** Newsletter: Happy Sunshine Week!
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This week was Sunshine Week, a week that celebrates and promotes access to information and open government nationwide.

It also provides an opportunity to evaluate threats to sunshine laws across the country at a time when the fight for accountability is facing increasingly aggressive obstacles. Government officials from Florida to Washington state are rewriting rules and weakening laws to limit your access to information about how the government is operating and how officials are spending time and taxpayer money.
* In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis has used claims of “executive privilege” to hide documents from the public, and helped pass a law shielding his travel records ([link removed]) . His office’s pattern of unlawful and unjustified delay in responding to requests is why we recently sued ([link removed]) .
* In Kentucky, House lawmakers recently passed a bill ([link removed]) that has concerned open-records advocates.
* Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill ([link removed]) last month shielding the calendars ([link removed]) of state officials from view, meaning the people of Utah will no longer be able to see records that can tell them who is helping sway legislation affecting their lives.
* Last year, Arizona’s legislature implemented rule changes ([link removed]) that instruct lawmakers to delete communications, thus allowing them to avoid releasing documents under the state’s public records law.
* North Carolina’s General Assembly tucked a sweeping change ([link removed]) into last year’s state budget, making them exempt from the public records law governing the rest of the state government.
* Similar attempts to shield records from the public have been proposed in New Jersey ([link removed]) , Colorado ([link removed]) , Ohio ([link removed]) and Washington ([link removed]) in recent years.


This isn’t an exhaustive list of threats to information access or of ways public officials grind the gears of disclosure nearly to a halt. And we aren’t the only watchdog or media outlet tracking these trends — here are some highlights from this week:
* Nationwide review finds patchwork, ‘broken’ systems for resolving open records disputes (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* How much access to government records does the public deserve? (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* FOIA Advisory Committee Recommendations Recap (The FOIA Ombudsman ([link removed]) )
* FOIA expansion to the governor and Legislature makes it out of Michigan Senate committee (News From The States ([link removed]) )
* The Foilies 2024: Recognizing the worst in government transparency (Muckrock ([link removed]) )
* Open government advocate still has concerns over revised open records bill passed by Kentucky House (Associated Press ([link removed]) )

* 'New day in Lansing' as lawmakers advance FOIA bills, introduce transparency measures (Detroit Free Press ([link removed]) )
* Lawmakers approve controversial bill to limit public access to government records (New Jersey Monitor ([link removed]) )


To celebrate Sunshine Week, we published several guides, explainers, and resources across our social media platforms, including:
* An introduction ([link removed]) to the Freedom of Information Act, and why it’s such a powerful tool.
* Guides to ([link removed]) FOIA’s past, present, and future ([link removed]) .
* A look at Muckrock’s annual Foilies awards ([link removed]) , which recognize the worst in government transparency. This year’s Foilies include a response ([link removed]) from the Indiana attorney general to one of our requests.
* A video ([link removed]) outlining seven FOIA reforms that would improve transparency and accountability.
* A summary of efforts ([link removed]) across the country to weaken sunshine laws.
* Don’t forget to follow us on X (formerly Twitter) ([link removed]) , Facebook ([link removed]) , Instagram ([link removed]) , Threads ([link removed]) , and Bluesky ([link removed]) .


Join Us for a Virtual Event!
On March 26 at 2 p.m. ET, we’ll be joined by voting-rights and election-administration experts from All Voting is Local, the Brennan Center, and the Campaign Legal Center for a discussion of how the election denial movement and far-right misinformation pushed nine states to reject the nonpartisan Electronic Registration Information Center.

Register now ([link removed]) for “Democracy Under Threat: The Campaign to Dismantle the ERIC Voter List System ([link removed]) ” to hear from our panelists on the anti-voter networks pushing the withdrawals from ERIC, the grave impacts of the exodus, and what it means for the 2024 election. We will share highlights from our in-depth investigation and report ([link removed]) , and attendees will be able to ask questions. Panelists include:
* Alex Gulotta, State Director at All Voting is Local, Arizona
* Andrew Graber, Democracy Counsel at the Brennan Center
* Brad Ashwell, State Director at All Voting is Local, Florida
* Chioma Chukwu, Deputy Director at American Oversight
* Jonathan Diaz, Director of Voting Advocacy and Partnerships at the Campaign Legal Center


On the Records

Columbia County’s Potential Election Law Violation
Last week, American Oversight and the Campaign Legal Center urged Georgia officials ([link removed]) to investigate a potential violation ([link removed]) of state law in Columbia County’s agreement with a controversial voter-roll software company, EagleAI.
* In December 2023, Columbia County announced its intent to contract with EagleAI — a company that has been pushed by prominent election deniers like Cleta Mitchell — to review voter challenges and conduct list maintenance activities.
* While Georgia is a member of ERIC, which helps states keep voter lists up to date, last year’s withdrawals ([link removed]) from ERIC opened the door for election deniers to begin pushing flawed alternatives like EagleAI that could be used by fraud activists to challenge others’ voter registrations.
* We obtained a one-year agreement ([link removed]) between Columbia County and EagleAI in which the county agreed to pay a $2,000 licensing fee for the software. We also obtained an email from the Columbia County elections director to EagleAI’s founder Rick Richards just two months prior to the announced contract, asking about an alleged “hack” of EagleAI’s software.


Records ([link removed]) obtained by Documented indicate that the $2,000 fee is merely “nominal,” having been added with the intent of evading a recently changed election law. Accepting election-related services at below-market rates — even if the county paid a nominal fee — would likely violate a state law ([link removed]) passed last year that bans using non-public funds, including gifts and grants, for election-related costs and expenses.
* In a March 2023 presentation ([link removed]) to a working group from Mitchell’s Election Integrity Network, Richards described his intention to offer EagleAI’s services to the county without charge. Mitchell stated that providing EagleAI’s services for free would violate the law, which at the time was moving through the legislature, and advised Richards to charge the county a small fee to “get past” the bill’s requirements. In response, Richards stated that EagleAI “can charge a nominal fee.”
* In an email ([link removed]) a couple of months later to the general counsel for the Georgia secretary of state, Richards wrote that he had planned on charging Columbia County only $1 per year, unless a fee in that amount would violate the law, in which case EagleAI could “certainly charge more.”


The RNC’s New ‘Election Integrity’ Attorney
Christina Bobb ([link removed]) , a former Trump attorney and conservative TV presenter, is now the Republican National Committee’s senior counsel for “election integrity ([link removed]) .” Bobb was a major figure in the fake-electors scheme and efforts to overturn Trump’s 2020 loss, and records we obtained ([link removed]) provided key details about her support for the Arizona Senate’s partisan “audit” of the 2020 election.
* In December 2020, Bobb — who had the time was working closely with Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani to assemble proof of supposed voter fraud — provided Arizona Senate President Karen Fann with purported “evidence,” writing that Giuliani had “asked me to send [Fann] these declarations.”
* In August 2021, as the “audit” was in full swing, Bobb asked Fann if she could share her contact information with attorney Michael Gableman, who had been hired to run the Wisconsin Assembly’s partisan election inquiry. Fann replied, “Absolutely of course.”
* On Oct. 1, 2021 — the same day Gableman issued subpoenas for election materials in Wisconsin — Doug Logan, the CEO of lead “audit” contractor Cyber Ninjas, sent Bobb copies of Arizona “audit” subpoenas.
* We obtained these documents through our investigation into the Arizona “audit.” Learn more about what we uncovered here ([link removed]) .


Other Stories We're Following

Election Denial and Threats to Democracy
* Election officials’ homes ‘swatted’ as presidential race heats up (CNN ([link removed]) )
* Barry County sheriff vows to fight subpoena for election probe records (Detroit News ([link removed]) )
* Combating threats to election workers ahead of the 2024 election (Democracy Docket ([link removed]) )
* Conservatives are warning about noncitizens voting. It's a myth with a long history (NPR ([link removed]) )
* The GOP’s new ‘election integrity’ push is off to a conspiratorial start (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Trump campaign insider recounts failed hunt for 2020 fraud in new book (Washington Post ([link removed]) )


Voting Rights
* The Republican National Committee sues Michigan over the state's voter rolls (NBC News ([link removed]) )
* Wisconsin Supreme Court agrees to take case that could again allow use of absentee drop boxes (Wisconsin Examiner ([link removed]) )
* Louisiana legislation targets mail-in absentee voting as it gains in popularity (Louisiana Illuminator ([link removed]) )
* Senate sends Mississippi early voting measure to House (News from the States ([link removed]) )
* Indiana governor signs controversial bill to make it easier to purge voter rolls (Democracy Docket ([link removed]) )


In the States
* Uvalde police chief resigns after controversial report cleared officers who responded to school shooting (Texas Tribune ([link removed]) )
* El Paso judge blocks Ken Paxton’s efforts to subpoena Annunciation House (Texas Tribune ([link removed]) )
* The Safer Kentucky Act source list is ‘cut and paste’ from a Georgia policy paper (Kentucky Public Radio ([link removed]) )
* Robin Vos recall organizers fail to submit enough valid signatures, initial review finds (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ([link removed]) )
* South Dakota legislator calls for inquiry into Gov. Noem’s Texas dental trip and promo video (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* A small city in Oklahoma elected a white nationalist. Will it be able to vote him out? (NBC News ([link removed]) )
* Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman moves to restart executions (News from the States ([link removed]) )
* Lawmakers question Landry administration’s domestic violence shelter funding cut (News from the States ([link removed]) )


LGBTQ Rights
* In states with laws targeting LGBTQ issues, school hate crimes quadrupled (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* 'Don't Say Gay' settlement allows Florida students and teachers discuss sexual orientation, gender ID (Tallahassee Democrat ([link removed]) )
* Arkansas stops offering ‘X’ as an alternative to male and female on driver’s licenses and IDs (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Gov. Pillen approves Nebraska gender care regulations (Nebraska Examiner ([link removed]) )
* Georgia senator seeks to add puberty blockers to banned trans treatments (Atlanta Journal-Constitution ([link removed]) )
* California school district changes gender-identity policy after being sued by state (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Utah prison discriminated against transgender woman, Department of Justice finds (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* ‘Hungry for control’: Kansas House advances ban on gender-affirming care for trans minors (Kansas Reflector ([link removed]) )
* Transgender Kansans appeal court order blocking changes to driver’s license gender markers (Kansas Reflector ([link removed]) )
* Minnesota weighs cash aid for families moving for gender-affirming care (Axios ([link removed]) )


Abortion and Reproductive Rights
* Asked to clear up abortion bans, GOP leaders blame doctors and misinformation for the confusion (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Texas Medical Board to consider issuing guidance on abortion laws’ medical exceptions (Texas Tribune ([link removed]) )
* Wisconsin AG hints at broader abortion lawsuit if state Supreme Court agrees to hear case (Wisconsin Public Radio ([link removed]) )
* Murrill among AGs who oppose Maine ‘shield law’ for reproductive, gender-affirming care (News from the States ([link removed]) )
* Missourians back initiative to restore abortion rights by small margin, new poll finds (Missouri Independent ([link removed]) )
* Kansas House committee considers abortion coercion bill, funding for anti-abortion services (Kansas Reflector ([link removed]) )
* Alabama House Democrats introduce bill to protect contraceptive access (Alabama Reflector ([link removed]) )
* For teens in Texas, getting birth control without parental consent just got even tougher (19th News ([link removed]) )
* Republicans want to stay away from the IVF issue. Abortion foes won’t let them. (Washington Post ([link removed]) )


Threats to Education
* NAACP calls on Black student-athletes to boycott Florida public colleges over anti-DEI policy (NBC News ([link removed]) )
* How Florida State University quietly dismantled its diversity, equity and inclusion office (Tallahassee Democrat ([link removed]) )
* PragerU is a conservative video giant. Here's why it's trying to get into schools (NPR ([link removed]) )


Immigration
* Biden temporarily blocked from diverting border barrier funds (Texas Tribune ([link removed]) )
* While bused migrants overwhelm other cities, D.C. scales back services (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* ‘Anti-immigrant’: Latino advocates slam bill passed by Georgia House after UGA killing (Atlanta Journal-Constitution ([link removed]) )


Trump Accountability
* The CDC could shrink under a second Trump administration (Politico ([link removed]) )
* Trump takes control of the RNC with mass layoffs, restructuring (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Judge dismisses some charges against Trump in the Georgia 2020 election interference case (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Race is an ever present source of tension in Trump Georgia case (Washington Post ([link removed]) )


Jan. 6 Investigations
* Trump says he'll free Jan. 6 defendants as one of ‘first acts’ if he's elected again (CBS News ([link removed]) )
* House GOP launches new probe of Jan. 6 and tries shifting blame for Capitol attack away from Trump (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Testimony fleshes out account of Trump’s demand to go to Capitol on Jan. 6 (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* DHS officials’ texts show unfiltered reaction to January 6 (Citizens for Ethics ([link removed]) )

Donate to American Oversight ([link removed])
Thank you again for following our latest news. We are grateful for your support and for helping us hold government accountable.

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