Montgomery County Civic Federation Meeting Mon, Mar 14th: It's Sunshine Week! Even in Montgomery County.

The Montgomery County Civic Federation is proud to participate in Sunshine Week which begins today! Tomorrow evening our program will be on the 'opendata Montgomery' websites. Please join us for an informal roundtable with lots of participation on how the publicly funded Montgomery County government is doing to open up government records. A representative from the Sunlight Foundation will also be participating. For more, go to our website.

DATE: Monday, March 14th
TIME: 7:45 pm
PLACE: Executive Office Building, Lobby Level Auditorium, 101 Monroe Street, Rockville



We will also be presenting a posthumous Community Hero award to Peter Murtha, founder of 350MoCo.  Mr. Murtha led the ongoing effort to divest the county's pension funds from fossil fuel companies that drive climate change. Currently MoCo's Employee Retirement System pension plans have over $65,000,000 invested in 65 of the world's 200 largest fossil fuel companies.

Sunshine Week: Transparency Camp is coming! May 30th-31st

 

Each year the Sunlight Foundation holds a Transparency Camp 'Unconference.'  This is a great opportunity to meet others interested in and working on opengov and government transparency issues.  This year the Unconference will be held on May 30th-31st, at George Mason University on the Arlington campus.

Sunlight has asked us to let you know that if you or anyone you know is interested in coming to Transparency Camp 2014 and may need a little help, please do check out and apply for the TCamp scholarship. You can apply here.

Blog post calling for applications is here 

http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2014/03/08/apply-to-be-a-tcamp-2014-scholar/

We hope to see everyone there!

Bethesda Now: Civic Group Hopes For More Involvement Through Hackathon

A group of some of the most civic-minded folks in Montgomery County are coming to Bethesda this weekend to develop a Ride On bus app, service for making public information requests and database of Maryland lobbying activities.
The Montgomery County Civic Federation, Montgomery County Taxpayers League and the Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County together with a grant from the nonprofit Sunlight Foundation will put on the two-day “Great Montgomery Hackathon” at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center (4805 Edgemoor Lane).
“One of the goals is to get people interested in civic activism to work with the IT programmers. This seemed like a good way to get those two groups of people together,” said Civic Fed member and organizer Paula Bienenfeld. “We’ll see how far we get by Sunday afternoon and hopefully set up something more regular out of it.”
The free event is open to civic activists, citizens, software developers and anyone else interested.
From 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, those people will work together to create four already outlined software programs and any more that come up:...
http://www.bethesdanow.com/2014/02/06/great-montgomery-hackathon-civic-fed-bethesda/

When your child's lunch is repossessed - and other communication failures that require a little civic hacking

From The Sunlight Foundation, blog post by Emily Shaw.  For the full story go here.

This week a Salt Lake City elementary school made nationwide news when several dozen children who were given a school lunch were then humiliated by having it taken away and thrown in the garbage. The problem was not with the food or the kids. From the school administrator's perspective, it was the necessary response to those children's parents’ failure to maintain their lunch accounts.

And failure there most unquestionably was. The event represented a failure of management since the effort to alert parents about accounts was late and not fully successful. It represented a failure of policy since it’s doubtful that the cost of subsidizing a few lunches outweighs the cost of having hungry children in school. Finally, it represented a very serious failure of basic human empathy because what kind of person doesn’t recognize the shame and waste involved with publicly taking and throwing away children’s lunches?

While the specific outcomes in this case are uncertain, it happens to point to a pervasive problem across the U.S. education system. The nation’s 12,880 school districts have yet to collectively figure out a successful method for regular all-parent communication. In a period with so much change and year-to-year difference across curricula, learning interventions and software, there is really quite a bit of material for two-way communication and yet regular parent communication still often happens through notes in backpacks. Despite the need for good communication, less than half of those surveyed about their experiences with traditional public schools report being “very satisfied” with the way their school communicates with parents.

and:

This area is a ripe one for civic hacking: the creative use of technology to solve civic problems. Volunteer groups like Code for America brigades work to find ways to use technology to — among other things — solve problems of communication between government and hard to reach populations. Code for America in San Mateo, Calif., worked specifically on the problem of improving coordination among food safety net providers and the people they serve.

As NRA pushes Congress, states consider bills to put guns in schools

From The Sunlight Foundation's Nancy Watzman, as reported on April 2, 2013:

Even as the National Rifle Association (NRA) announced a new push today to put armed guards in schools across the country, state lawmakers across the country are considering similar proposals. So far, legislation related to guns on school grounds has come up in at least three dozen states. The vast majority of these bills would make it easier for school personnel, guards, and volunteers to carry guns on campus, while a handful would toughen laws prohibiting firearms at schools.

At least two states--South Dakota and Virginia--have enacted such laws to date and in one state, Alabama, the governor in March vetoed a bill that would allow armed volunteer security forces on school grounds. To track state legislation in progress using Sunlight's Scout notification service, click here.

For the entire article, go here.

And introduced in the Maryland statehouse:
HB395: Handguns - Permit Qualifications and Carrying on School Property - School Guardians, introduced by Delegates McDermott, Hough, K. Kelly, McComas, Parrott, and Smigiel

HB397: Criminal Law - Carrying Weapons on School Property - Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, introduced by Delegates McDermott, Cluster, Hough, K. Kelly, McComas, and Parrott

SB533: Handguns - School Employees - Handgun Permits and Carrying Weapons on School Property, introduced by Senators Jacobs, Brinkley, Colburn, Glassman, Pipkin, and Reilly

It's Sunshine Week! And Now it's Your Turn

Sunshine Week is almost over, and now it's your turn! Maryland has its very own Maryland Public Information Act, or MPIA.  Do you want some information that the county government won't give you?  Having trouble getting those files? those data? Here's an example of a modified Sample Letter Request to get the information, courtesy of the MD Attorney General's Office, feel free to cut and paste for your own MPIA project.

March 12, 2013

Mr. Freeman Information

Executive Director

License Commission

110 First Street

Baltimore, Maryland 21200

Dear Mr. Information:

Pursuant to State government article, Section 10-614, of the Annotated Code of Maryland I request a copy of all records containing the information hereinafter described.  Please send me all records, including telephone logs, minutes, telephone notes, emails, printouts, letters, memoranda, sent or received or recorded regarding <INSERT YOUR TOPIC HERE>.  This is a request for records, regardless of format, medium, or physical characteristics and including electronic records and information, audiotapes, CDs, videotapes and photographs pursuant to the Maryland Public Information Act, State Government Article §§10-611 to 628.

Specifically, I am seeking any and all records regarding <INSERT YOUR TOPIC HERE>.

Please search for responsive records regardless of format, medium, or physical characteristics.  I am seeking records of any kind including electronic records, audiotapes, videotapes and photographs. 

My request includes any telephone messages, voice mail messages, daily agenda and calendars, information about scheduled meetings and/or discussions, whether in-person or over the telephone, agendas for those meetings and/or discussions, participants included in those meetings and/or discussions, minutes of any such meetings and/or discussions, the topics discussed at those meetings and/or discussions, e-mail regarding meetings and/or discussions, e-mail or facsimiles sent as a result of those meetings and/or discussions and transcripts or notes of any such meetings and/or discussions. 

If all or any part of this request is denied, I request that I be provided with a written statement of the grounds for the denial.  If you determine that some portions of the requested records are exempt from disclosure, please provide me with the portions that can be disclosed.

Please advise me as to the cost, if any, for inspecting the records described above.  I anticipate that I will want copies of some or all of the records sought. If you have adopted a fee schedule for obtaining copies of records and other rules or regulations implementing the Act, please send me a copy.

I look forward to receiving disclosable records promptly.  Thank you for your cooperation.

If you have any questions regarding this request, my contact information is below.

Sincerely,

Connie Have

Here are some tips from members of various watchdog non-profits:
1. Be very specific.
2. Make sure to address your MPIA to the correct person.
3. Be persistent.
4. Be persistent.
5. Sue if you need to.

Sunshine Week Events for Friday, March 15th

Sunshine Week events in the D.C. area for Friday, March 15th:

Cato XML (event is for Thursday and Friday)
The Cato Institute, Washington, DC
The Cato is hosting a Sunshine Week workshop looking at legislative data and Wikipedia. The first session, Thursday from 2:30-5:30 p.m., is designed for people of all technical skill levels and will cover Wikipedia editing, policies and culture. Participants are encouraged to bring a laptop. Immediately following at 5:30 p.m., Cato will host a Sunshine Week reception. Friday’s daylong workshop for qualified Wikipedians and legislative data practitioners will be led by Pete Forsyth of Wiki Strategies, and is about making Wikipedia more informative about legislation and public policy. Participants can select one or all of the sessions and reception to attend. More information and registration information is on the Cato website.

National Freedom of Information DayFirst Amendment Center, Newseum, Washington, DC
The daylong 15th annual National Freedom of Information Day conference will be held at the Knight Conference Center at the Newseum in Washington. In morning sessions, OpenTheGovernment.org will present its 8th annual Sunshine Week examination of the state of openness in the federal government, focusing this year on outlook for the president’s second term. Also on the day’s agenda: a keynote discussion with First Amendment attorney Floyd Abrams; a discussion of the new documentary, “Whistleblowers”; the American Library Association will present its James Madison Award. There is no charge to attend, but attendees are encouraged to register in advance to guarantee seating. A PDF of the full agenda is on the Openthegovernment.org site. For registration information, see the Freedom of Information Day announcement.

Luncheon and Speaker Thomas DrakeNational Press Club, Washington, DC
The National Press Club will host former National Security Agency analyst Thomas Drake, a government whistleblower charged under the Espionage Act, at a luncheon beginning at 12:30 p.m., followed by Drake’s remarks and a question-and-answer period. Tickets are $21 for members (limit 2) and $35 for non-members.For more information and to make reservations, visit the Press Club website.

Panel: The Right to Photograph and Record in PublicShoot Off Visual Media Workshop, Arlington, VA
An afternoon panel discussion during workshops for military and civil service photographers will address the First Amendment right to photograph and record events in public. Led by National Press Photographers Association General Counsel Mickey Osterreicher, panelists will include: Washington Metropolitan Police Department Public Information Officer Gwendolyn Crump; Attorney Mary Borja of Wiley Rein LLP in Washington; and White House News Photographers Association President Ron Sachs of Consolidated News. For more information, go to the Shoot Off Visual Media Workshops website.

Sunshine Week Events for Thursday, March 14th

Sunshine Week Events in the D.C area for Thursday, March 14th:

Secrecy and Security: The Future of Classification ReformThe Brennan Center for Justice, Washington, DC
The Brennan Center will host a panel discussion March 14 from 12-1:30 p.m. at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. Panelists will include Nancy Soderberg, chair of the Public Interest Declassification Board; Robert S. Litt, general counsel, Office of the Director of National Intelligence; former Director of the Information Security Oversight Office, J. William Leonard; Steven Aftergood, director of the Project on Government Secrecy, Federation of American Scientists; and Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program. More details will be available soon on the Brennan Center website.

Cato XML (event to be held Thursday and Friday)The Cato Institute, Washington, DC
The Cato is hosting a Sunshine Week workshop looking at legislative data and Wikipedia. The first session, Thursday from 2:30-5:30 p.m., is designed for people of all technical skill levels and will cover Wikipedia editing, policies and culture. Participants are encouraged to bring a laptop. Immediately following at 5:30 p.m., Cato will host a Sunshine Week reception. Friday’s daylong workshop for qualified Wikipedians and legislative data practitioners will be led by Pete Forsyth of Wiki Strategies, and is about making Wikipedia more informative about legislation and public policy. Participants can select one or all of the sessions and reception to attend. More information and registration information is on the Cato website.

How to Use the Freedom of Information ActNational Press Club, Washington, DC
As part of its Sunshine Week observances, the National Press Club will offer a panel discussion on using FOIA, moderated by Rick Dunham of the Houston Chronicle. Panelists will include Charles Babcock of Bloomberg News, Randy Rabinowitz from the Center for Effective Government, and Bill Allison of the Sunlight Foundation. The event is free to club members, $10 for non-members, and it is open to the public. For more information, see the NPC announcement.

Sunshine Week Meeting of the FOIA IT Working GroupOffice of Information Policy, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington
The OIP will convene a meeting at the Justice Department from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. of the FOIA IT Working Group, comprised of federal agency FOIA and technology professionals. Also invited to participate are technology specialists from civil society organizations and open government groups. Registration is required. More information is available from The FOIA Post

Sunshine Week Events for Wednesday, March 13th

Sunshine Week events in the D.C. area for Wednesday, March 13th:

Addressing Transparency in the Federal Bureaucracy: Moving Toward A More Open GovernmentU.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight & Government Reform
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a hearing on open government issues beginning at 10 a.m. in the Rayburn House Office Building. Witnesses will be announced soon. For more information see, the Committee’s website.

We the People: Fulfilling the Promise of Open Government Five Years After The OPEN Government ActU.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, DC
At 10:30 a.m. in the Dirksen building, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing looking at the OPEN Government Act and freedom of information issues. Government witnesses will include Melanie Pustay, director of the Office of Information Policy, Department of Justice; and Miriam Nisbet, director of the Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration. Additional witnesses are expected to be announced. Watch the Judiciary Committee’s website for more information.

OLC Memoranda: Does U.S. Secret Law Threaten Our Democracy?Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and
The George Washington University Law School, Washington, DC
From 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the GWU Law School in Washington, legal, media, academic and government experts on two panels will discuss the government’s use of secret opinions by the Office of Legal Counsel in the war on terrorism and whether such secrecy is justified. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) will present the opening remarks. See the event flier PDF for more information.

DC Open Government SummitDC Open Govt Coalition and the National Press Club, Washington
The DC Open Government Coalition and the National Press Club will co-host a discussion at the Press Club from 6-8:30 p.m. The event is free, but registration is required. For more information, go to the DCOGC website.

Sunshine Week Events for Tuesday, March 12th

Sunshine Week events in the D.C. area for Tuesday, March 12th:

Open Government in the Second TermCenter for Effective Government and the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Washington, DC
The Center for Effective Government (formerly OMB Watch) and EPIC will host two panel discussions from 1-3 p.m. examining transparency and national security issues in the Obama administration’s second term. The first panel will be moderated by Katherine McFate, president and CEO, Center for Effective Government; and panelists will include Corinna Zarek, Office of Government Information Services; Krista Boyd, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee; and Lisa Ellman, Office of Science and Technology Policy (invited). The second panel, moderated by Ginger McCall, director of EPIC’s Open Government Project, will include Tom Blanton, National Security Archive; Steve Aftergood, Federation of American Scientists; Scott Rosenthal, Sen. Jeff Merkley’s Office; Jim Harper, CATO Institute (invited). The event is free and open to the public and will be webcast at www.foreffectivegov.org/webcasts. For more information and to RSVP to attend in person or watch the webcast, go to the Center’s online form.

FOIA: Today’s Challenges and Tomorrow’s Opportunities
Congressional Transparency Caucus, Washington, DC
The Congressional Transparency Caucus will hold a 3 p.m. discussion in the House Rayburn Office Building on FOIA reform and what needs to be done to improve access to government records. Moderated by Sunlight Foundation Policy Counsel Daniel Schuman, the panel will include Office of Government Information Services Director Miriam Nisbet; Sunshine in Government Initiative Coordinator Rick Blum; Center for Effective Polciy Open Government Policy Analyst Gavin Baker; and Washington Examiner Investigative Reporter Rickard Pollock. The event is open to anyone, including Hill staff and interns. To RSVP, email Robyn Russell in the office of Co-chair Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), or Ali Ahmad who works with Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). For more information, see the event invitation (PDF).

Anti-terrorism Laws and Press FreedomNational Press Club, Washington, DC
The National Press Club’s Freedom of the Press Committee will hold a panel discussion at 6:30 p.m. about the effect of laws enacted globally after Sept. 11, 2001 on press freedom. The panel will be moderated by NPC Press Freedom Committee Vice Chair Rachel Oswald, and panelists will include: Mohamed Keita, Africa advocacy coordinator for the Committee to Project Journalists; Frank Jannuzi, deputy executive director of advocacy, policy and research for Amnesty International USA; and Mark Feldstein, professor of broadcast journalism at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism. The event is free and open to the public, although registration is requested. For more information and to register, go to the Press Club website.

Guns, Money & Secrets: A Sunshine Week Conversation About How Journalists Can Best Use Public Documents and DataGeorgetown University Master’s in Journalism Program
Georgetown students are invited to attend a 6:30 p.m. discussion at the Clarendon campus with Gregory Korte of USA Today and Derek Willis of The New York Times about public documents and data in recognition of Sunshine Week 2013. RSVP online here.

Sunshine Week Events for Monday, March 11th

Sunshine Week events in the DC area for Monday, March 11th:

Discussion and Viewing of the Freedom of Information ActOffice of Government Information Services
National Archives, Washington, DC
The National Archives and the Freedom of Information Act Ombudsman celebrate Sunshine Week at the Archives with a display of the original FOIA documents and remarks at 1 p.m. by Archivist of the United States David Ferriero and Office of Information Services Director Miriam Nisbet, immediately followed by a demonstration of FOIAonline, the recently launched multi-agency FOIA portal. The event is free, but registration is recommended. RSVP to ogis@nara.gov. More information is on the FOIA Ombudsman blog

Fourth Annual Department of Justice Sunshine Week CelebrationU.S. Department of Justice, Washington
The Justice Department will celebrate Sunshine Week with a program from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. with Acting Associate Attorney General Tony West, DOJ’s chief FOIA officer, who will lead a discussion of federal agencies’ improvements in FOIA administration since Attorney General Eric Holder’s guidelines were issued during Sunshine Week 2009. The event is open to agency personnel and the public, and picture ID will be required to enter the building. Register via email to DOJ.OIP.FOIA@usdoj.gov with the subject line “Sunshine Week.” For more information, see the DOJ website.

Sunshine Week Happy Hour & Madison’s Birthday CelebrationCitizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington, OpenTheGovernment.org, Project on Government Oversight, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Sunlight Foundation
Washington-area open-government groups and friends of transparency will partake of a Sunshine Week happy hour and celebration of James Madison’s birthday on Monday night from 6-8 p.m. There is no need to RSVP and there is no cover charge, but there will be a cash bar and maybe some birthday cake. The event will be at Cause, the Philanthropub, in the Treehouse room. For more information, see the Facebook invite.

It's Sunshine Week! March 10-16th

Next week is Sunshine Week!  Check out all the activites around town and around the nation, here.
Here are some of the many, many events in the D.C. area:

Monday, March 11th:

Discussion and Viewing of the Freedom of Information ActOffice of Government Information Services
National Archives, Washington, DC

The National Archives and the Freedom of Information Act Ombudsman celebrate Sunshine Week at the Archives with a display of the original FOIA documents and remarks at 1 p.m. by Archivist of the United States David Ferriero and Office of Information Services Director Miriam Nisbet, immediately followed by a demonstration of FOIAonline, the recently launched multi-agency FOIA portal. The event is free, but registration is recommended. RSVP to ogis@nara.gov. More information is on the FOIA Ombudsman blog.

Fourth Annual Department of Justice Sunshine Week CelebrationU.S. Department of Justice, Washington
The Justice Department will celebrate Sunshine Week with a program from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. with Acting Associate Attorney General Tony West, DOJ’s chief FOIA officer, who will lead a discussion of federal agencies’ improvements in FOIA administration since Attorney General Eric Holder’s guidelines were issued during Sunshine Week 2009. The event is open to agency personnel and the public, and picture ID will be required to enter the building. Register via email to DOJ.OIP.FOIA@usdoj.gov with the subject line “Sunshine Week.” For more information, see the DOJ website.

Wednesday, March 13th:

DC Open Government SummitDC Open Govt Coalition and the National Press Club, Washington
The DC Open Government Coalition and the National Press Club will co-host a discussion at the Press Club from 6-8:30 p.m. The event is free, but registration is required. For more information, go to the DCOGC website.

Thursday, March 14th:

How to Use the Freedom of Information ActNational Press Club, Washington, DC
As part of its Sunshine Week observances, the National Press Club will offer a panel discussion on using FOIA, moderated by Rick Dunham of the Houston Chronicle. Panelists will include Charles Babcock of Bloomberg News, Randy Rabinowitz from the Center for Effective Government, and Bill Allison of the Sunlight Foundation. The event is free to club members, $10 for non-members, and it is open to the public. For more information, see the NPC announcement.

Friday, March 15th:

 Luncheon and Speaker Thomas DrakeNational Press Club, Washington, DC
The National Press Club will host former National Security Agency analyst Thomas Drake, a government whistleblower charged under the Espionage Act, at a luncheon beginning at 12:30 p.m., followed by Drake’s remarks and a question-and-answer period. Tickets are $21 for members (limit 2) and $35 for non-members.For more information and to make reservations, visit the Press Club website.

Thursday and Friday:

Cato XMLThe Cato Institute, Washington, DC
The Cato is hosting a Sunshine Week workshop looking at legislative data and Wikipedia. The first session, Thursday from 2:30-5:30 p.m., is designed for people of all technical skill levels and will cover Wikipedia editing, policies and culture. Participants are encouraged to bring a laptop. Immediately following at 5:30 p.m., Cato will host a Sunshine Week reception. Friday’s daylong workshop for qualified Wikipedians and legislative data practitioners will be led by Pete Forsyth of Wiki Strategies, and is about making Wikipedia more informative about legislation and public policy. Participants can select one or all of the sessions and reception to attend. More information and registration information is on the Cato website.

BECAUSE OPEN GOVERNMENT IS GOOD GOVERNMENT.

#FOIAChat for Beginners tomorrow Dec 7, 2-3 PM ET

Friday is FOIA for beginners.  Sunshine Review @FOIAchat wants to know, what #journo students and activists can they reach out to?  How about our Tattler journalists at B-CC HS for beginners.  Find out why there is no funding for a high school newspaper that has been publishing since 1929.  A great opportunity for our Montgomery County high school journalists. @SPLC @scottleadingham @spj_tweets

• When: Friday, December 7, 2012 at 11 AM PT / 12 PM MT / 1 CT / 2 ET.
• Where: On Twitter. Add #FOIAchat to tweets to participate, follow @FOIAchat.
• What: Come learn from some of the best journalists on the web about public records tips and techniques. Find out what you should be requesting and how to interpret request results. This is a great chat for professionals without public records experience, student journalists, politics writers and activists. All levels of experience are welcome.

Read more: http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/FOIA_for_beginners:_a_Q%26A_with_experts,_December_7,_2012#ixzz2EKsgtEY1

FOIAchat is a weekly conference on Twitter from 2 PM to 3 PM EST under the hashtag #foiachat. The discussion invites collaboration between activists, citizens, bloggers and journalists on public records requests topics. Topics include the Freedom of Information Act and state equivalents, open meetings laws, and related issues.

This summary of a previous FOIAchat discussion is to be used as a reference guide for research or further discussion.

FOIAchat serves as a forum for engaging discussion. Anyone on Twitter is welcome to participate, and all levels of knowledge are welcome. The results of the discussions are summarized through archived minutes here.

Read more: http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/FOIAchat#ixzz2EKryYFDZ

Maryland Corruption Risk Report Card: D-

The recently released State Integrity Investigation, a project of the Center for Public Integrity, found that of all 50 states examined, Maryland is at high risk for corruption, coming in 46th, with a Grade of D-. For more on the report go here.


According to a report on the investigation, here,

"Mayland is the only state in the country that requires an in-person visit to the state capitol to request and view financial disclosure information.

Ed Bender, executive director of the National Institute on Money in State Politics, said that governments may seem transparent by making information available, but it is not always presented in a useable or digestible format. He said trying to compare data within a state -- say, linking campaign donations to state contracts -- can be nearly impossible, and is a huge barrier to transparency.

"It's disingenous, hiding in plain sight," Bender said. "Governments say, 'here it is,' but they don't tell the story."

Maryland unveiled a series of date-centric government performance measurement and spending websites - like StateStat to track spending of stimulus finds - which Governor Martin O'Malley hailed as the "foundation for restoring accountability and for driving our progress." But the state's poor ranking on public access to information -- it came in 46th -- would suggest otherwise.

"They're selective on what they share, how they share it, and who they share it with," said Greg Smith of the nonprofit group Community Research, who said poring through the state's spending databases can be a headache.

Tell us something we don't know.

Follow State Legislatures with the New Open States iOS App

This week the Sunlight Foundation launched its Open States iPhone and iPad app that puts the inner-workings of state legislatures in the palm of your hand. The free mobile app provides up to the minute information on your state representative's profile, legislation being considered, voting records, campaign finance totals and much more. The app launches with legislative data from all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. For more information, go here. And yes, Maryland is included. So, knock yourself out.

The Open States app allows you to:
Identify your state representatives, find their contact information and explore district geography with Google Maps.

See voting records, bill sponsorships, committee assignments and campaign finance information for all elected representatives.

Follow any state bill on its way to becoming a law, from introduction through committee hearings, floor votes, passage and signing by the governor.

Read the latest policy news affecting your state from Stateline.org, an online publication of the Pew Center on the States.

Schedules and maps of the state house, in the few states that publicize this information

Sunlight Labs developed the app with support from the Minnesota Historical Society, and it runs on Sunlight Labs’ Open States API. Supported in part by the work of volunteers, the Open States Project collects and scrapes legislative data from state legislatures across the country and makes it available online in a unified, reliable, developer-friendly format. Learn more online at the Sunlight Labs blog, start contributing to the project here or follow @openstates on twitter for the latest news. Next steps include working on an Android version, building out bill text search, creating a public website for the data and continuing to adapt to changes in each legislature.

Thanks to the people at the Sunlight Foundation and all its supporters for helping citizens to shine a light on dark corners of the Maryland legislature.

Sunshine Week Heroes

Sunshine Week celebrations are going on. Meet this year's Sunshine Week Heroes.

Joel Chandler of Lakeland, Fla., who has sued dozens of state and local government agencies over their failure to honor the state’s open records law, is the 2012 Sunshine Week Local Hero. Chandler began litigating violations of Florida’s public records four years ago, when his local school board refused a records request. Since then, he has filed more than two dozen open records lawsuits, securing the release of school, police, prison and medical examiner records.

Chandler’s open government activism began five years ago with a simple request for a copy of the school district’s health insurance policy. The district refused, releasing the information only after Chandler complained to the state attorney’s office.

A year later, he filed a request for names, addresses and other information about the district’s 13,000 employees. When the district refused, he sued and won. Chandler told the Lakeland Ledger that his fight with the district was like “dealing with a bully.”

He began aggressively looking for other ways agencies were hindering citizen access to information, which led to a successful suit against the area medical examiner over fees charged for autopsy reports. Chandler also sued the Lakeland police for its “flat fee” policy, and he recently won a lawsuit for records of a privately operated prison. His public records research led to a suit against the Department of Transportation over a policy that pulled aside drivers who tried to pay Florida Turnpike tolls with a $20 bill or higher while officials wrote down the make, model and tag number of the car, records that he says show racial profiling. He also used public records to show that a charity that received more than $400,000 in public funds had spent less than $10,000 on the designated program.

On his FOGWatch website, Chandler quotes a 2009 report of the Governor's Commission on Open Government Reform: "...the burden of enforcing violations of Florida's open meetings and public records laws generally falls to citizens who have few alternatives other than seeking an injunction or filing suit in civil court to compel compliance." He adds: FOGWatch “cheerfully accepts that burden because we are dedicated to the principles that our government serves at the pleasure of the governed and functions best when citizens know what is being done in their name and at their expense.”

The second-place Local Hero Award goes to Eric Rachner of Seattle, who forced the Seattle police department to make public the records of police activity videotaped by patrol car dashboard cameras. Rachner’s research showed that police were selectively withholding video records that might discredit specific arrests. He’s posted the police records on his website, www.seattlepolicevideo.com, which has prompted several media investigations and other public scrutiny of Seattle police arrests.

The third-place winner is Suzanne McCrory of Mamaroneck, N.Y., who, without an attorney, successfully sued her village twice for withholding records. In one case, it took her several years to obtain the financial disclosure statement filed by the chairman of the planning board. Ultimately, she got the records, the chairman resigned, and the village modified its ethics code to ensure that disclosure statements are routinely available to the public.

Read more about the 2012 Sunshine Week Local Hero Award winners.

It's Sunshine Week!

This week, March 11 -17, is Sunshine Week. This week and all the activities that are going on are a reminder that it is your right to know. Not a privilege. Not a favor bestowed by an all-knowing all-powerful government. It is your right.

It's time to review and move forward as Montgomery County becomes more transparent. And, for the Board of Education, what do we expect this year? What are our citizen asks? First of course, no more breaking the law! The Board needs to obey our Maryland Open Meeting Act. Second, we need Checkbook Online here in Montgomery County. The Miami-Dade County Public School system has checkbook online. To see what a transparent government looks like, go here. According to many, many statements by Board members and public employees at MCPS, we are 'data driven.' So, where are the data?

And heartfelt thanks to all the hard-working journalists who are in the trenches bringing to light what really goes on in Montgomery County Government.

Here are some events in our area in celebration of Sunshine Week. To see all the events go here.

Monday, March 12th.
The Office of Government Information Services hosts a special event at the weeklong display of the original Freedom of Information Act at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The event begins at 12:30 p.m. with remarks by Archivist of the United States David Ferriero, followed by OGIS Director Miriam Nisbet and others. Admission is free. For more information, see the OGIS website.

The U.S. Department of Justice will hold a celebration of Sunshine Week from 2-3 p.m. at the DOJ Great Hall, Washington, D.C. Attorney General Eric Holder will speak during the program, which also will feature examples of agency achievements in the Attorney General's FOIA Guidelines issued during Sunshine Week three years ago. The event is open to the public, but registration is required. Visit the DOJ website for more information.

Tuesday, March 13th
The U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary will hold a hearing on "The Freedom of Information Act: Safeguarding Critical Infrastructure Information and the Public's Right to Know" at 10:30 a.m. in room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. More information about the hearing, including a link to the webcast, is found on the Judiciary Committee website.

The American Society of News Editors will host a Twitter chat with open government experts from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Knight Foundation, Sunshine in Government Initiative, Openthegovernment.org, ProPublica, the First Amendment Center, the Project On Government Oversight, American University and the Office of Government Information Services. The 1-hour online discussion will begin at 2 p.m. Eastern using the hashtag #ASNEchat.

Transparency Camp Registration is Open

Once again the Sunlight Foundation is putting on their annual Transparency Camp, this time, Saturday and Sunday, April 28th-29th, with an additional day, April 30th, for their first Hackathon. Transparency Camp 2012 will be at Founders Hall, George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia. To register go here. The fee is only $20, and includes breakfast, lunch, and coffee -- and wonderful company. See you there!

Healthy Foods for Children

From The Sunlight Foundation:

Food and media companies donated generously to lawmakers opposing food marketing guidelines for kids

By Nancy Watzman Dec 20 2011 4:50 p.m.

Last summer, a bipartisan group of House members from Pennsylvania wrote federal agencies complaining that proposed guidelines restricting the marketing of unhealthy food to children marked “an alarming regulatory overreach.” They emphasized their sugary roots in “the leading confectionary producing state in the nation.”

Indeed, Pennsylvania is home to the 117-year-old Hershey Company, maker of the ubiquitous Hershey’s kiss. But what the lawmakers from the Keystone State didn’t say was that they had other “constituents”—out-of-state campaign cash constituents, many of them Washington-based trade associations.

The massive lobbying push by food and media interests against the controversial guidelines appeared to reach its goal last weekend as Congress voted to delay the guidelines as part the budget deal. Tucked into the massive bill: A measure, backed by opponents of the guidelines, calling for the government to study the costs of any advertising limitations before implementing them. That will effectively put off any efforts to issuing the voluntary guidelines on the marketing of foods high in fat, sugar and sodium to children.

The Pennsylvanians' letter, sent July 18, was one of two sent by members of Congress to head off the marketing guidelines that the Sunlight Foundation obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. An analysis using transparencydata.com of campaign contributors to the two groups of lawmakers reveals that some of the groups lobbying against the ad guidelines have plenty of chits to collect from members of Congress.

The 15 Pennsylvania members of Congress who signed the letter raising concerns about the guidelines have together collected at least $546,765 in campaign contributions from interests that reported lobbying against restrictions on marketing unhealthy food to kids. The contributions included $159,291 from the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), $153,500 from the National Restaurant Association, and $61,660 from the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB).

And:

The Nebraska-based company Con-Agra is Sen. Michael Johanns’ second largest career donor. As a member of the Agriculture Committee, the Nebraska Republican has drawn contributions from food companies based around the country, such as Kentucky-based Yum! Brands, Illinois-based Kraft foods, and Georgia-based Coca-Cola. Johanns was one of the lead signers of the Senate letter.

Rep. Joe Pitts, R-Pa., a lead on the House letter, also posted an opinion piece in October on his website charging that the nutrition standards “would make American grocery stores look like … old Soviet Bloc stores…Chocolate Easter Bunnies would be made extinct, along with gummy snacks and pasta shaped like cartoon characters.”

As a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Pitts has drawn increasing amounts of contributions over the years from the communications industry, including more than $33,000 from the NCTA and more than $13,000 from NAB.

To read the whole story go here.

What is Transparency?

At the November 22nd meeting of the MCCPTA, Josh Starr, Superintendent of MCPS, posed that question. And he answered it in part by saying, “in a large organization how do you do that?” (see the video here).

Well, Josh, here’s how. The Federal government seems to be able to work towards transparency. The elected Board of Education could take a lesson from what most believe is a pretty large organization. This is from the Sunlight Foundation:


House To Be More Open: OKs Online Publication Standard 
Daniel Schuman
Dec. 16, 2011, 11:49 a.m.

This morning, the House of Representatives took a tremendous step into the 21st century when the Committee on House Administration unanimously adopted "Standards for the Electronic Posting of House and Committee Documents & Data."

Taking effect on January 1, 2012, the resolution instructs the Clerk of the House to maintain a single website where the public can access all House bills, amendments, and resolutions for floor consideration in XML. In addition, committees will be encouraged to post their documents on that site in XML whenever possible -- and searchable PDFs when not -- with the expectation that mandatory publication requirements in XML will soon be imposed. The House will also store video of hearings and markups, and work to implement standards "that require documents to be electronically published in open data formats that are machine readable," thereby enabling transparency and public review.

In a statement, Committee on House Administration Chairman Dan Lungren said “With the adoption of these standards, for the first time, all House bills, resolutions and legislative documents will be available in XML in one centralized location. Providing easy access to legislative information increases constituent feedback and ultimately improves the legislative process. ”

Three cheers to Chairman Dan Lungren, Ranking Member Bob Brady, members of the committee, and its staff for moving this important issue forward. As was discussed at the recent #hackthehouse conference, as well as in our longstanding Open House Project Report (pdf), there's a lot more to do, but this is a major stride towards implementing Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader Cantor's pledge to " publicly releasing the House’s legislative data in machine-readable formats." The Senate could do well by following this example, as could legislative support agencies like the Library of Congress and GPO.