committee formed by the pending debt deal is already attracting attention from lobbyists seeking to have a hand in budget negotiations. (Politico)
• Questions have emerged about a former congressman’s support for the telecom industry before and after leaving Congress. (Daily Caller)
• Opinion: Lobbying may not be inherently bad, but we need to make information about lobbying disclosed in a way that is meaningful, transparent, and accessible. (Miller-McCune)
• Opinion: If Congress is going to create a super committee, it should be super transparent. (Sunlight Blog)

• Lawmakers have voiced concerns that constant down-to-the-wire votes have jeopardized commitments to post bills online for at least three days before they receive a vote. (Politico)
• OSHA has introduced plans to improve its protection for whistleblowers and step up its ability to investigate reports. (Fair Warning)

• A new complaint filed in court by the former classification czar alleges that the Justice Department and National Security Agency classified documents that did not contain secrets. (New York Times)
• The Iowa Supreme Court will review a law which forces local governments to pay attorney fees of individuals who win lawsuits to access public records. (Quad City Times)
• A federal judge declined to hold officials at the CIA in contempt for destroying records of interrogations that took place during the War on Terror. (CNN)

• A 9th Circuit decision regarding corruption charges against Rep. Rick Renzi denied a broad reading of the Speech and Debate clause of the Constitution, which individuals have used as a legal shield against similar accusations. Legal experts predict the case will end up in the Supreme Court. (Roll Call)
• The Wisconsin Democratic Party has filed a formal complaint against Americans for Prosperity because the group allegedly sent fliers  to absentee voters in Democratic areas asking voters to send in ballots after election day. (Politico)

• California took steps to allow campaign contributions via mobile devices, paving the way for anyone to donate money by text message. (Tech President)
• After it was revealed that a Delaware business man did not disclose political contributions to politicians, people are calling for stricter rules regulating lobbyists. (Delaware Online)

• Huffington Post reports that access to data about Canadian foreign aid has improved based on steps taken by the government’s Open Government Initiative. (Huffington Post)
• The Chinese government has urged officials to speak openly, online with citizens about a recent train crash that was initially shrouded in secrecy. (Yahoo!)
• Opinion: A lobbyist registration database in Ottawa is a great step towards disclosure, but it should only be considered the first step. (Ottawa Business Journal)

Happy August! Here is 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: Government

• President Obama nominated Michael E. Horowitz as the Department of Justice’s Inspector General. (Main Justice)
• Opinion: Huge cuts to the budget for the Government Printing Office have jeopardized public access to information. (American Libraries)

• The American Civil Liberties Union released a report arguing that Congress should revisit and reform laws protecting disclosure of national security information. (POGO)
• The Ninth Circuit granted a felon’s FOIA request to access information about a confidential informatant who testified against him in court. (Legal Pad)

• Lobbyists on Capitol Hill are taking on legislation attempting to stop the revolving door and enhance lobbyist disclosure laws. (Politico)
• President Obama’s focus on private space flight has opened the door for huge lobbying pushes by private companies looking to cash in on government contracts. (Politico)

• Former Senator Russ Feingold expanded his advocacy group, Progressives United, by launching a new 501(c)(4). Feingold has promised to disclose and cap contributions to his organization. (Huffington Post)
• Special interest groups reported contributions over the weekend revealing huge spending for a presidential campaign on track to break records. (Washington Post)
• An investigation showed that the Koch Brothers have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Iowa politicians and purchased real estate throughout the state. (Des Moines Register)

• Many tools developed for government challenges like Apps for Democracy no longer exist, calling into question whether government initiatives are sustainable. (O’Rielly Radar)
• Opinion: Improvements to technology and crowd sourcing can supplement whistleblowers and help root out fraud and abuse in government spending. (Nextgov)

• A judge in Santa Clara, CA has proposed a decision to strike down a law which restricts contributions to candidates within 17 days of an election. (Lobby Comply Blog)
• The Florida legislature took steps to hand control of the state’s lobbyist registration database and website over to a private company. (St. Augustine Record)
• A water board in Honolulu, HI contributed hundreds of thousands of tax-payer dollars to lobbyists in an effort to steer public funds towards its projects. (Star Adviser)
• Opinion: Governor Brown should honor his commitment to transparent, open government and release data about California’s budget and spending. (Sacramento Bee)

• A new report from the United Kingdom documented the increasing IT costs facing the government and shed light on the short list of vendors allowed to provides services to the government. (Tech President)
• The Russian Duma took steps towards open government today by hiring a new website design company to revolutionize the legislature’s website. (CMS Critic)