Transparency News 6/2/17

Friday, June 2, 2017

Do you ever have one of those days when you're convinced you did something, but you didn't, and then it's two hours later and you realize you didn't do what you thought you did? Yeah, well that's this morning. Apologies for the late arrival!

State and Local Stories

The drive-through tax appeals tent is bringing people hoping to save on their personal property tax bill to the municipal center, though this year the operation is in a new location in Virginia Beach. “We’re doing over 600 a day now,” Commissioner of the Revenue Phil Kellam said during a recent visit to the lot, where a number of cars waited for members of Kellam’s staff to check mileage and look at vehicles.
Princess Anne Independent News



National Stories
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Colorado has updated its open records act so that citizens can obtain government documents in digital formats that can be readily analyzed by computer. Gov. John Hickenlooper signed the measure into law on Thursday. Sen. John Kefalas and Rep. Dan Pabon, both Democrats, sponsored the measure. The law updates the Colorado Open Records Act, under which citizens until now often receive cumbersome paper records that cannot be readily analyzed using computer programs.
McClatchy

As he signed a bill reforming the state's laws granting access to public information, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster acknowledged the effort didn't go far enough. Specifically, he said the state's legislators should no longer be exempt from public records laws. "The Freedom of Information Act needs to apply to everyone," McMaster said after a ceremonial bill signing Wednesday. "That includes House members and senators."
Post and Courier


Editorials/Columns


As personal privacy and internet security continue to be eroded, we’re pleased to see at least one decision that, like a finger in a dike, resists that trend. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court in Richmond ruled last week that a suit could proceed in challenging the National Security Agency’s practice of surveilling private internet communications. "The NSA has secretly spied on Americans' internet communications for years, but now this surveillance will finally face badly needed scrutiny in our public courts," said Patrick Toomey of the ACLU. "We look forward to arguing this case on the merits." An earlier lower court ruling had blocked the lawsuit on the grounds that the plaintiffs did not have “standing” to launch the suit. The federal circuit court’s ruling reverses that decision. It said that one of the plaintiffs, the Wikimedia Foundation, demonstrated that it suffered possible harm from the NSA’s domestic spying.
Daily Progress

Judicial Watch just launched a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, for records related to taxpayer funding of George Soror-tied political activities. Go, Judicial Watch. Specifically, the watchdog group wants to know how many tax dollars have been sent to the Open Society Foundation’s Albania offices, or FOSA. Judicial Watch has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to gain access to pertinent documents.
Cheryl Chumley, Washington Times