Open Government Around the Country
The New Mexico legislature is considering a bill that would subject the legislature to New Mexico's open meetings law. In Washington state, the Legislature has exempted itself from the Open Public Meetings Act and the Public Records Act. NPR's Austin Jenkins recently wrote an article about his difficulties obtaining legislative records from the Washington State Legislature.
In Iowa, the governor has agreed to use his official state-sponsored email account, rather than a private email account after being criticized for trying to avoid the state's open records law. In Washington State, it would not matter whether the governor was using a private account or state account -- her emails would still be public records. Here is a link to an article "Five Issues You Should Consider Before You Decide to Use Your Personal Email Account or Personal Computer for Official Public Business" that addresses this issue under Washington State law.
The CIA has admitted destroying 92 interrogation videos after an ACLU Freedom of Information Act lawsuit forced the CIA to account for the tapes. In 2007, the Washington Supreme Court has ruled that surveillance videos are public records that may be subject to disclosure. See Lindeman v. Kelso School District, 162 Wn.2d 196 (2007).
