Advocacy for government transparency
MNCOGI helps advocate for government transparency in several different ways. Our volunteer board members occasionally testify before the Minnesota legislature on information policy; we file comments regarding applications for temporary data classifications on an administrative level; and we write public commentaries on information policy and transparency issues.
Below, find background and documents related to these activities:
• 2015 legislative special hearings
• 2015 legislative commission hearings
• 2014 legislative commission hearings
• 2014 “Cameras in the Courtroom” pilot program
• 2014 municipal policy issues
• 2013 temporary classifications
MNCOGI legislative principles
The MNCOGI board endorses the following principles to guide the creation of legislation related to government information:
• Properly created/received/collected/maintained government data is and should remain presumptively public and easily accessible to all.
• MNCOGI will not support any change in the classification of any existing public government data unless the change:
– Serves a compelling public interest .
– Is narrowly tailored to serve that public interest while retaining as much public access as possible consistent with that interest.
– Will be effective in actually serving the asserted public interest.
• MNCOGI will seek to encourage the enforcement of existing open government laws, and to encourage the modification of enforcement mechanisms so as to provide increased compliance with open government laws.