Publications

FEC Says Donor Lists Cannot be Used for Sending Educational Materials

In June the National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids (NCTFK) asked the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for an Advisory Opinion (AO) on whether it can use donor information from the FEC database to target educational mailings. NCTFK is a nonpartisan organization exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the tax code. The FEC went against the recommendation of its General Counsel and denied the request.

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Internet Taxation and the State Fiscal Picture

The extension of the Internet services’ sales tax ban is due to expire November 1. However concerns remain, especially given the dire fiscal straits of most states. Besides making the ban permanent, the definition of the services that would be exempt from taxation is being expanded. The proposal under consideration also eliminates a "grandfather" clause that allowed state and local sales taxes on Internet access to continue in eleven states.

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Passage of the CARE Act Remains Uncertain

A CARE Act update.

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OMB Watch Goes on the Road with a State-by-State Analysis of the Estate Tax and Charitable Giving

OMB Watch’s John Irons is on the road to promote a new study that details state-by-state analysis of charitable losses from the estate tax repeal.

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Appropriations and Emergency Supplemental

Update on the President's emergency supplemental appropriation for Iraq and Afghanistan and the status of the remaining regular appropriations.

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Ohio Bill Prohibits Access to Health Information

The Ohio Senate Finance Committee voted in favor of a bill that allows the Ohio Department of Health to hide information from the public during health department investigations. The provisions were part of Ohio State Senate’s bioterrorism legislation (S 6) aimed at improving response to public health emergencies in the event of a biological terrorism attack.

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Pentagon Puts Public Papers Back Online

The Department of Defense returned a large collection of unclassified policy directives to its web site, Secrecy News reported on Oct. 16. According to the Associated Press, the Defense Department documents in question included papers that explained department policy on conscientious objectors, displaying flags, and hundreds of other unclassified materials.

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Supreme Court Is Asked to Hear a Case on Government Secrecy

The Center for National Security Studies has asked the Supreme Court to decide whether the government rightfully kept secret the names of individuals arrested after September 11.

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Ideas Wanted for 10 Most Wanted Government Docs

We are looking for a few good documents--the Ten Most Wanted government documents for 2004, to be precise. And we're hoping you, as an expert in this area, can help. As part of an effort to fight increased government secrecy, we would like your help in identifying: (1) the ten or twenty government documents -- or categories of documents -- you would most like to see the government make available to the public (2) problems you have faced finding government information Send your ideas to info@openthegovernment.org. Examples of the Ten Most Wanted government documents for 2004 may include:

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State Tour Scheduled for EPA's Draft Report on the Environment

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced it will hold five public meetings across the U.S. to hear comments on the “Draft Report on the Environment” and discuss the future of the project.

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