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2Day in #OpenGov 2/24/2012

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Here is the week's last look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup:

Campaign Finance
  • Comedian Bill Maher became the first high profile donor to drop a generous donation on the pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA Action. He presented the group with a $1 million check during a stand-up act in California. (National Journal)
  • Texas billionaire Harold Simmons, who has outspent every other super PAC donor this election cycle, has a history of giving big bucks to conservative causes. In 2004 he was a prime backer of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and in 2008 he helped bankroll ads suggesting Barack Obama supported the Weather Underground. (Politico)
Lobbying
  • Google has named Susan Molinari, a former member of Congress and longtime lobbyist, as head of its Washington, DC offices. (Washington Post)
  • Federal contractors are worried that provisions in the STOCK Act could force their employees to register as lobbyists. They claim that the legislation could threaten industry and government relationships. (Federal Computer Week)
International
  • Recent scandals have led a majority of British people to believe that corruption is a major problem in the UK. (Transparency International)
  • The European Court of Human Rights ruled against Turkish courts by finding that they should not have fined a writer for editorials criticizing the Turkish Prime Minister for prosecuting journalists. (Courthouse News)

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2Day in #OpenGov 2/23/2012

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Here is Thursday's look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup:

Campaign Finance
  • 25% of all money raised by super PACs in January came from five very wealthy individuals. (National Journal/The Atlantic Wire)
  • Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (D), who has come out against super PACs, donated to the Democratic Governors Association's super PAC. (iWatch News)
Government
  • A class-action suit was filed against the CIA on Wednesday, alleging that the agency has imposed unlawful requirements on Freedom of Information Act Requesters. (Politico)
  • San Francisco launched its 2012 Innovation Portfolio, an attempt to make the city more relevant to its booming tech industry and open up city data and services to innovation. (Tech Crunch)
evolving Door
  • Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL) introduced the Stop the Revolving Door in Washington Act, which would ban lobbying by former members of Congress for five years and seek to close the loophole that allows many former members to exert influence without registering as lobbyists. (Republic Report)
  • Former Federal CTO Aneesh Chopra rejoined the Advisory Board Co., the healthcare research and consulting firm where previously worked for almost a decade. He will serve as senior adviser for health care technology strategy. (Federal Computer Week)
  • Former Ambassador to Indonesia and Bolivia Robert Gelbard joined the public policy and regulation practice at SNR Denton. (Roll Call $)
International
  • Last year, the government of Finland moved to make all data generated with taxpayer money open to the public. This flood of data lead Finland's leading national paper to hold a contest for unique and usable data visualization apps. (Open Knowledge Foundation)

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2Day in #OpenGov 2/22/2012

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Here is the Wednesday's look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup:

Campaign Finance
  • Eleven Senate Democrats sent a letter to FEC Chair Caroline Hunter arguing for broad disclosure and disclaimer rules in response to Citizens United and the rise of super PACs. (Politico)
  • The US Supreme Court stayed the Montana Supreme Court's decision upholding a state law prohibiting certain corporate political expenditures. The move makes it appear likely that the U.S. Supreme Court will reassess Citizens United in the future. (Lobby Comply)
Access to Information
  • Regulations.gov, the nation's primary online regulatory portal received a redesign and fresh commitment from the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs that regulatory data will be made available to the public. (Gov Fresh)
  • The Department of Justice ended the last fiscal year with almost 1,000 fewer backlogged FOIA requests, according to their annual FOIA report. (Fierce Government)
  • Several government agencies are facing a lawsuit attempting to force them to comply with 2007 changes to FOIA that required agencies to provide a time estimate for completion of requests. (Investigative Reporting Workshop)
Lobbying
  • Visa is beefing up its lobbying presence with the addition of three major firms according to recent registrations. The Glover Park Group, Breaux Lott Leadership Group, and Creative Response Concepts will lobby on corporate tax, credit card, privacy, and cyber security issues. (The Hill)
  • The MPAA is continuing to pull new staff from the revolving door. Their two most recent hires come from the Senate Judiciary Committee and the White House communications office. (The Hill)

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2Day in #OpenGov 2/21/2012

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Here is the week's first look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup:

Campaign Finance
  • Corporations have been getting involved in this year's election cycle, but not necessarily with large cash donations. Many companies have been donating "in-kind" goods and services to super PACs. (Washington Times)
  • Super PACs have continued to dominate the Republican presidential nomination race. In fact, last month, the super PAC supporting Mitt Romney raised more money than his actual campaign. (Washington Post)
  • Billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who has already given $11 million to a pro-Newt Gingrich super PAC, has indicated that he is willing to spend up to $100 million to support Gingrich or the eventual Republican presidential nominee. Ron Paul (R-TX) is the only candidate that Adelson would decline to support. (National Journal)
Government
  • NIC inc. has won a contract to redesign and manage Maryland's web portal over the next five years. NIC manages the websites of 27 states and a number of municipalities across the country. (Government Technology)
  • A constituent seeking information about Representative Steven Palazzo's (R-MS) 2001 district schedule was told to file a FOIA request for the records. Unfortunately, records of this type are exempt from the law. (Roll Call $)
International
  • On February 15, the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance became operational and binding on African Union member states. The charter aims to improve accountability among African governments. (Open Society Blog)
  • The Open Government Partnership gained two new members recently. The addition of Panama and Costa Rica brings OGP membership to 52 countries. 42 countries are slated to debut their plans at the first OGP summit in Brasilia, Brazil in April. (Fierce Government)

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