Records used in other states to uncover cheating on tests not open in Texas
While other states are finding evidence of school test score manipulation, the Texas Education Agency has managed to quash open records requests that would allow the public to investigate such a thing in this state.
Read More →Wisconsin fraud hotline, website garner 1,000-plus tips
More than 1,000 tips on suspected fraud in the state’s largest public assistance programs were reported through a fraud hotline and website since December, when the new reporting effort began, state Inspector General Alan White said Wednesday.
“It gives us more visibility. It brings the culture of preventing fraud waste and abuse to a higher level,” he said.
Montana gets D+ for corruption risk, ranked 27th in nation
HELENA — University of Montana journalism professor Dennis Swibold writes in a nationwide study that even though Montana enjoys a reputation for open government, due in part to such laws and the scrutiny bred by intense political rivalries, “the reality in Big Sky country doesn’t always match the image. ” And says that’s in part because “finding money to boost transparency is a tough sell in light of more basic needs like schools and services for the poor.”
Read More →Texas gets D+ in study of risk of corruption
AUSTIN — Texas does a pretty lousy job creating through its laws and implementation a system of government resistant to corruption.
Read More →Open Records bill for Okla. lawmakers not heard in House
OKLAHOMA CITY — The House adjourned Thursday – the last day for bills to pass out of their house of origin – with nine bills left unheard. One of those was HB 1085 by Rep. Jason Murphey (R-Guthrie) which would have ended the exemption the legislature has from the Open Records Act and Open Meeting Act.
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