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Rahul Lal/CalMattersSouthern California Democratic lawmaker Blanca Pacheco’s bill would have added high fees to records requests submitted for a “commercial purpose” and allowed counties more avenues to deny records and take people to court. -
Cristian Gonzalez/CalMattersAssemblymember Blanca Pacheco’s legislation would allow public agencies to delay records requests it deems “improperly” filed, sue for “malicious” requests and charge up to $66 an hour to produce government records. One good governance advocate calls it a “virtual horror show of governmental non-transparency.”
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A bill meant to create clarity about what public officials can call and text about outside of public meetings is creating more confusion, press advocates said. -
A bill to shield information about California’s embattled bullet train is adding new political scrutiny to the rail project as the state grapples with a loss of federal funding. -
Oregon AG Rayfield not involved in hiring firms who donated to his campaign, Justice Department saysThe explanation comes after the crypto giant Coinbase filed a public records lawsuit against Gov. Tina Kotek seeking more information about the law firms’ involvement in a case against the company. -
The state’s Department of Justice calls a suit alleging Gov. Tina Kotek improperly withheld records relating to the state’s case against Coinbase ‘malicious.’ -
State lawmakers have introduced at least a dozen proposals that would make it harder to confront local officials at public meetings, shield more information from the public and relax rules on financial reports. -
Across the Northwest and the country, citizens are facing longer wait times, steep fees and other obstacles to obtaining government records the law says they deserve. -
The city of Portland has filed a lawsuit against a local journalist and news outlet in an attempt to block the public release of information about which businesses were required to pay into a voter-approved climate program, records show. -
A bipartisan bill would create a state ombudsperson to intervene when public records requests are denied. But an advocacy group is concerned that it will encourage state agencies to go to court. -
Senate Bill 500 delegates authority to hire and fire the records advocate to the Public Records Advisory Council, authorizes council to support and oppose legislation related to open records. -
Oregon prides itself on being an open-government state, with public information easily obtained by the public. Journalists can and will tell you that the… -
Sunshine Week sounds like something related to the arrival of spring, but it's really the other kind of sunshine: that kind that shines on the work of… -
People may talk in ominous terms of "the government," but the government does the business of the people. So there's a general sense that the workings of…
