Freedom of Information

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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House Hears Changes Needed to Improve Freedom of Information Act

The House got a bipartisan earful last week about the need to address the growing problem of secrecy in government. At a hearing May 11 on putting teeth into the Freedom of Information Act, witnesses testified about how FOIA is becoming increasingly weaker in meeting public needs. On the same day, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) announced he would reintroduce a bill to strengthen government transparency, addressing issues beyond FOIA.

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Senate Vote Gives Homeland Security Power to Waive All Law

Statement of Robert Shull, Director of Regulatory Policy, OMB Watch
In passing the Iraq War Supplemental today, the Senate also gave the Secretary of Homeland Security the power to waive any and all law in the course of building roads and barriers along the U.S. borders -- without limit and with no checks and balances. The measure is part of the "REAL ID Act of 2005," the controversial immigration bill attached by the House as a rider to the Iraq war supplemental.

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Journalists Teach Communities to Access Government Information

On the heels of Sunshine Week, during which journalists highlighted the importance of open government, several newspapers have taken an extra step and begun training local communities to use freedom of information laws. Though freedom of information laws grant the general public rights to access government information, many citizens do not know how to use them and often journalists act as intermediaries between the public and the government. However, journalists can never fully represent a community's range of concerns, so it is important to inform and empower the public.

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Kentucky Attorney General Caps Copying Fees

Kentucky Attorney General Greg Stumbo (D) recently limited the amount the state agencies could charge citizens for copies of government documents. The prices the government charges for searches and copies are often cited by groups as a major obstacle to obtaining more information through the Freedom of Information laws. In an April 25 opinion, Stumbo capped fees on copies of public records at 10 cents per page. The opinion came after Beaver Dam resident Mike Nance contacted the attorney general's office complaining about the 50 cents per page the Hartford, KY, county government charged him.

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Ohio Bill To Privatize Government Information, Services

An Ohio state legislator last month reintroduced legislation to force taxpayers to pay companies for services and information that taxpayers already receive more efficiently and cheaply directly through the government. An anti-government conservative group, the American Legislative Exchange Council, originally drafted the legislation and saw it introduced in at least five states in 2003. It previously failed in Ohio.

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Defense Department Seeks New FOIA Exemption

The Department of Defense (DoD) is seeking a broad Freedom of Information (FOIA) exemption, which would remove critical information from public purview -- everything from information on human rights abuses, to historical military records. The agency sought such an exemption in 2000, but Congress rejected the measure.

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Chemical Security Remains an Unaddressed Problem

An April 27 panel of government officials and security experts told the Senate Subcommittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs that chemical security remains a looming problem that the federal government refuses to address. The same day the House Committee on Homeland Security proved that point by rejecting an amendment to improve security related to shipments of dangerous chemicals. Also the same day, President Bush called for development of new oil refineries on old military bases but did not address the existing gaps in chemical security.

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Appeals Court Puts D.C. Hazmat Ban on Hold

A federal appeals court granted CSX an emergency stay to prevent D.C. from implementing a new law prohibiting hazardous cargo rail shipments near the U.S. Capitol. On Monday, May 18, the District Court had upheld D.C.'s ban, prompting CSX to file an immediate appeal and seek the emergency injunction. The court also ordered Washington, DC, and the Sierra Club, another plaintiff in the case, to file briefs by Friday, May 22.

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Homeland Security Won't Remove Hazmat Signs

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced April 7 that it will drop a proposal to remove warning placards from railcars carrying hazardous materials that pose a toxic inhalation risk. The decision came after firefighters and other first responders warned that removing the signs could endanger those transportation workers and emergency personnel who respond to accidents involving hazardous materials, and communities through which the shipments travel. DHS was considering the removal of placards due to terrorism concerns.

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Faster Freedom of Information Bill Introduced in House

On April 13, Reps. Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Lamar Smith (R-TX) introduced the House version of the Faster FOIA bill, H.R. 1620, which would establish a commission to report on delays in responding to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and recommend solutions. The Senate version, S. 589, also a bipartisan bill, passed favorably out of the Judiciary Committee on March 17.

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