ICYMI: Right on Transparency Coalition Calls for States to Publish Federal Guidance

This week, the Right on Transparency Coalition called on states to publish regulatory guidance they receive from the federal government that impacts their state. Federal agencies frequently issue guidance documents that interpret and clarify statutes and regulations, as well as set official agency policy on important matters.  Though guidance documents are ostensibly not legally binding on regulated…

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Everything wrong with the FOIA process, in one single email

If you’ve ever filed a public records request, you may have experienced delays, improper denials, lack of communication, or all of the above. What’s less common is when an agency gives a requester a responsive record and then demands it be given back or destroyed, also known as a “clawback.” In 2022, the Federal Trade…

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D.C. Circuit Rules “Clawback” Orders Foreclosed by the FOIA 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit released a noteworthy decision today in Human Rights Defense Center v. U.S. Park Police, a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) case in which the federal government sought a court order requiring the return or destruction of “inadvertently disclosed” records.  Such relief is commonly known…

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3 Model Policies to Boost State Transparency at the Start of Legislative Sessions 

As state legislative sessions kick off across the country, it is an opportune time to prioritize policies that enhance transparency, empower citizens, and foster accountability. The Right on Transparency coalition, of which Americans for Prosperity Foundation is the founding member, has identified key areas where states can lead the way. Three of the coalition’s model…

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Kansas Attorney General Rules Commerce Department Violated KORA in Response to 2021 Request from AFP Foundation

Over three years ago, Americans for Prosperity Foundation-Kansas filed a Kansas Open Records Act request with the Department of Commerce seeking records about the Sales Tax and Revenue (“STAR”) Bonds financing program. After failing to receive all the requested documents, we filed a Kansas Open Records Act (KORA) complaint against the Department of Commerce in December 2022. Last…

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VA’s Claim of an “Independent” Red Team Report Falls Apart Under Scrutiny

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) billed its Red Team report on the supposed “Urgent Need to Address Community Care Spending” as an “independent” assessment. Yet, documents obtained by Americans for Prosperity Foundation through the Freedom of Information Act paint a different picture: internal emails and chat logs show VA officials actively drafting, editing, and…

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AFP Foundation Responds to Law Profs Advocating for Abusing Emergency Powers

AFP Foundation’s Thomas Kimbrell and Kevin Schmidt write in the Yale Journal on Regulation responding to Berkeley Law Professors Elena Chachko and Katerina Linos’ “Emergency Powers for Good,” published in the William & Mary Law Review. Chachko and Linos argue that in some cases, “invoking emergency powers is the only viable way to break deadlock and enact long…

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Another Legislative Audit Shows Failure of STAR Bond Program

The Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit released a follow up to its 2021 audit of the STAR Bond program, and the findings reveal that even allowing the Department of Commerce to pick and choose its favored metrics—improving local quality of life—doesn’t show a program that benefits taxpayers. The problem with their favored metric is that “Commerce…

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