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.
The Council passed Bill 18-716, the Open Meetings Amendment Act of 2010, which created the Open Government Office and gave it authority to oversee public access to meetings of elected and appointed boards and commissions. Costs associated with the open meetings act amendments were more modest and the Council appropriated $236,000 to fund the office until the end of this fiscal year.
The new version of Cheh's bill does not include provisions regulating lobbying. That will be part of a separate bill according to Cheh's office.
Follow the link below to read Cheh's bill.