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freedom of information

In California, a clearer look at gifts to public officials

FAC April 26, 2013

The toughest financial disclosure rules for public officials have little effect if the press and public can’t easily gain access to the information. Now the California Fair Political Practices Commission and a non-profit called Code for America are trying to bridge the information gap. By digitizing required disclosure data from California judges into spreadsheet-readable form, then plotting the results on a chart, the project created a picture of who’s giving and who’s taking gifts and

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Government’s dangerous crackdown on whistle-blowers

FAC March 17, 2013

In a New York Times op-ed, two esteemed First Amendment advocates argue that the Private Bradley Manning case underscores a grave threat to the press and public — no matter what you think of Manning’s judgment when he released volumes of documents to WikiLeaks. While attorney Floyd Abrams argues that Manning acted carelessly, Harvard law professor Yochai Benkler asserts that Manning behaved much like Daniel Ellsberg, who famously released the Pentagon Papers — secret documents

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New York tightens gun laws – and access to records of who owns them

FAC January 16, 2013

The New York law expanding background checks for gun purchases and broadening the definition of assault weapons carried another provision: limits on access to records of who owns guns. The law came amid controversy over a newspaper’s publication of the names and addresses of gun owners in two New York counties. While advocates for access to government data decried the law, many also questioned The Journal News decision to map and list addresses for residents

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Critics say access bill could have opposite result

FAC July 1, 2012

A bill purporting to give the public more access to gas and electric company safety records in California could do just the opposite, opponents say. The legislation, proposed by Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento, would eliminate the ability of utility companies to unilaterally declare documents secret, instead giving authority over decisions to the state Public Utilities Commission. But opponents say it also would create broad categories of information that’s off limits to the public. The bill

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