Jane Kirtley on Open Government Laws

With the NFOIC conference in town last week, Jane Kirtley penned an editorial on Freedom of Information and the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act.

Here's a flavor of the article (you can find the entire article online):

The Minnesota Government Data Practices Act — Minnesota's version of the
Freedom of Information Act — is a lot like MSP airport. Thirty-odd years ago, in
those heady days after the Watergate scandal, when it seemed like everyone was
clamoring for greater oversight of government, Minnesota took its first stab at
drafting a simple statute that would guarantee public access to government data.
That law was about four pages long and easy for almost anyone to understand.
Government data was presumed to belong to the public.

But a lot has changed since then.