FOIA BLOG
WebQA Partners with PageFreezer to Deliver Website Archiving
WebQA announced today that it has partnered with PageFreezer to expand its Government Public Records Compliance Suite within its GovQA division. This new partnership will allow GovQA to offer industry leading website archiving tools to its base of almost 1,000 state and local government entities. Click here.
December 21, 2016
WA state and local governments spent $60 million to Fulfill Requests
WA state and local governments spent $60 million to fill more than 285,000 public-records requests during a recent 12-month period. The average number of requests increased by 36% in the last five years. Click here to view the WA State Auditor's 2016 Report.
September 7, 2016
San Mateo Launches Online Portal for Public Records Requests
San Mateo Records Center provides a one-stop shop for the public to submit a request, search archives, and get answers to FAQS. Click here .
August 25, 2016
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner signs law boosting fines for FOIA non-compliance
A new state law will make it expensive for local governments that choose not to comply with orders to turn over documents ruled public under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. Read more.
August 5, 2016
Oklahoma Bill to Establish Open Records Online Portal
The legislation is aimed at creating the “Oklahoma State Government Open Records One-Stop Initiative,” and would let people request records online, and require the state to post those records on its open data portal. If enacted, the bill would go into effect Nov. 1, 2017.
Read more.
Read more.
July 22, 2016
Accessing Public Records Information in McKinney, TX
GovQA's system is a big leap in helping to keep up with the
City's increased demand for public information as the city
continues to rapidly grow. The City's goal is to make public information process as easy as possible on requestors so they can get the information they need in the most thorough and expedient manner possible. Read more.
City's increased demand for public information as the city
continues to rapidly grow. The City's goal is to make public information process as easy as possible on requestors so they can get the information they need in the most thorough and expedient manner possible. Read more.
July 5, 2016
Improved Management Practices for FOIA Compliance
* Steer more requests through an efficient online tracking and processing system
* Allow the online portal to scan for duplicate requests
* Sort routine requests from those requiring handling by senior employees
* Shift resources to address issues as they arise and more!
Click here to attend a info-packed webinar -- tailored for cities, counties
and state agencies.
and state agencies.
June 20, 2016
Texting Wrinkles Access to Florida Public Records
Florida’s public records law is clear that the public has the right to see all documents relating to the conduct of public business unless there is a specific exception in the law. However, the section of the law governing how long to keep texts is less clear. An informal poll of counties shows a mixture of approaches towards formal policies on texting.
March 28, 2016
2014-15 Agency FOIA Success Stories
The federal agencies are measuring FOIA success through various metrics such as leading modernization of FOIA, improving timely processing of requests, highlighting the importance of proactive disclosures through postings and greater collaboration, making discretionary releases, leveraging best practices and more.
May 20, 2016
Public Records Request Abuses
Tales of public records law are piling up in cities, counties, schools and other local governments. Lawmakers are struggling to find that legislative sweet spot where abusers of public records can be deterred without undermining open government. Some states are considering prioritizing the requests based on the volume of records sought and number of requests the requestor made in the preceding 12 months and recouping the cost of copying and providing the documents.
Adapted from the original article published in HeraldNet.
May 1, 2016
Water Crisis Spurs Calls to Change the Public Records Law
The emergency in Flint, MI has reinvigorated efforts to subject the governor to the state's Freedom of Information Act. Michigan is among a minority of states where individual lawmakers are exempt.
April 8, 2016
GovQA is named as a GovTech100 Company
GovTech 100 is an annual index by Government Technology magazine of companies that are making a difference in the state and local government market. View the complete listing.
March 8, 2016
GovQA Supports New FOIA Bill With Tech Enhancements
GovQA, the nation's leading FOIA Platform, today announced a set of new technologies to support new House Bill H.R. 653 and its proposed changes to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) passed by the House of Representatives last week. Read more.
February 12, 2016
WV Public Entities Can Now Use FOIA Database
West Virginia Secretary of State announced Monday that the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) database is now available for use by public entities. As of January 1, all governmental entities subject to the Freedom of Information Act will be required to submit FOIA requests using the new database. GovQA FOIA system provides a built-in report with required fields as mandated by HB 2636.
January 13, 2016
Body Cam Footage: Just Another Public Record
Footage collected by police body cameras deserves to be treated the same as any other public record, according to a new white paper published by Yale University’s Law School. The report analyzes how states and localities provide access to body camera footage, and recommends a series of steps for governments to take to ensure that the videos remain easily obtainable, but don’t violate citizens’ privacy rights. Read more.
January 5, 2016
What's Your Process for Fulfilling FOIA Requests?
In addition to complying with FOIA Laws, government agencies need to establish best practices for processing the FOIA requests including - identifying and streamlining core, support, optional processes; eliminating unnecessary tasks; measuring and benchmarking existing processes; and sharing information. Having worked with many agencies nationwide, GovQA has identified best practices and can help other agencies emulate these processes without having to 'reinvent the wheel'.
December 23, 2015
You, Too, Could Be Sued
This is the topic discussed today by the County and District Clerks of Texas during the OAG 2015 Open Government Conference at San Marcos, Texas. The government has opened up the FOIA process and made it more accessible, but has yet to fix the bottlenecks in the system -- in many cases agencies are simply understaffed. A class action lawsuit can be brought against the agency for its "pattern and practice of failing to respond to FOIA requests within the statutory timeline."
December 9, 2015
Copyright © 2016 GovQA. All Rights Reserved.