The federal government of Canada is using students and temp workers to help overwhelmed ATIP offices dig through surges in Access to Information requests. Canada ATIP offices have experienced a 28% increase in ATIP requests from 2012 to 2013 – up to a total of 55,145 requests in
If you didn’t know, March 15th to March 21st is National Sunshine Week – a celebration of Open Government and Transparency across the U.S. As we reflect on the importance of the Freedom of Information Act, we think it is a great time to reaffirm our support of
In the wake of events in Ferguson, New York, and other U.S. cities, police use of body-worn surveillance cameras has become a national debate. Many activists have made the case for this upgrade in surveillance citing cities like Rialto, California which saw an 88% decrease in complains against officers and a
The FOIA Reform Bill passed unanimously by Senate Judiciary Committee in November was struck down in the House last week by Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) The bill had passed smoothly in the House earlier this year with a unanimous vote of 410-0. It then moved to the Sen. Judiciary Committee
A FOIA reform bill passed unanimously by Senate Judiciary Committee in November may pass the full Senate as early as Friday. The Freedom of Information Act bill has been championed by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D., Vt.) but was today met with a hold placed by Sen. Tom Coburn
Earlier this week the Senate Judiciary Committee proposed it’s amended “FOIA Improvement Act of 2014 and it is set for passage through the lame-duck session of Congress. Upon its release, open government advocates and FOIA followers jumped to voice their opinion of the new proposed bill, and this FOIA
In the modern era of the FOIA and Open Government, one of the most common discussion topics is the utilization of portals. Most recently, there has been and continues to be a large push for a single government wide portal that would be the epicenter for FOIA submissions.
