1/5 🇨🇦 ONTARIO TO SHIELD PREMIER FROM FOI REQUESTS 🇨🇦

The Ontario government is introducing legislation to exempt Premier Doug Ford and his cabinet from public records requests, keeping decision-making secret.

Source: The Globe And Mail
#DemocracySky #CdnPoli #OnPoli #OpenGov #DougFord #NoKings

Screenshot of geocoded City of Doncaster Council address data visualised in Leaflet with background mapping from OpenStreetMap

Latest #openaddresses from local government:

City of Doncaster Council (in the Yorkshire and The Humber region of England) has released its Council Tax address list as open data www.owenboswarva.com/blog/post-ad...

Thx @mydoncaster.bsky.social!

#UKhousing #geospatial #localgov #opengov #opendata

UK Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) spend data, transactions over £25,000, April 2010 - January 2026 drive.google.com/uc?export=do... (1.4 MB XLSX)

#publicspending #opengov #opendata

📢 Mark your calendars! #OpenGovWeek is happening 18–22 May 🎉

A global movement of reformers coming together to push open government forward.

This year, we’re celebrating 15 years of OGP, building open, resilient, & prosperous societies.

Save the date!

#OGP15 #OpenGov

🇳🇬 Nigeria won an Open Gov Challenge Award in 2025 for ensuring that their digital transformation is inclusive and benefits everyone.

#OpenGovChallenge #OpenGov #DigitalInclusion #DigitalGovernance #Transparency

Bel Air board moves to closed session to consult counsel on Hartford Mall Veil development project The board voted to close the public meeting under the Maryland Open Meetings Act to consult with counsel on legal strategy related to the Hartford Mall Veil development project, citing the need to protect attorney-client privilege.

The Bel Air Board's recent decision to close a public meeting for legal counsel on the Hartford Mall Veil project raises questions about transparency and future developments in the community.

Get the details!

#BelAirHarfordCounty #MD #CommunityInvolvement #CitizenPortal #OpenGov #LegalPrivilege

Nebraska lawmakers advance bill to let digital news outlets carry legal notices; Hall of Fame amendment withdrawn The Legislature advanced LB596, which would modernize legal-notice publication to allow notices on qualifying digital news sites and fold related records and open-meetings updates into a committee package. A floor amendment to name a living Nebraskan to the Hall of Fame was withdrawn after senators raised constitutional concerns about special legislation.

Nebraska lawmakers are pushing to modernize legal-notice publication, but a controversial amendment to honor a living legend has been withdrawn amid constitutional concerns!

Read the full story

#NE #CivicAccountability #CitizenPortal #DigitalMediaReform #OpenGov

Committee member presses GSA official over alleged secretive ICE warehouse purchases A committee member told the House Committee that GSA has played a "largely hidden" role in ICE and DHS acquisitions of commercial warehouses, citing claims of hundreds of procurements, a reported capacity of up to 80,000 detainees, and thousands of community comments demanding transparency.

A House Committee member has accused the GSA of secretly facilitating a massive expansion of ICE detention facilities, raising alarming questions about transparency and community impact.

Get the details!

#US #CivicAccountability #ArizonaCommunity #ImmigrationReform #OpenGov #PublicTransparency

Screenshot of geocoded Wandsworth Council address data visualised in Leaflet with background mapping from OpenStreetMap

Latest #openaddresses:

Wandsworth Council has released its Council Tax address list as open data www.owenboswarva.com/blog/post-ad...

Wandsworth is the 15th London borough to unlock its CT list. I've geocoded the property locations for maps etc.

#UKhousing #geospatial #localgov #opengov #opendata

After staff raised safety concerns, the committee recommended redacting the names of all MPs' staff and replacing them with their job titles, as well as removing from the register anyone who has no financial interests to declare. As a result, people will no longer be able to see how many individuals are employed by each MP, or their names, and any staff member carrying out work for corporate interests will no longer be identifiable. It will also no longer be possible to see which individual staff members are repeatedly accepting hospitality, for example by going on foreign trips or taking up free tickets.

Transparency fears over plan to redact 2,000 staff names on Commons register www.theguardian.com/politics/202... (UK)

Committee report from January publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cm...

Register of Interests of Members' Staff www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-an...

#opengov -ish #opendata -ish

Screenshot showing the datasets available from MHCLG's new open data site: EPC data for buildings in England and Wales and Indices of Multiple Deprivation data for England

Shaping the future of open data with Open Data Communities mhclgdigital.blog.gov.uk/2026/03/04/s... post by Steve Peters, putting the best face on MHCLG's decision last year to shut down ODC as a linked data platform

New URL open-data.communities.gov.uk

#govtech #opengov #opendata #datapolicy

Screenshot of geocoded London Borough of Richmond upon Thames address data visualised in Leaflet with background mapping from OpenStreetMap

First #openaddresses of the month:

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames has released its Council Tax address list as open data www.owenboswarva.com/blog/post-ad...

I've geocoded the property locations for maps etc.

#UKhousing #geospatial #localgov #opengov #opendata

🇬🇧 The United Kingdom won an Open Gov Challenge Award in 2025 for making government spending more transparent.

#OpenGovChallenge #OpenGov #procurement #transparency

#opengov

at CityLAB Berlin
Platz d. Luftbrücke 4 · Berlin, BE

Screenshot of geocoded East Suffolk Council address data visualised in Leaflet with background mapping from OpenStreetMap

Another great release of #openaddresses to end the week:

East Suffolk Council in the East of England has released its Council Tax address list as open data www.owenboswarva.com/blog/post-ad...

I have geocoded the property locations as usual

#UKhousing #geospatial #localgov #opengov #opendata

UK Government spend data:

● Cabinet Office, Apr 10 - Jan 26 drive.google.com/uc?export=do... (3.5 MB XLSX)
● DfE, Apr 10 - Dec 25 drive.google.com/uc?export=do... (52.8 MB zipped CSV)
● DESNZ, Aug 23 - Sep 25 drive.google.com/uc?export=do... (0.9 MB XLSX)

#publicspending #opengov #opendata

Senators accuse Corps of politicizing project pauses; Whitehouse says OMB froze $11B in projects Ranking Member Whitehouse and other senators accused the Corps and OMB of pausing roughly $11 billion in Corps funding for projects in certain states and of blocking information; Corps officials said reviews are under administrative/O M B review and pledged to provide requested reports and data.

Senators are calling out the Corps for freezing $11 billion in funding, claiming it's a politically motivated move that hits Democratic states hardest.

Get the details!

#US #CivicAccountability #OpenGov #InfrastructureReform #GovernmentTransparency #WillametteValley

Senate committee advances bill to make correctional facility water test results public, citing PFAS concerns S 63-90 would require the commissioner of corrections and community supervision to make facility water testing results accessible to incarcerated people, staff and the public; a sponsor called it "a public health bill" amid PFAS concerns.

A new bill aims to ensure that incarcerated individuals and the public have access to crucial water testing results from correctional facilities, highlighting the urgent need for transparency in the fight against PFAS contamination.

Click to read more!

#NY #PublicHealth #OpenGov

Rhode Island Open Meetings (Update) YouTube video by New England First Amendment Coalition

Check out our latest #RhodeIsland #opengov lesson with @johnmarion.bsky.social at @commoncauseri.bsky.social. Learn about recent changes to the state's open meetings law and what may be on the horizon: youtu.be/xLl0KLNOv8A

I’m at the Wilson Building in DC today to bear witness & to be a public witness at a @councilofdc.bsky.social public hearing on public safety. Testimony: lims.dccouncil.gov/hearings/hea...
@cmbrookepinto.bsky.social & Cm. Crawford opened. Livestream:
www.youtube.com/live/JdCJhvb...
#OpenGov

Connecticut Open Meetings (Update) YouTube video by New England First Amendment Coalition

Miss our #Connecticut open meeting law update? Catch up now with attorney Alexa Millinger at Hinckley Allen: youtu.be/cnzCp543gl8?... #journalism #opengov #FOIA

UK Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) spend data April 2010 - January 2026 drive.google.com/uc?export=do... (49.9 MB zipped XLSX)

Transactions over £250, until September 2024 when UK Labour increased the publication threshold to £25,000

#publicspending #opengov #opendata

Note the contrasts between how the Government of Canada is approaching public engagement & collaboration with the public around a public register for AI, & how the United States government is doing so. Or not, as the (AI use) case may be.
forms-formulaires.alpha.canada.ca/en/id/cmkbdz... #OpenGov

Screenshot of geocoded Merton Council address data visualised in Leaflet with background mapping from OpenStreetMap

More #openaddresses from local government:

Merton Council in London has released its Council Tax address list as open data www.owenboswarva.com/blog/post-ad...

#UKhousing #geospatial #localgov #opengov #opendata

Maine Open Meetings (Update) YouTube video by New England First Amendment Coalition

Miss our #Maine open meeting law update? Catch up now with Judith Meyer at The Maine Monitor and attorney Sigmund Schutz at Preti Flaherty: youtu.be/ceiOiFS7OHs #opengov #journalism

Release date: 28 May 2026 9:30am (confirmed) The release date has been changed Previous date: 9 December 2025 9:30am Reason for change: Publication postponed because we do not have adequate time for through quality checking. This is because we are using complex admin data sources for which we have to rely on DWP and HMRC answering our questions. We do not want to publish poor quality estimates that risk causing reputational damage to the ONS, even for statistics in development. These statistics will be released on 28 May 2026 9:30am

ONS throwing some shade here … www.gov.uk/government/s... #opengov #opendata #datasharing

Call for Papers: AI & Open Government Workshop at ICAIL 2026 - ICAI OpenGov Lab - opengov.nl We're organizing the 1st AI & Open Government Workshop (AIOG), co-located with ICAIL 2026 in Singapore on June 8, 2026. The call for papers is now open!

We are co-organizing the 1st AI and Open Government (@aiog.net) Workshop af #ICAIL2026! See the CfP here: opengov.nl/blog/2026/02...

Submit your research or position papers by April 9!

#ai #opengov

IRS phases out paper tax refund checks, urges direct deposit The Internal Revenue Service announced it is phasing out paper tax refund checks and urged taxpayers to use direct deposit as the "safest and quickest" way to receive refunds, citing fraud prevention, cost savings and improved security; more information is at irs.gov/modernpayments.

The IRS is ditching paper tax refund checks for direct deposit, claiming it's the fastest and safest way to get your money back!

Learn more here

#US #FraudPrevention #ElectronicPayments #OperationalModernization #OpenGov #IRSTaxpayers

Simultaneously to the public and policy conversation about the importance of re-usable information and data to AI and other contemporary technologies, there is the question of whether the owners and authors of digital information and data are receiving a just and sustainable return in the age of algorithmic reproduction, and if not, how they might. The OGL is closely aligned to Creative Commons CC-BY licence, a centrepiece of the open knowledge and culture movement. However, in June 2025 Creative Commons launched CC Signals, a proposal for a different model 'as to how machines (and the humans controlling them) should contribute back to the commons when they reuse and benefit from using the content'. The proposal noted that AI's usage of data has fundamentally changed the web, and the 'social contract' that underpinned machine use of it. The public sector is, in many ways, no different. Digital information and data are unusual goods, in that they cost a lot to create, but carry the expectation that they will be made available for re-use for little (or nothing) given the marginal costs of their dissemination. But whereas private and commercial creators and rightsholders can withdraw their content from the web, or restrict its usage via technological and legal means, the public sector is obligated to make much of its information and data available to the public who paid for it via taxation in the first place, and benefits from information about public sector activities and policies being disseminated and re-used widely.

Help us improve Government Licensing guidance www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/blogs/digita...

UK Government preparing the ground to deprecate the Open Government Licence?

The link to CC Signals is disingenuous – that proposal advises *against* more restrictive licensing

#opendata #opengov #datapolicy