Blog Posts
October 30, 2023, by Fritz Mulhauser
UPDATE 11/13/23 – The Mayor’s latest crime bill with drastic cutbacks in police transparency discussed below has now been formally introduced in the D.C. Council as Bill B25-0555. The Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety will consider it at a hearing on Wednesday, November 29 at 9:00. Thankfully, much criminal justice policy is not […]
Coalition Urges MPD to End “Culture of Secrecy” in Testimony on Nomination of New Chief
October 1, 2023, by Fritz Mulhauser
UPDATE 11/8/23: The D.C. Council approved unanimously the nomination of Pamela Smith as police chief Tuesday (7). Ahead of the vote, Washington City Paper reviewed the debate over the nomination including a close look at transparency and officer accountability. Columnist Alex Koma wrote “Some wonder if Smith has the stomach to take on the District’s […]
Coalition Offers New Community Training on Police Records
September 27, 2023, by Fritz Mulhauser
The D.C.Open Government Coalition is continuing its series of community conversations, offered in tandem with the D.C. Public Libraries, to exchange experiences of community members in getting information from the D.C. government and offer tools and tips on how to get all kinds of records that the city is obligated to share with the public. […]
Successful Lawsuits Challenging High Fee Demands for Public Records Break New Ground
September 16, 2023, by Fritz Mulhauser
Two recent court cases decided in favor of challengers facing high fee demands from government agencies break new ground in public records access laws—known in federal, D.C., and many state laws as Freedom of Information Acts (FOIA). FOIA laws typically allow charging requesters for costs but also allow waiving fees if the request is not […]
Freedom Forum Invites All to Celebrate First Amendment Freedoms
September 1, 2023, by Fritz Mulhauser
The D.C. Open Government Coalition and friends will be sampling the creative events to be offered by the Freedom Forum at its “1A Fest,” Saturday, Sept. 9, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. at The Wharf – Transit Pier (9th St. and Maine Ave., S.W.), Washington, D.C. RSVP here. From the Forum At Freedom Forum’s 1A […]
August 24, 2023, by Fritz Mulhauser
The Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., by law, must keep a record of all arrests, stops, and other police-involved incidents and the records “shall be open to public inspection when not in actual use.” (No public records request needed and no exemptions and redactions.) Originally kept by pen and ink in an “arrest book” […]
Censorship Proposal Opposed by Coalition Fails in U.S. Senate
July 28, 2023, by Fritz Mulhauser
The D.C. Open Government Coalition and over 50 other groups joined a July 19 letter to the U.S. Senate expressing opposition to a censorship proposal offered by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) as an amendment to the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act (bill S. 2226). This and almost 1,000 other amendments proposed […]
July 2, 2023, by Fritz Mulhauser
The tsunami of backlogged FOIA appeals—challenges to D.C. agencies’ public records request delays and denials—may have crested, with only 39 unresolved cases reported to the D.C. Council as of June 2, a figure far below the 307 at last year’s oversight hearing, 237 in an official report in September and 108 at this year’s oversight. […]
Coalition Welcomes Niquelle Allen Reappointment As D.C. Director of Open Government
June 23, 2023, by Fritz Mulhauser
The Board of Ethics and Government Accountability (BEGA) has reappointed Niquelle M. Allen as Director of Open Government, voting unanimously to do so at its June 8, 2023, meeting. In her second term which begins July 2, 2023, Allen will continue to direct the Office of Open Government, a six-person unit established in 2012 that […]
Open Government Progress in D.C. Council FY24 Budget
June 21, 2023, by Fritz Mulhauser
Next year’s District of Columbia budget includes some dedicated funding and lots of advice to agencies for improved public access to government data and records, much of it resulting from the community and Open Government Coalition testimony and recommendations, according to legislative committees’ budget reports. Budgeting is complete with final votes last Tuesday (13). For […]
