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Push for transparency idles - Oregon’s public records law still full of exemptions

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 From The Bulletin: Four years ago, the Attorney General’s right-hand man on all issues dealing with government transparency created a comprehensive list of exemptions to the state’s public records laws.

He found more than 400.

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Kansas Attorney General proposes open government unit

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The office of Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is proposing a special two-person unit within his agency devoted solely to investigating Kansas Open Meetings Act and Kansas Open Records Act complaints.

The measure has the support of the Kansas Press Association. Doug Anstaett, the organization's executive director, told a legislative committee Tuesday that housing an open government unit within the attorney general's office would send a message that such complaints are a high priority.

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NY AG Schneiderman dodges open-records law

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Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has championed greater transparency for government and groups in his cross-hairs during his three-plus years as the state's top law enforcement official. But when it comes to his own dealings with a powerful political consultant and close adviser, Mr. Schneiderman is shielding them from public view—under legal reasoning some leading experts say is clearly wrong.

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Rhode Island AG cites agencies for open meetings violations

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Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin has sued two state agencies in R.I. Superior Court, asserting they violated open government regulations.

On Friday, Kilmartin filed separate complaints against the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation and the Rhode Island State Properties Committee. Kilmartin cites the DBR for a reckless violation of the Access to Public Records Act (APRA) when the agency failed to respond to a July 10, 2013, reporter’s request.

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Files should be open: Private police wield government powers and should be accountable

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Law-enforcement agencies wield great power and therefore must be accountable to the public for its use. This applies regardless of who is paying an officer’s salary, especially when that employer is an institution such as a university.

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Georgia Attorney General Prevails In Lawsuit Defending Open Government

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Judge Robert Adamson ruled in favor of Attorney General Sam Olens in a lawsuit filed in June 2012 against the City of Cumming and Mayor Henry Ford Gravitt for violations of the Open Meetings Act. Judge Adamson ordered the defendants to pay $12,000 in penalties, the highest amount possible under the law. Defendants have also been ordered to pay attorney's fees in an amount to be determined at a later hearing.

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R.I. AG says town violated public records access law

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Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the town of Warren for allegedly violating the Rhode Island Access to Public Records Act (APRA).

Joelle Sylvia Esq., an attorney with the law firm Kelly & Mancini, made an APRA request on March 11 to the town of Warren seeking various documents. The town initially extended the time to respond to the request, but it allegedly failed to provide a response and/or the documents that were requested.

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NY AG candidate blasts incumbent for lack of transparency

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Republican Attorney General Candidate John Cahill criticized Attorney General Eric Schneiderman during a press conference in Albany last week for refusing to disclose information provided by his political consultants.

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Jayne: Shooting the breeze with Washington state's attorney general

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I should have been a lawyer. It's not that I have the smarts or the diligence. It's not that journalism isn't rewarding and challenging. It's just that, during my childhood, I couldn't count how many times my argumentative nature led somebody to suggest that I should become a lawyer. The irony is that my 11-year-old has inherited that nature - which is both a blessing and curse for his parents - and often is told the same thing. Something about the "sins of the father," I'm guessing.

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Which is better; public speculation or facts?

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Forty-seven years ago the Arkansas Legislature passed one of the most comprehensive and strongest open-records and open meetings laws in the United States. In fact, when the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act passed in 1967, it cruised through both the House and the Senate without a single dissenting vote. Then Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller called the act’s passage “one of the most significant achievements of his administrations”.

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2015 resolution: Learn Ohio Sunshine Laws

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When making New Year’s resolutions for 2015, be sure to add learning about Ohio’s Sunshine Laws.

The Sunshine Laws appropriately refer to the rules and regulations for public bodies when conducting public meetings, as well as the public records laws.

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Missouri Municipal League and State Attorney General's Office share Sunshine Law information

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The Missouri Municipal League and the State Attorney General's Office have joined forces to educate city officials on the Sunshine Law.

The Freedom of Information Laws, better known as the Sunshine Law, allow the general public to have access to data held by government entities. That means, that by law, meetings, records, votes, action and deliberations of public governmental bodies are to be open to the public.

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Virginia attorney general says public can get mug shots, but not from state database

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The state attorney general has issued an opinion clarifying how the public can access mug shots of people who have been arrested – an issue raised by the Daily Press last fall when it took months of requests to different agences to obtain a booking photo of a former police chief.

In the opinion, released earlier this month, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring says local law enforcement agencies must release mug shots from arrests if they have them.

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Simpsonville building tour may have violated FOIA

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Simpsonville City Council received an opinion from the state Attorney General's office that a quorum was present when council members and other city officials toured the historic Simpsonville Grammar School last fall, therefore it may have violated the Freedom of Information Act.

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Attorney General's office welcomes public for Open Meeting Law forum

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The state Attorney General's office is welcoming the public for an educational forum on Open Meeting Law in Hanover on Wednesday, April 1. 

The meeting is one way the office aims to help governing bodies as well as members of the public to better understand and comply with the requirements of the Open Meeting Law, according to a news release. State, local, regional, and county public bodies are required to comply with the Open Meeting Law.

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Wisconsin Attorney general creates Office of Open Government

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Madison— Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel is creating an Office of Open Government to help the public obtain government records more quickly and consistently.

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Kansas AG, Sunshine Coalition to hold government transparency training

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Invested with new authority to prosecute violations of state open-government laws, Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office will co-host a three-hour training session on transparency on Sept. 1 in Topeka.

The Kansas Sunshine Coalition for Open Government will co-host the event.  Continue>>>

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South Dakota Attorney General: Make mug shots public record

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South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley last week announced a list of measures he is asking the Legislature to pass this session. While all are important, there was one that stood out to us: making criminal booking photographs part of the public record.

You know them as “mug shots.”

Whenever anybody is arrested for a crime, law enforcement agencies take a photograph of the accused.

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