Governors

The state law that controls the applicability of public-records laws to the Louisiana governor's office has been amended several times in the past few years and some state senators say it's moving in the wrong direction, The (Baton Rouge) Advocate reported.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed two bills this week that were designed to bring greater transparency and accountability to California's public colleges. This is the latest in a string of actions Schwarzenegger has taken against increased transparency since assuming the governor's office in 2003.

A bill that would alter access to the Louisiana governor's official records received final approval from the state Senate Monday, and is on its way to the governor's desk.

The public records law now exempts from disclosure all but the financial records the governor's office maintains. Under the proposed change, the only exempt records would be those pertaining to the governor's security, schedule, communications among staff and "executive deliberations and work product."

The Louisiana Senate is on deck again to vote on language the House approved for a bill that would publicize more information from the governor's office but at the same time keep some currently public budget records secret for six months, according to The Associated Press.

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver said he will allow the public to see e-mail he sent privately in his first two years in office -- even as counterparts in other states fight for the opposite result.

In refusing to hear the latest appeal from state Republicans on the issue, New Jersey’s highest court has ensured that e-mail messages exchanged between the Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine and his former union leader ex-girlfriend about a state labor contract will not be forcibly released.

Gov. Matt Blunt will give the Missouri attorney general's office thousands of pages of email records to settle a lawsuit against his office alleging he "knowingly and purposely" violated open records laws by deleting email messages.

According to an indictment laced with allegations of gross governmental overreach into a free press, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich tried to force the Tribune Co. to oust the editorial board of its flagship Chicago newspaper in exchange for state help in a financial deal.

The governor of Illinois must turn over federal subpoenas to requesters, an appeals court ruled Thursday.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration is under federal investigation, and several indictments have been handed down against those close to him. A watchdog group, the Better Government Association, sought copies of subpoenas sent to Blagojevich under the state open records law.