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Energy commission creates $130,000 position to help with legal issues
The Arizona Corporation Commission has hired a new attorney to deal with ethical issues and handle public records requests.
Panel ponders stricter law on release of police body camera videos
As police are increasingly recording interactions with alleged lawbreakers and victims, lawmakers are considering whether body camera video should be treated differently from other public records.
Stonewalled: Legislature redacts, delays and denies access to messages
Four months ago, the Arizona Capitol Times set out to learn how much of the state’s business is being conducted on smartphones, via newer technologies like text messages, social media chats and third-party messenger applications. But getting access to those messages, which most experts and public officials agree are covered under the state public records laws, can be extremely difficult.
Arizona gets D on government accountability and transparency
The Grand Canyon State received an overall score of 64 – a D grade – in a new State Integrity Investigation, a data-driven assessment of government accountability and transparency in all 50 states by the Center for Public Integrity and Global Integrity. Despite the low grade, Arizona ranked 22nd among all the states.
Advanced forensics equipment examining Stump’s phone texts, AG’s spokesman says
State investigators are working to recover text messages that utility regulator Bob Stump sent and received during last year's Republican primary, Capitol Media Services has learned.
Watchdog group sues to get Corporation Commissioner’s texts
After months of threatening a lawsuit, the Checks and Balances Project today sued the Arizona Attorney General’s Office and the Corporation Commission to get immediate access to a commissioner’s text messages.
Senate GOP: Texts related to govt. business not public records
Arizona Senate Republicans refuse to turn over text messages between President Andy Biggs and other leaders regarding government business because the caucus does not consider the records public.
The end of transparency? Corp commissioner Burns considering further restrictions to public records
After three months of fighting with the Washington DC-based Checks and Balances Project over records of an Arizona Corporation Commission member’s text messages, emails and call logs, a fellow commissioner was fed up. "When does too much become too much?” Commissioner Bob Burns wrote in an email to Jodi Jerich, executive director of the Corporation Commission.
No fishing allowed in the public records pond
Commissioner Burns said it’s time to talk about limiting the public records law in Arizona after months of back-and-forth between the Corp Comm and the DC-based Checks and Balances Project.
DPS experts will examine Stump’s phone for deleted texts
The Corporation Commission will extract text messages from Commissioner Bob Stump’s phone on Friday, using an expert from the Department of Public Safety overseen by a retired judge.
Social media, smartphone apps threaten public records retention
Technology’s rapid advances in the past decade haven’t bypassed lawmakers and public officials, and new methods that purport to destroy communications may pose a threat to the retention of public records.
Stump deleted public phone records, discarded phone belonging to Corporation Commission
Energy regulator Bob Stump routinely deleted text messages on his cellphones, including public records that cannot be retrieved, the Arizona Corporation Commission disclosed.
