Laws on open government often fall short
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Though laws in every state say government records and meetings must be open to all, reality often falls far short: Laws are sporadically enforced, penalties for failure to comply are mild and violators almost always walk away with nothing more than a reprimand, an Associated Press survey of all 50 states has found.
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Health advocates predict that this may be the year tobacco regulation is made law, but many reject some of the billâs provisions.
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Federal agencies have dragged their feet on implementing 10-year-old law that requires them to use the Internet to make government documents easily available, a new study says.
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Well, not every agency can be popular with the public.
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Laws on use of sampled material are murky, and stand to get murkier before they get clearer, experts say.
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Legislative races are normally sleepy affairs involving politicians who are virtually unknown outside their district. Campaign spending is scarce, the political implications minimal.
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Congressional Democrats are looking at ways to strengthen open government laws and force the Bush administration to release more documents under the Freedom of Information Act.
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Although Congress has tackled a number of tech-related bills this year, a number of measures have yet to be acted on.
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Top military lawyers said that some provisions would not withstand legal scrutiny or do enough to repair the nationÂs tarnished reputation.
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The government struggles to adapt its old methods of social control to the challenge of maintaining authority over a society seeking greater freedoms.
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Voters are often told that the countryâs economic health depends on pulling the right lever. But a new administration often brings only moderate economic policy changes.
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By The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.  Feb. 12--Maybe we ought to be thankful. Usually when legislators want to carelessly overrule one of the state's scientific commissions, they simply introduce a bill to get their way.
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Despite a slight uptick in 2008, federal funding for privately owned land purchases has taken a hit in recent years.
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A 2002 congressional law adds protection for corporate tattletales, but few of them gain such status from US courts. By Adam Geller / Associated Press.
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Supporters of the measure fell short of the two-thirds majority they would need to override a veto of the bill repeatedly threatened by President Bush.
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WASHINGTON _ Slowly but surely, the government is getting Googled.  Two years ago, the Google staff in Washington was one person _ Alan Davidson, an expert in technology law.
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Hours before the new year, open-government groups won a key victory in their years-long fight to force government agencies to release documents without months, and sometimes years, of delay. The moment came when President Bush reluctantly signed a law enforcing better compliance with the Freedom of...