Summit examines progress on transparency, needed improvements

District government officials agreed this Sunshine Week that they have made progress toward increasing transparency, but concede they still have room to improve.

"We have to do a better job of opening up our government and shining...

FOIA covers D.C. Council private emails about public business

D.C. Councilmembers and staff cannot avoid the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by doing business on personal, rather than government, email accounts, the Council of the District of Columbia agreed today in settling a lawsuit brought by the D.C. Open Government Coalition.

The Council had previously denied the D.C. OGC’s request for government-related emails sent or received by Councilmembers from their personal email accounts. The OGC filed the...

Compliance with Open Meetings Act mixed, survey concludes

In an Nov. 28 letter to Robert Spagnoletti, chair of the D.C. Board of Ethics and Public Accountability, the Coalition reported findings regarding public bodies' compliance with the Open Meetings Act since it took effect in April 2011. Of the five bodies surveyed, Kathy Patterson, Coalition president, said:first-year compliance with basic requirements of the law was very mixed, and there were major gaps.

The State Board of Education had not complied at all. For the rest:
Even the most basic notice of meetings varied; three entities did fine, the...

State Board of Ed gets failing grade on open meetings compliance

In a Nov. 28 letter, Kathy Patterson, Coalition chair, cited the D.C. State Board of Education's failure to comply with basic requirements of the Open Meetings Act which became effective April 1, 2011. She told Laura M. Slover, Board chair, that in the statute's first year, the Board of Education has not fulfilled its responsibilities to keep the public informed about its meetings.

According to Patterson, the Open Meetings Act carries out the D.C. Council policy that the public is “entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of...

Post editorial endorses Coalition suit for D.C. Council emails

In an editorial published Oct. 28, The Washington Post criticized the D.C. Council for refusing to disclose emails discussing official busines sent from and received in its members private email accounts. The editorial highlights a suit the Coalition filed Oct. 16 in D.C. Superior Court seeking access to the emails under the D.C. Freedom of Information Act.

The Post said:

ACTIONS SPEAK louder than words, so it’s pretty telling that the D.C. Council, which professes to want transparency in government, has to be dragged into court...

Texas tackles access to private e-mail

A Texas appellate court will decide whether a county commissioner's emails discussing government business on his private account should be released to the public. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed a brief April 30 supporting the...

Post criticizes FOIA amendments

Officials from fund at center of Thomas scandal were concerned by lack of oversight as early as 2008

D.C. drags feet on release of previously available test data

D.C. Council talks decorum ----- behind closed doors

D.C. Council goes behind closed doors

D.C. Council Demands Privacy for Talk on Transparency

Reporters Removed from DC Council Meeting

D.C. ethics bill to address constituent services spending