Congress considering extension of judiciary redaction abilities

The House Judiciary Committee approved H.R. 1059 Wednesday, which if approved by Congress and signed into law would indefinitely extend the ability of the Judicial Conference to redact information from reports on judicial financial disclosures.

Information that can be redacted includes any sensitive or personal data that would impact the people who filed the reports or their families. If Congress doesn’t extend the redaction privilege, it would expire on December 31.

The Administrative Office of the Courts submits a yearly report on how the Judicial Conference uses its redaction abilities, which helps the Senate and House Judiciary Committees evaluate if they have been improperly applied.

The Sunlight Foundation said in a blog post that these reports should be released online so the public is able to keep an eye on these redaction practices.

Gov to release more information on information technology investments

The Office of Management and Budget released new requirements this week that federal agencies will be expected to publish more detailed data online regarding their information technology investments.

This is supposed to give citizens a better idea of how government departments spend taxpayer dollars on IT services.

The new requirement is part of the IT reform plan that was released in December 2010 by federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra, according to an InformationWeek article.

– Morgan Watkins

Morgan Watkins is SPJ’s summer Pulliam/Kilgore Freedom of Information intern and a University of Florida student. Reach her by email (mwatkins@spj.org) or connect with her on Twitter (@morganwatkins26).

Federal legislators released their personal financial disclosure forms Wednesday, a transparency ritual they must complete once a year.

Financial information on congressional representatives can spark stories on potential conflicts of interest a Senate or House member may have between his or her congressional duties and financial livelihood.

For example, an investigation by watchdog organization Open Secrets using the disclosure information showed many members of Congress have investments in news and media companies. (The article quotes SPJ Ethics Committee Chairman Kevin Smith.)

Not all members of Congress released their financial information, though. Seventy-six House lawmakers requested extra time to file their disclosure forms, which they will probably release later this summer.

The financial information lawmakers must release includes real estate investments, stock holdings, ownership interests in private companies and other data.

Twenty Senate members also requested extensions, according to Open Secrets.

– Morgan Watkins

Morgan Watkins is SPJ’s summer Pulliam/Kilgore Freedom of Information intern and a University of Florida student. Reach her by email (mwatkins@spj.org) or connect with her on Twitter (@morganwatkins26).