A new report has been released reviewing how well lobbyists follow disclosure rules. According to the report, registered lobbyists aren't that bad. What it misses completely, of course, is all of the non-lobbyist lobbyists out there.
Continue readingHow New York City is beating the feds to 21st century transparency
How the New York City Council and an annual conference dedicated to the democracy-saving power of the internet are poised to beat the federal government into the 21st century.
Continue readingIn both the public and private sector, power is the power to hide
Power may be the power to influence others in public debate. But we also see that power being used to pressure us into allowing the powerful to remain secret — even as the rest of us become more visible.
Continue readingSunlight and secrecy in the Upper Midwest
On campaign finance as in other areas of policy, the formerly similar states of Minnesota and Wisconsin are on two different paths. This Upper Midwestern divergence is a microcosmic example of campaign finance politics in the country as a whole.
Continue readingHow obscurity screwed the STOCK Act – and the rest of us
The STOCK Act, which forbids government officials from profiting from non-public information, originally required comprehensive disclosure; but the law was gutted, and now it takes months for financial disclosures to be released.
Continue readingHow they got the story: Journalists use Sunlight tools to expose Big Oil’s fight against transparency
How a group of journalists used a variety of Sunlight tools to investigate the oil industry, find patterns and ultimately craft an informative new story.
Continue readingThree ways Congress can increase transparency after McCutcheon and Citizens United
More disclosure after McCutcheon and Citizens United? It's really not that hard.
Continue readingWhat foreign interests spent the most to influence the USA?
A look at what foreign interests spent the most last year to influence policy and public opinion in the USA.
Continue readingTransparency Case Study: Lobbying disclosure in Canada
While there are many admirable features of Canadian lobbying regulation, current disclosure thresholds and requirements actually create a subtly perverse incentive structure that drives activity into the shadows.
Continue readingSunlight and allies talk FARA reform with the Department of Justice
For all of the Foreign Agents Registration Act’s strengths, it can be a bummer. But Sunlight has some recommendations that can change all that.
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