Let the Sunshine In, or Else: An Examination of the “Teeth” of State and Federal Open Meetings and Open Records Laws

Policy Evaluation via Composite Indexes: Qualitative Lessons from International Transparency Policy Indexes

“…If a country's FOI regime depends on the courts, as it does in the US, the country simply forfeits 20 of the index's 150 points (nearly 13.5%) (indicators 37-43 and 52). 6 This is a contentious measurement strategy; FOI experts note that the courts can in some instances be more efficient than information commissioners, especially when courts have special mandates for FOI appeals, such as in Costa Rica or Uruguay, or when court decisions favor the plaintiff and force the state to pay litigation costs, as in the US (see for example, Córdoba Ortega, 2009;Stewart, 2010). Information commissioners can also be riddled with politicization.…”

Ballots, Transparency, and Democracy

“…At the state and local levels, governments adopted similar laws in a parallel effort to bring sunlight into the policy making process (Chance and Locke 2007;La Raja 2007;Pupillo 1993;Stewart 2010).…”

The Information-Gathering Matrix: A Framework for Conceptualizing the Use of Freedom of Information Laws

“…Politicization often has to do with irrational reactions. One author writes that responding to requests creates an “institutional anxiety bordering on fear” among government officials, which can result in irrational resistance to even the most mundane requests (Stewart, 2010, p. 39). Bureaucratic resistance, “game-playing,” and intimidation tactics attest to this assertion (Hazell & Worthy, 2010; Roberts, 2007; RTI Assessment & Analysis Group & National Campaign for People’s Right to Information [RaaG & NCPRI, 2009]).…”