Policy

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:

2016 legislative session

2015 legislative special hearings

2015 legislative commission hearings

2015 legislative session

2014 legislative commission hearings

2014 “Cameras in the Courtroom” pilot program

2014 municipal policy issues

2014 commentary

2014 legislative session

2013 legislative session

2013 temporary classifications

2013 commentary

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.