The D.C. Council Dec. 20 took its final vote on sweeping ethics reform legislation that includes establishment of an Open Government Office to oversee and enforce the Open Meetings and Freedom of Information acts. Council Member Muriel Bowser (Ward 4), chair of the Committee on Government Operations and the Environment, introduced the bill in late November.

It is unclear when the Open Government Office will begin operation because the bill must be signed by the mayor and sent to Congress for review. The earliest the new law could take effect is late March, but then several events must occur, including appropriation of funding for the new board and appointment of board members. Read more »

  Council Member Mary Cheh (Ward 3) introduced the Open Government Act of 2011 on March 15.

  The bill would strengthen the recently created Open Government Office by giving it broad powers to enforce the Freedom of Information Act. In addition, it would amend the FOIA, improve transparency of the agency rulemaking process, and establish a single, publicly available database tracking government spending. The bill would also require city agencies to make public access to data an essential element of all electronic information management systems.

  The bill is almost identical to Bill 18-777, which Cheh introduced last April. The Council's Committee on Government Operations and the Environment, which Cheh chairs, reported Bill 18-777 in early December 2010. But Cheh decided at the last minute not to bring the bill to the floor for a vote out of concern about the cost of implementaton. At the time the Council was attempting to cut the budget and re-allocate funds, and it was unlikely that funds would be available immediately to implement the statute. Read more »

The D.C. Council December 21 passed the Open Meetings Amendment Act of 2010 (Bill 18-716), improving the city's antiquated open meetings statute, but allowing the Council to adopt rules exempting itself from most of the statute's openness provisions.

The bill will create an Open Government Office, an independent agency nominally empowered to oversee and enforce the open meetings statute and the city's Freedom of Information Act. But the Office lacks the tools needed to operate effectively. A budget bill enacted by the Council provides $236,000 to fund the Office for the remainder of the 2011 fiscal year.

Although the bill makes the Council a "public body" covered by the open meetings statute, Council committees are not covered. A provision added at second reading requires the Council's rules to implement provisions applicable to other public bodies. In other words, the rules would have to incorporate the statute's 15 exemptions, limiting the reasons council members could hold secret sessions. Read more »

  The D.C. Council December 7 passed the Open Meetings Amendment Act of 2010 (Bill 18-716) on first reading, improving the city's antiquated open meetings statute, but allowing the Council to adopt rules exempting itself from most of the statute's openness provisions.

  The bill will create an Open Government Office, an independent agency nominally empowered to oversee and enforce the open meetings statute, but without the tools needed to operate effectively. It has no authority to oversee and enforce the city's Freedom of Information Act. A budget bill enacted by the Council provides $236,000 to fund the Office for the remainder of the 2011 fiscal year. Read more »

   The D.C. City Council will consider two bills Tuesday to create an Open Government Office, amend the city’s Freedom of Information Act, and overhaul the antiquated open meetings statute. Late Thursday the Government Operations & Environment Committee voted unanimously to send the Open Government Act of 2010 and the Open Meetings Amendment Act of 2010 to the floor.

   If it passes, Open Government Act will, within one year, create an independent agency to oversee and enforce the FOI Act and the open meetings statute. It includes amendments to the FOI Act to facilitate oversight. Read more »