Louisiana transparency headlines

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This article is a list of transparency related news from Louisiana.

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How to ask for records
Transparency headlines
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Notable FOIA requests
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Private agency, public dollars
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Mandeville mayor charged city to attend French Quarter wedding
December 20, 2008: On June 19, 2004, Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price drove his white city-owned Ford Expedition across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway to attend a wedding at the swanky Royal Sonesta Hotel in the French Quarter.

At the hotel, Price met two colleagues, Finance Director Milton Stiebing and then-Public Works Director Joe Mistich. Each man parked his car in the hotel garage for the night at a cost of $32 per vehicle.

In addition to eating and drinking at the wedding, the trio racked up a $228 bill at the hotel bar and nearly $400 on three rooms at the Sonesta.

Price charged the $746 total to his city credit card, telling the finance department that the wedding was a "city function." The mayor has not reimbursed the city, although Stiebing has paid back his portion of the bill. Read the full article here.

Appeals court hears arguments in records case
December 11, 2008: An appeals court should “more narrowly specify’’ what information can be blacked out of internal affairs records from a probe into alleged Baton Rouge police misconduct after Hurricane Katrina, an attorney for The Advocate argued Wednesday.

A five-judge panel of the state 1st Circuit Court of Appeal ruled Oct. 10 that the records must be released to the public after some “protected’’ information is redacted. Read the full article here.

Top staffer leaves Nagin Administration

November 21, 2008 Patricia Robinson, a top staffer in Mayor Ray Nagin's administration, has left her post. One of four administrators who reported directly to Katrina recovery director Ed Blakely, less than a month ago Robinson took the brunt of tough questions from the city council over development grants.
Inspector General returns $1.2 million of budget

Inspector General returns $1.2 million of budget

November 21, 2008 Robert Cerasoli, Inspector General of New Orleans announced that he would be returning $1.2 million of his 2008 budget back to the city. The money will help to fill the $24 million budget gap in the city's 2009 budget.

Councilmember: $250K audit was unnecessary

November 17, 2008 New Orleans' City Council member Stacy Head says that the information the city spent $250,000 on an audit for should have been free. The audit was to determine the number of houses serviced by the city's two trash contractors. However, the trash contractors are supposed to invoice the city monthly with a count of "serviced locations."
Louisiana launches state spending website

Louisiana launches state spending website

November 13, 2008 LaTrac, a new website detailing state spending in Louisiana, has been officially launched. The site is part of Gov. Bobby Jindal's promise of a more accountable and transparent government. It currently contains all spending from the state's accounting system General Ledger, and promises more detailed information in the future.

Jindal Cabinet member broke ethics law before joining administration

November 13, 2008 Governor Bobby Jindal's secretary of economic development, Stephen Moret, has been found to have violated state ethics law before he joined Jindal's Cabinet. Determined to have failed to properly register as a lobbyist, Moret has agreed to pay $1,200.
NO Councilwoman says sanitation director lied about contract

NO Councilwoman says sanitation director lied about contract

November 12, 2008 Things became heated at a New Orleans City Council budget hearing, leading Sanitation Director Veronica White to storm out of the room. The eruption happened when Councilwoman Stacy Head accused White of withholding information on the garbage service contract, which White was there to justify.

Health-care groups file records requests
November 12, 2008: Kept in the dark about the Jindal administration’s health-care restructuring plan, physician and hospital groups have filed public records requests to get details.

The Louisiana chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Louisiana Hospital Association want copies of documents detailing the proposal the state health agency is discussing with federal officials. Read the full article here.

High court hears police records arguments
November 4, 2008: Attorneys for The Advocate late Monday asked the Louisiana Supreme Court to reject arguments that releasing files of a closed Baton Rouge police brutality probe would have a “negative effect” on internal investigations statewide, while resulting in expensive litigation for the city-parish.

Urging the high court to let stand a recent 1st Court of Appeal decision in the case, attorneys for The Advocate and reporter Kimberly Vetter, argued that the public has a right to know how the Baton Rouge Police Department polices itself. Read the full article here.

Ascension Parish commission changes public records rule
November 1, 2008: As it fights a lawsuit alleging its employees blocked public records requests, the Ascension Parish Tourism Commission on Friday altered its procedure to handle such requests.

In a special meeting, commissioners voted to name the chief administrative officer of the Ascension Parish government as the custodian of the commission’s public records. Read the full article here.

Leader's Suit of Shelling File will Benefit Public's Right of Access
October 31, 2008: A judge received an envelope and a folder that contained 298 pages of the professional life of Cassandra Shelling in court Tuesday. What he had to decide is whether any of the 298 pages of information is private or public.“

Cassandra Shelling's personnel record is the subject of a lawsuit between a reporter for the Newsstar and the Monroe City Schools.“ The outcome of the case is important because it will set the standard locally for all public bodies who must, by law, respond to public records requests within 72 hours, allowing the public to inspect files,documents, emails, journals, recordings, minutes, videos, reports and just about any other document generated or used by a public agency.“ Read the full article here.

La. 5th on watchdog group's open government list
October 27, 2008: A government watchdog group ranks Louisiana fifth in the nation when it comes to laws on government transparency and accountability, and the state's ranking stands to improve when new laws are figured into future rankings.

Released Monday by the Chicago-based Better Government Association, the rankings are based on state laws governing open records, open meetings, campaign finance, whistleblower protection and conflicts of interest. The rankings are based on 2007 and early 2008 laws. Read the full article here.

News Star lawsuit seeks documents, what's the board hiding?
October 24, 2008: The Monroe City School Board met this week to figure out what to do about a Freedom of Information request made by The News Star.

It spent 50 minutes discussing the matter, but it could save plenty of time and money if it simply obeyed the law and produced the documents the newspaper requested. Read the full article here.

Jindal - $1 billion budget gap in Louisiana

Jindal - $1 billion budget gap in Louisiana

October 20, 2008 Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal held a meeting with his cabinet secretaries to discuss the state Louisiana's economy. According to the analysis, next year is projected to see a $1.3 billion budget gap. Jindal said that cuts will be necessary, but it is too early to say where those will come.

Attorney General backs contract transparency

October 20, 2008 Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell issued an opinion backing the New Orleans City Council ordinance to open the city's contracting process. The ordinance would hold the mayor's professional services contract procurement process accountable under the Louisiana Open Meetings law.

News-Star sues School Board over documents
October 17, 2008: The News-Star filed suit Thursday in 4th Judicial District Court against the Monroe City School Board, alleging the board failed to comply with a request for public records.

The school board and its president, Vickie Dayton, were named in the suit for failing to produce documents relating to the employment of Cassandra Shelling, daughter of board vice president Brenda Shelling. Read the full article here.

High court considers making public records of Memorial Medical Center deaths during Katrina
October 13, 2008: Louisiana Supreme Court justices on Monday heard arguments about whether to release most of the investigative file compiled by former Attorney General Charles Foti as he probed the deaths at Memorial Medical Center after Hurricane Katrina. Read the full article here.

Court: Release records, BR police conduct during Katrina probed
October 11, 2008: A state appellate court ruled Friday that internal affairs records from a probe into claims of Baton Rouge police misconduct after Hurricane Katrina must be released to the public.

A five-judge panel of the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal found that the police officers under investigation had “no individual privacy interest’’ in the files, but said there is “a strong public interest’’ in their disclosure. Read the full article here.

New Orleans crime camera contract exposed

New Orleans crime camera contract exposed

October 9, 2008 Problems continue to plague New Orleans' crime camera program. In a closed door meeting of the city council's Public Works committee, interim chief technology officer M. Harrison Boyd revealed that Ciber, Inc has been paid $2.8 million this year to maintain the city's cameras. The only problem is that, according to Councilwoman Stacy Head, no such contract existed.
New Orleans voters make Inspector General permanent

New Orleans voters make Inspector General permanent

October 7, 2008 On October 4, the future of the office of Inspector General was put in the hands of voters, who overwhelmingly voted to make it permanent. The approved proposition essentially adds the watchdog to the city charter, while also dedicating funding to the office.
Indicted Congressman wins primary, staffers subpoenaed

Indicted Congressman wins primary, staffers subpoenaed

October 7, 2008 While he awaits federal trial on allegations of bribery and money laundering, U.S. Rep. William Jefferson continues to run for his 10th term in Louisiana's 2nd district. He got one step closer by coming in first in the Democratic primary held October 4.

Panel won’t release Pastorek evaluation
September 27, 2008: Top state educators refused to release the latest job evaluation for state Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek, whose salary triggered controversy earlier this year.

State policy regarding the evaluations differs from those that educators said are common in East Baton Rouge Parish and elsewhere.

Those policies include the annual release of composite job-review scores for Superintendent Charlotte Placide and others. Read the full article here.

Road Home contractor receives $99 million raise

September 23, 2008 Although publicly vowing to be tough on ICF International, Gov. Jindal's administration has so far paid a $99 million raise to the company, who is in charge of the Road Home program. The program, designed to help victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rite, has been plagued with scandal.
Gov. Jindal appoints seven to ethics board

Gov. Jindal appoints seven to ethics board

August 27, 2008 On Wednesday, Gov. Bobby Jindal announced the appointment of seven members to the state ethics board. This will give the board a quorum for the first time since last June, when several members left in protest. They complained that new laws took away their judicial role in ethics hearings, but it would also have subjected them to new financial disclosure laws.
New Orleans Police keeping National Guard records private

New Orleans Police keeping National Guard records private

August 21, 2008 New Orleans Police said that they have updated numbers on where National Guard troops are located in the city, but they aren't releasing the information. Last June, WDSU submitted an information request for statistics on the Guard, but it never came. After submitting a second request, they were told that it could not be provided because the information could not be compiled.
State audit reveals need for transparency

State audit reveals need for transparency

August 20, 2008 On August 11, a state audit detailing scandals involving Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price and other city officials was released. Uncovered misuse of city credit cards and city vehicles is prompting a call for transparency and accountability by city council members.
Lack of Transparency in city contracts

Lack of Transparency in city contracts

July 21, 2008 Following the news that New Orleans' City Council Vice President Arnie Fielkow is pushing for greater transparency on city contracts, an investigation has shown that New Orleans has no complete list of city contracts, at least not one they will supply to the public. A vote is scheduled to take place on Fielkow's ordinace by August 7th.