Minnesota’s Government Data Practices Act: A Primer

COGI-tations: A program of the Minnesota Coalition on Government Information

Minnesota’s Government Data Practices Act : A Primer
Hint: It’s Not as Complicated As You Think!

Presenter: Don Gemberling - “Godfather” of Minnesota data practices

Minnesota’s data practices law is based upon openness to information by and about state and local government. Advocacy groups, citizen journalists, concerned citizens, bloggers and all concerned about access to government activities need to know their rights. Elected and appointed officials need to understand their responsibility to assure access. Don Gemberling knows the law and can clarify it for those who may be intimidated, confused or overwhelmed by a straightforward law based in the assumption of transparency. Attendees are encouraged to bring their government information horror stories for analysis and feedback.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009
4:30 – 6:00 p.m.
Midtown Commons, 2324 University Ave West, St. Paul
(just East of Raymond)
Minnesota Council of Nonprofits conference room, Suite 20

COGI-tations are public forums sponsored by the
Minnesota Coalition on Government Information.
All COGI-tations are free and open to the public.

Planning MnCOGI’s Transparency Inventory

COGI-tations: A program of the Minnesota Coalition on Government Information

Planning MnCOGI’s Transparency Inventory moderated by Allan Malkis, Board member, Minnesota Coalition on Government Information

Looking to hold a government agency accountable for the action it takes?
Discuss how to conduct an inventory of a state or local agency’s actions.

Thursday, June 25, 2009
6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
East Lake Library
2727 Lake Street (near Hiawatha)
Minneapolis

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Future COGI-tations

August 5, 2009
Don Gemberling
Introduction to Minnesota’s Data Practices Act

Late August/Early September, 2009
International Right to Know Day

COGI-tations are public forums sponsored by the
Minnesota Coalition on Government Information.
All COGI-tations are free and open to the public.

Opening Doors: Finding the Keys to Open Government

Check out OpenTheGovernment.org's webcast; it presents a great opportunity for the public to be involved in the crafting of this directive. During the webcast, individuals who are intimately involved in formulating the administration's policies and agendas will explain the initiative's goals, receive feedback from the audience, and let members of the public know how they can continue to participate in the discussion.

Report: Dim Sunshine Laws in Five Midwest States

wanted to let you know about the report on open government laws that the Citizen Advocacy Center, a policy research partner of the Midwest Democracy Network, launched today in celebration of Sunshine Week. I thought you might find it of interest this week!

Relevant links:
http://www.citizenadvocacycenter.org/OGP.html
http://midwestdemocracynetwork.org/index.php/projects/article/midwest_open_government_project_2009/
http://midwestdemocracynetwork.org/index.php/news/article/midwest_open_government_project_launches_resonates/

PRNewswire Release:
http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/03-18-2009/0004990576&EDATE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, March 18, 2009
Contact: Terry Pastika, Citizen Advocacy Center, 630-833-4080
Charlie Boesel, Joyce Foundation, 312-795-3816
Emily Blum, Valerie Denney Communications, 312-408-2580 ext. 13

New study finds five Midwestern states have dim sunshine laws
CHICAGO, March 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- While every state in the nation has laws that require public access to government records and meetings, in five Midwestern states that were recently analyzed, documents are often kept secret and doors can remain tightly closed.
According to a study released Wednesday by the Citizen Advocacy Center (Center) in celebration of Sunshine Week (March 15-21), open government laws in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota have systemic barriers that chill public participation and access to government, which weakens our democratic system designed to be by, for and of the people.
The Center analyzed each state's Freedom of Information and Open Meetings Acts and found striking similarities between all states, including:

• Open government laws are sporadically enforced, which means public bodies are more likely to be unresponsive to records requests and employ exemptions to keep meetings closed.
• No state surveyed has a government office with statutory authority specifically created to oversee and enforce sunshine laws.
• State employees are not adequately trained to carry out open government policies and may be unintentionally violating the laws.
• Citizens may be able to attend meetings, but there are very few opportunities to participate.

"For our democracy to thrive and grow, we must have open government laws that are both strong and effective," said Terry Pastika, Executive Director and Community Lawyer for the Citizen Advocacy Center. "Without forceful sunshine laws, the public can not fully participate in the democratic process, knowledgably discuss issues of public concern, make informed judgments about the actions of elected officials, or monitor government to make sure it's acting in their interest."

For the study, the Center reviewed each state's laws as well as more than 1,000 legal cases, attorney general opinions, and professional publications to produce a comprehensive report on each state's strengths and weaknesses. The Center also provided specific reform recommendations that good government advocates can use to advance changes within each state. Reforms range from changing how fees should be levied to implementing training programs for public officials.

The study, conducted by the Center and funded by The Joyce Foundation, is distributed by the Midwest Democracy Network, an alliance of political reform advocates who are working to strengthen democracy and build the capacity of the public to participate and affect government decision-making.

To view the full report online, visit www.citizenadvocacycenter.org or www.midwestdemocracynetwork.org.

Citizen Journalist's Guide to Open Government

Check out this ambitious multimedia e-learning module designed to help new media makers understand how to obtain public records and get into public meetings. Produced by Geanne Rosenberg, founding chair of Baruch College's new undergraduate Department of Journalism and the Writing Professions (Knight Citizen News Center)

Creative Yard Signs

Exercise your voting rights early this season! And have fun doing it. My Yard Our Message is a project sponsored by the Walker Art Center, MN Artists, and the UnConvention. And you get to vote and the medium and the message.

Scores of artists and designers were invited to submit yard signs around the theme of what it means to actively participate in a democracy. Their wildly creative proposals deal with information access, the cost of ignorance, get-out-the-vote messages, the war in Iran, tragedy in Darfur, the environment, and virtually every other concern facing voters in a democracy.

Here’s the offer you can’t refuse: You, your family and friends, check the FaceBook rendering of the artists’ proposals. And then you get to vote for the signs that you would be willing, nay eager, to post in your yard!

I spent almost an hour yesterday weighing the messages, the neighborhood, and my willingness to put the yard sign where my mouth is! Virtually every artist’s creation gave me pause and a keen sense that I’d like to talk about this with the neighbors!

The votes will tabulated (and the process monitored with due diligence….) The top fifty vote-getting designs will be announced August 1. They will then be made available to order as a full-sized political yard sign for $20. Top designs will also be available as free downloads. The frosting on the cake -- the Walker and MNArtists are going to print the winning yard signs and place them around the TC’s , with particular emphasis on neighborhoods immediately surrounding the habitués of the visiting RNConventioneers.

Cast your votes now (yes, you get to vote for more than one) by clicking here!

What’s the holdup for Minnesota’s database?

Todd Kruse’s crusade to have the sun shine in on Minnesota state government spending got some ink in a 5/16 Star Tribune editorial, “A blogger’s quest: Where’s the database?” Kruse seeks to have the Minnesota Department of Administration fully implement last year’s State Government and Omnibus Act. To comply with the 2007 Act, the state needs to create a database to track spending on contracts and grants.

Kruse is not alone in his quest. The National Taxpayer’s Union is one of several groups tracking similar developments on the state level on its site, www.showmethespending.com. Good for Todd Kruse and the National Taxpayer’s Union for their diligence in pursuing transparency in government.

What’s the holdup for Minnesota’s database? It’s not lack of software; it’s readily available. The Minnesota Department of Administration estimates the cost at $1 to $1.5 million, and cites lack of dedicated funding. The cost of such a database is not as high as the Department antidicpates. The federal government implemented software that tracked spending for ~$200K last year – a fraction of the state’s estimate.

Here’s the evolution of the database tracking software. In 2006, OMB Watch devised fedspending.org. In 2007, the federal government found it to be so compelling that it adopted it as its own. And so, usaspending.gov was born. The same software the feds use is – and has been – available to Minnesota. The mandate from the legislature is almost a year old. Only the data appears to be lacking. Could 2008 be the year MN gets its database to track its own spending?

Helen Burke, hburke@hclib.org

Mark Glaser on Net Neutrality

Some of us have possibly put our brains in neutral to avoid information overflow on the topic of Net Neutrality. I found the recent post by Mark Glaser in Free Press to be extremely helpful as a digest and succinct interpretation of the complex issues surrounding this polarizing issue. The author includes a basic list of resources for keeping abreast of the topic. Check it out.

Traditional Press & Bloggers Met Monday...

3-2-1 Dive into the wireless pond! It’s not too late to sign up for the “Afloat on the wireless pond” conference set for Saturday, March 1. Curious about the theme? Remember that the genesis of the idea emerged from the 2007 conference focused on Henry Thoreau’s little-known travels in Minnesota. The idea was, and is, Thoreau-inspired -- a time, place and stimulus for Minnesotans to reflect on the reality of living in an information world. We spend far more time mastering the tools than giving a passing thought to the social, economic, political and aesthetic upheaval in which we float. The setting on the beautiful Luther Seminary campus sets the stage; the diverse presenters play unique roles - a geographer, data manager, philosopher, educator, city planner, poet, journalist and other thoughtful colleagues willing to share their expertise and their insights. How do you plan to spend the extra day this week? There’s still time to sign up.

The “traditional” press and the bloggers met Monday night in the opulent splendor of the new Minnesota Public Radio to share insights on standards and ethics in journalism. Bob Collins played the ringleader/MPR blogger role while guest Dan Gillmor focused on content. Gillmor has clearly given much thought to what is and what is possible to support an informed society -- and a readership that wants to learn. Just about everybody had something to say - several men and at least four women (one a “panelist”) got to speak. Maybe it was the cold outside, but no one seemed in any hurry to leave, even after pretty much everything had been said. Many thanks to the Minnesota Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists which set the stage for this diverse audience. It’s the jumpstart of an essential and more substantive conversation, virtual or mano a mano. The questions raised, sometimes answered, testify to the need for more.

Molnau Sold Farm Near Road She Pushed.
Read this from the information access - investigative journalism - perspective.

For Political Candidates, Saying Can Become Believing. I’ve often thought about this because I sometimes tell a story with such enthusiasm and regularity that I believe it myself. In fact, it often gets better with the telling. Ask any storyteller or Irishman.

GAO Finds Data Protection Lagging The balance between openness and privacy is being played out in Congress. Minnesota’s very own Senator Norm Coleman, along with Susan Collins (R-ME), chairs the committee that called for a study of data protection after the 2006 theft of a data-laden computer from a VA employee. Collins notes that “the findings released in this report are very troubling -- indicating that agency after agency has failed to make securing citizens' personal information a high priority."

Video on the Net: The Content Question, by Jeffrey A. Hart. On one level this isn’t specifically about access to government information, but it’s certainly grist for the mill of anyone who cares about an informed public. Hart offers a straightforward analysis of the topic, in layman’s terms.
On Tuesday, February 26, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing on Electronic Records Preservation at the White House. The Committee, led by Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA-30), has been investigating what happened to millions of missing White House emails and what the White House is now doing to make sure it is preserving its records in compliance with the Presidential Records Act.

New from Sunshine Week -- a new partnership with Helium that creates a special page where anyone can write about open government issues or this year’s election theme. The Sunshine Week promos on the SW website deserve an affirmative vote. Check them out.

Is the spectrum just too complex for reporters?

Is the spectrum just too complex for reporters? Article in the Nieman Watchdog and flagged in Media Reform.The title is provocative and it’s a good question. I would argue that the spectrum itself isn’t all that complicated - it’s the USE of the spectrum that baffles reporters and advocacy groups. Roger Sween spoke of the “implicitless” of information - and of the radio waves that deliver it. We feel compelled, somehow, to separate the discussion of means from the discussion of content. The techies vs. the nerds…In government, it’s IT in one silo, the public record, data, useful government information in a separate silo. Meanwhile, the radio waves are perceived as one-directional. Only now, the keepers of the word, especially the print press, are straddling what, in my mind, is the most pernicious of the several digital divides.

Self-proclaimed professional agitator Sheldon Mains started a digital deluge today by announcing he’s cancelled his Strib subscription. His rationale struck a chord with E-Democracy readers, virtually all of them recovering Strib readers. As a longtime cancelled Strib subscriber I must admit an occasional pang of regret that I can’t recancel - unless, of course, I resubscribe, in which case I would have to endure that barrage of dunning phone calls when I recancel…..

Mary Treacy

Net Neutrality Is a Civil Rights Issue

Net Neutrality Is a Civil Rights Issue. There’s tons written about network neutrality, currently being fiercely debated at the federal - especially FCC - level. This article by Mark Lloyd and Joseph Torres deals specifically and insightfully with the digital divide, stressing the inherent link (sometimes overlooked) between information and telecom access.

Reuters Group PLC Taken Over by Canada’s Thomson Corp

Thomson Gains Clearance From Wall Street Journal, February 20, 2008 by Corey Boles and Jessica Hodgson

Competition authorities in the U.S. and Europe cleared the takeover of Reuters Group PLC by Canada’s Thomson Corp., which would create a financial-data giant, on the condition that the companies divest some assets. Local implications???

Research Tool for Tracking the Finances

Sunlight follows the federal politics money trail is a new research tool for tracking the finances that support the campaigns of federal elected officials from Minnesota MinnPost 2-20-08

Art exhibit seeks to shed light on climate change

Art exhibit seeks to shed light on climate change
A new exhibit at the Bell Museum combines the ideas of art with science to draw diverse crowds. This multimedia exhibition includes paintings, drawings, sculpture and music by 20 Wisconsin artists, designed to “help people who might not be so attuned to the facts and figures” of climate change.

Maplewood City Council Rethinks Public Forums

Maplewood City Council to consider change in format of contentious public forums
Contentious sessions criticized; council may change policy
The notorious Maplewood City Council raises some provocative First Amendment issues.

Common Cause and Washington Monthly

Common Cause and Washington Monthly – Do they just like each other?
If you’re into romance among the pundits, keep an eye on this. The Washington Post, always on the lookout, sees some flickers in the relationship between Common Cause and Washington Monthly, the advocacy group and the highly regarded journal. Of particular interest as Common Cause steps up its membership and advocacy activities in Minnesota.

Even Without Technology Youth Media Thrives

Even Without Technology Youth Media Thrives
Fascinating article about youth, media and technology – good background read for the “Afloat in the wireless pond” conference on March 1.

Fort Snelling: Should its history be told?

Fort Snelling: Should its history be told?
Painful, even shameful, stories that reflect the broad scope of the fort's past should not be erased, but learned from.
NINA ARCHABAL, Director of the Minnesota Historical Society, faces head on the question at the very core of information access – do we really want/need to know the truth?

Information Searches That Solve Problems

Interesting study from Pew on the information-for-problem-solving habits of the population in general and specific populations, e.g. Gen Y, in particular. The questions are interesting as the responses.

Visit the Pew site for details

Tips for Future Librarians

What to teach to future government information librarians: Escape from the Blackboard Jungle John Shuler in Free Government Information, Fri, 2008-01-18 13. Granted the title might not grab every web surfer it’s a great article – starting with the fact that gov’t librarians need to understand government and people more than they need to master the skills of organizing the stuff. The author is on the faculty at Dominican University, an academic institution familiar to lots of Minnesota library types.