The Information Security Oversight Office found that for 2011 the number of government records declassified had declined from the previous year. The review process is under study and holds promise for improving declassification. -db From Secrecy News, May 29, 2012 by Steven Aftergood. Full story
The California state legislature is making progress on a law that would make the public records of government agencies available in “open” format. The law calls for agencies to save documents in a searchable format which can be done at minimal cost. -db From TechPresident, May 24 2012, by Sarah Lai Stirland. Full story
The county district attorney wrote a letter saying a citizens group had valid documentation of a claim that the trustees of the Gavilan College board violated the state’s open meetings law, the Brown Act, when approving a pay increase for the school president. -db From the Gilroy Dispatch, May 29, 2012, by Kollin Kosmicki. Full story
A federal appeals court ruled against the Chicago Tribune in its quest for secure records from the University of Illinois relating to the school’s preferential review process for applicants for admission with connections to influential supporters. The court said the case belonged in state court under state open records laws. -db From the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, May 24, 2012, by You-Jin Han. Full story
A law under consideration in the Ohio legislature would grant doctors access to chemical recipes used in oil and gas drilling in shale, but the doctors could not reveal the information to the public. -db From the Lancaster Eagle Gazette, May 23, 2012, by Julie Carr Smyth, Associated Press. Full story