How Public Records Have Revealed the Antiquated State of Pennsylvania’s Health Care Laws
Thomas Kimbrell Transparency laws like the FOIA and state open records and meetings laws are championed as tools to check government overreach, expose government waste, and hold government officials accountable. Indeed, these are important functions of transparency measures. Beyond transparency laws’ more sensational use cases, public records can also be used to highlight the inefficiencies…
Read MoreFOIA Reflects the Spirit and Principles of the Great American Experiment
Liam Gallagher Just under 250 years ago, a groundbreaking experiment unfolded. One of the most significant in human history. In 1776 the Continental Congress met, severed ties with England, and founded the United States. Guided by the principles of freedom and self-governance, we have never looked back. Ours is a government that truly derives its…
Read MoreTransparent, Open Government: What It Takes, What It Delivers, And How It Actually Helps Governments
Greg Brooks & Patrick Tuohey We all understand that transparency in government is an unalloyed good, but that doesn’t mean it’s welcome or easy. Open government is more than assigning the information technology officer to build—or hiring a consultant to build—a web-portal showcasing every financial transaction. And transparency is more than a public information officer…
Read MoreCheck the Fine Print: The Hidden Cost of Reading Regulations
Andrew Blackburn Of all the categories of government-issued documents, regulations should be the easiest to access. Regulations represent the rules of the road, and anyone looking to operate a business in the United States is obligated to adhere to them, lest they incur the wrath of the executive branch. Unfortunately, over 2,000 federal regulations, key…
Read MoreAccounting for Nonprofit FOIA Litigators
Allan Blutstein In an essay for AFPF’s Sunshine Week symposium last year, Rutgers University law professor Bernard Bell defended public interest groups against criticisms concerning the quantity and nature of their FOIA requests and their proclivity to litigate.1 In doing so, Professor Bell indirectly referenced a study by the FOIA Project that identified the most…
Read MoreBreaking Down the Broken Budget: Inside Congress’s Dysfunction and the Fight for Fiscal Transparency
Joe Bishop-Henchman Transparent government it ain’t: last week, the Republican-controlled House and Democratic-controlled Senate approved a 1,050-page bill combining spending for six of the twelve appropriations bills. If they pass the other six this month, as expected, the budget for Fiscal Year 2024 will be complete, but five months late. The 2024 federal fiscal year…
Read MoreDon’t Limit Open Records Requests to State Citizens
Kevin Schmidt In October 2023, Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF) joined with eight other center-right organizations working in the transparency space to form the Right On Transparency coalition. This first-of-its-kind coalition aims to improve public records and open meetings laws, incentivize proactive disclosure of records, and modernize records management to reflect emerging technology. You can…
Read MoreCopyright Claims Can’t Come at the Expense of Public Transparency
Ben Isgur and Braden H. Boucek It’s safe to say that what’s being taught in schools is a hot topic these days. Parents around the country are discussing, often passionately, their children’s instructional materials and whether they are appropriate. Central to this debate, like any other, are the facts—what are kids being taught? But a…
Read MoreThe “Right” Voice on Transparency and Openness
Ryan Mulvey Welcome to Sunshine Week 2024! As I explained last week in Americans for Prosperity’s (AFP) latest Civil Liberties newsletter, Sunshine Week is that special time of the year when we acknowledge the importance of open government, transparency, and the role that Freedom of Information (FOI) laws have played in holding those in power…
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