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February 23, 2018
Washington State
- State AG creates Public Records Consultation program for local governments
- Lawmakers introduce bill to circumvent public records ruling
- Withholding public records costs Port of Tacoma $159,000; judge makes finding of gross negligence
- Washington state Democrats quietly push curbs to open-records laws
- Senate plan would block the public from some voter data
- Open records violations: Jefferson County pays $326K
- Mount Vernon School District settles public records lawsuit
Outside Washington State
- Murky victim’s rights law: Clarity sought for prosecutors, public access – ND
- Kansas House committee votes to tighten personal info posted on Secretary of State website – KS
In The Courts
Transparency & Withholding
- Vermont office to post public record requests, responses
- Governor bans public business on encrypted messaging app ‘Confide’ – MO
- Policing the Police: VA records released at law enforcement discretion; TN law offers transparency
- “We cannot trust the governor,” Nursing home safety advocate fights years for public records – OK
- Police departments refuse release of police conduct documents – CO
- To conceal public records, Louisiana’s AG claims an exemption that does not exist – LA
- Here’s the time the EPA used duct tape to redact a FOIA request – USA
- Nova Scotia cabinet minister, bureaucrats regularly used minister’s private email – International
- Study: US govt staffers use personal gear on work networks, ignore basic security measures – USA
Costs, Fees, Burdensome Requests
- Portland Police Bureau implement restrictive prepayment fees for public records – OR
- Five tips on getting info from Michigan governments without going broke – MI
Privacy, Security, Technology
- Connecticut Secretary of State Moves to Shield Voter Data – CT
- Industry baffled at IBM declaring its staff diversity details ‘trade secrets’
- FedEx left sensitive customer data exposed on unsecured server
Records Management & Archives
- The incredibly compelling case to rethink records retention in 2018 and beyond
- Handwritten documents, Manila folders, carbon paper – welcome to Cook County criminal court – IL
- 20M records of nine states to go digital in Rajasthan – International
- Using AI to decipher ancient manuscripts
- Old juvenile facility put back into service for storing old records – MS
- Erasing history: When an online news outlet goes out of business, its archives can disappear as well
February 16, 2018
Washington State
- Union-backed bills spark debate on Senate floor (State employee birthdates)
- Editorial: Birthdates must stay in public records
- Opinion: Lawmakers love the state’s Public Records Act – except when it applies to them
- Opinion: State Democrats are on the wrong side of open-records fight
- JLARC provided updated public records data reporting guidance (Feb. 8)
Outside Washington State
Laws, Legislation, and Policy
- Could a Virginia bill limiting public records access threaten student journalists? – VA
- Legislation to increase transparency in child deaths introduced – KS
- Bill to exempt certain judicial records from FOIA withdrawn – VA
In the Courts
- Judge orders AP, newspaper to destroy Las Vegas shooting victim’s autopsy report – NV
- Wisconsin Supreme Court’s ruling on voter names a loss for teachers union – WI
Transparency & Withholding
- Vermont Attorney General to post all public records requests online – VT
- Even the President’s lawyer can’t get responses to his FOIA requests – USA
- Health chief requires FOIA from senator to release Legionnaires’ disease emails – IL
- Transparency concerns raised in Amazon HQ2 bid process – TX
Fees, Costs, Burdensome Requests
Privacy, Security, Technology
- Newspaper leaks 19.5 Million California voter records, promptly compromised by hackers – CA
- All she has to do to collect a $560M lotto jackpot is make her name public. She refuses – NH
Records Management & Archives
- SAA Blog: I want to legal hold your hand – records-themed valentines for your staff
- Piecing together the dark legacy of East Germany’s Secret Police
February 9, 2018
Washington State
- Lawmakers get ready to abide by public record law
- Editorial: No need to conceal state employees’ birthdates
- Pierce County’s new portal improves access to public records
- Opinion: Fight to keep lawmakers’ records secret is a dud case – and it’s costing taxpayers
- Advocates for open government wary of bills in Olympia
- Jefferson County to mull settlement of records lawsuit
- Proposed tax transparency website is just ‘common sense’
- Jefferson County commissioners seek public input on public records policy changes
- Editorial: Lawmakers trying to eliminate key part of public records law (employee birth dates); we say that’s wrong
- Millions of dollars, privacy concerns surround Seattle Police Department body camera program
- Opinion: The Lindquist way: Public accountability on spin cycle
Outside Washington State
Laws, Legislation, & Policy
- Portland teachers union wants a say in what the public can know – OR
- Bill to exempt entire judiciary from FOIA heads to Senate vote this week – VA
- Governor pushes legislation making lawmaker communications subject to disclosure – NM
- Tennessee Comptroller’s office finds 538 open records exemptions in state law – TN
In The Courts
- Judge should order governor to stop using ephemeral messaging app Confide, lawyers say – MO
- NYPD overstepped its authority in sidestepping N.J. man’s records request, lawyer says – NY
- Judge: Las Vegas police must release mass shooting records – NV
- City will appeal ruling that directors violated FOIA by using email to discuss city business – AR
Transparency & Withholding
- Big tech’s bid to control FOIA – USA
- Ethics training reminds White House staff not to use encrypted messages for government business – USA
- For 11 months, Governor’s office dodges public records request for travel receipts – GA
- Meanwhile, these other memos – written by James Comey – will remain secret – USA
Privacy, Security, Technology
- Why paper jams persist: A trivial problem reveals the limits of technology
- The NYPD spent decades spying on New Yorkers – now you can see what they collected – NY
- A state secret or a secret from the state: technology as an obstacle to the public’s right to know – MO
Records Management & Archives
- Valley school districts purge records, save some – PA
- Oops: City loses insurance policy in wrongful imprisonment – CT
- Endless rows of boxes of paper records line the hallways of the archaic federal facility where guns are traced – USA
- ABC hands back 1500 sensitive cabinet documents, PM office admits fault – International (Australia)
- New FBI messages reveal agents sought way to evade federal record requirements – USA
February 2, 2018
Washington State
- Necessity or nonsense? Should Trios Health bankruptcy prevent the release of public records?
- Is revealing a state worker’s birthdate invasive or necessary to a functioning democracy?
- Body camera exemptions from Public Records Act could be extended
- Lewis County adopts new Public Records Request policy
- Editorial: Court is right: Public records law applies to our lawmakers (Yakima Herald)
- Editorial: Don’t gut Public Records Act in an attempt to protect public employees’ identities (Seattle Times)
- Editorial: Legislature should resist more limits on public records
Outside Washington State
Laws, Legislation, & Policy
- Secretary of State cuts online access to records disclosing partial Social Security numbers – KS
- City of Woodbury proposes fees for public data inspection – MN
- Nebraska AG: Records from lawmakers to NU should be made public – NE
- Bill would exempt trade secrets from FOIA – VA
- Bill would force public-private developers to share investor lists – SD
In The Courts
- Public records lawsuit filed against State Rep for phone, email correspondence with constituents – NC
- Court rules that Kushner firm must disclose partners’ names – MD
- Pittsburgh prepares to go to court to keep Amazon HQ2 bid under wraps – PA
- Does OPRA cover police dashcam videos? State Supreme Court will decide – NJ
- County Judge: Chicago alderman’s personal emails, texts generally not subject to FOIA – IL
- City schools, Project Baltimore bound for court battle over investigation records – MD
- “My Life Is Over”: Former Justice Department Prosecutor pleads guilty to stealing government files – USA
- Media group argues Georgia law does not mandate all public records that could be exempt be kept private – GA
Transparency & Withholding
- Opinion: Public records transparency eroded with SEIU appointment – OR
- Virginia Supreme Court announces plans for public records, statewide case search – VA
- Editorial: Tolls group locks out that pesky public – SC
- Attorneys profit from agency dysfunction and the public foots the bill
- State emails show Wisconsin’s effort to keep Amazon HQ2 bid from public eye – WI
- Editorial: Official blurs line of public, private records – AZ
- Tennessee public record law exemptions: 538 and counting – TN
- How #ReleaseTheMemo Could Undermine DOJ in FOIA Cases – USA
Privacy, Security, Technology
- Fitness tracking app Strava gives away location of secret US army bases – USA
- Hearing on child disappearance, death files will look at property, privacy, public records laws – MN
- Open Data – now more important than ever
Records Management & Archives
- ‘Top secret’ documents found in old filing cabinets in Canberra – International (Australia)
- SAA Blog: HQ2 and the right to know – USA
- Governor’s office raps ‘unacceptable’ ballot destruction in congressional race – FL
- Changing of the guard: County microfilm department going digital – PA
- Operation Teapot: The U.S. Government once nuked a bunch of file cabinets – USA
- Approaches to managing social media records with long-term retention periods