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		<title>Resource Government </title>
		<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/</link>
		<description></description>
		<language>en-us</language>
		<lastBuildDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:23:21 CST</lastBuildDate>
		<webMaster>webmaster@resourcegovernment.com (Webmaster)</webMaster>
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			<title><![CDATA[Proliferation of Local "Pay to Play" Ordinances]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/view.php?blog_id=438</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/view.php?blog_id=438</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Spurred on by good intentions to take the next &ldquo;logical&rdquo; step, some municipalities have begun to adopt &ldquo;redeveloper pay to play&rdquo; ordinances.&nbsp; These ordinances purport to impose limits or outright bans on political contributions by redevelopers and redevelopment professionals.&nbsp; Our most recent survey identified at least eighteen towns in New Jersey that already specifically regulate contributions by would-be redevelopers and their professionals &ndash; even though there is no legislative authorization for these ordinances.&nbsp; Redevelopment designations and redevelopment agreements have never before been viewed as public contracts, nor have they been subject to public bidding laws.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:10:32 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[When Court-Approved Secrecy Can Kill You]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/view.php?blog_id=431</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/view.php?blog_id=431</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) described the problem well in his testimony last December 11 before the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights: "Far too often, court-approved secrecy agreements hide vital public health and safety information from the American public, putting lives at stake. The secrecy agreements even prevent government officials or consumer group from learning about and protecting the public from defective and dangerous products."]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:28:49 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[ACLU FOIA Request Yields Thousands of Pages]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/view.php?blog_id=427</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/view.php?blog_id=427</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The American Civil Liberties Union today released thousands of pages of documents related to Navy investigations of civilians killed by Coalition Forces in Iraq, including the cousin of the Iraqi ambassador to the United States. Released today in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the ACLU filed in June 2006, these records provide a vivid snapshot of the circumstances surrounding civilian deaths in Iraq.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:32:37 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Public Hospital = Public Salaries]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/view.php?blog_id=425</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/view.php?blog_id=425</link>
			<description><![CDATA[An Iowa hospital has lost its fight to keep secret the salaries of its employees. District Judge Michael Mullins ordered the Davis County Hospital in Bloomfield to turn over payroll records that Bloomfield resident Kenneth Turner requested last year. Hospital officials declined to comment Monday. Last June, the county-owned hospital denied Turner's request to learn the salaries of its employees. The Des Moines Register then sought access to some of the same information.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:00:00 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[White House Office of Administration Not Subject to FOIA]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/view.php?blog_id=426</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/view.php?blog_id=426</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The White House Office of Administration is not required to turn over records about a trove of possibly missing e-mails, a federal judge ruled Monday. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly found the agency does not have "substantial independent authority" so it is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. The decision means the White House does not have to disclose documents relating to its troubled e-mail system. That system developed problems that may have caused millions of White House e-mails to be unaccounted for.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:00:00 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Government Contracts - A Market Approach]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/view.php?blog_id=424</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/view.php?blog_id=424</link>
			<description><![CDATA[This is pretty cool stuff...INPUT, the authority on government business, announced that it has opened its electronic library containing thousands of federal and state and local contract documents to the public. "We have over three thousand government contracts and task orders acquired under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) available now with more added every day," said Ashlea Higgs, senior manager, INPUT Network. "Government FOIA offices are overloaded and requests often take several months to complete. By making our library available, we hope to offload some of the volume of requests to FOIA offices and provide immediate access to these documents to citizens and organizations that have a need."]]></description>
			<pubDate>Sun, 20 Apr 2008 00:00:00 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[An Important Story Often Overlooked: The Many Other Statutes That Hide Things]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/view.php?blog_id=422</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/view.php?blog_id=422</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Here is a great story from my pal Kirsten Mitchell on an often overlooked issue: the many statutes that work like mini-exemptions in federal law. This is a story that ought to be replicated over and over in state after state! Government information as wide-ranging as the names of people who grow watermelons or olives, information on tax returns, and the location of endangered plants and large caves is shielded from Americans under at least 140 provisions scattered throughout federal law.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:00:00 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[An Oldie But a Goodie: Oldest Pending FOI Requests]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/view.php?blog_id=423</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/view.php?blog_id=423</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Several federal agencies are running more than 15 years late on public record requests sent under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) when the first President Bush was still in office. The Energy Department has the tardiest public record request, according to a review by The Hill of annual FOIA reports published by Cabinet-level agencies for the last fiscal year. It still has not answered one request from Dec. 6, 1991, although other departments are not far behind.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:00:00 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[New Blog Author Richard Pennington]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/richardpennington/</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/richardpennington/</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Richard Pennington, is Of Counsel in the Denver Government Contracts Practice Group of McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP.  His law practice focuses on the federal, state, and local procurement environments.  Richard previously served as the Colorado State Purchasing Director and, later, director of the Division of Finance and Procurement, Colorado Department of Personnel & Administration.  The division included the office of the State Controller, State Purchasing Office, State Buildings and Real Estate Programs, and Central Collection Services.  He received the 2005 Manager of the Year Award from the Colorado State Managers Association.  Previously, Richard served with the state of Colorado as assistant attorney general, specializing in procurement and fiscal law, construction law and litigation, and bid protest litigation.  Richard remains an honorary member of the National Association of State Procurement Officials and received the NASPO Presidents Award in 2007.  Richard is a retired Air Force Colonel; he began his career as a B-52 pilot and ended it as an Air Force judge advocate, specializing in government contract law.  He was a distinguished graduate from the United States Air Force Academy with a B.S. in Engineering Mechanics, received his law degree from the University of Denver (Order of St. Ives), and has a Master of Laws degree in government procurement law from The George Washington University.  He is a Certified Purchasing Manager (C.P.M., Institute of Supply Management) and a Certified Public Procurement Officer (CPPO, Universal Public Procurement Certification Council).  Richard has  taught, presented, and written about public procurement, contract negotiation, UCC, intellectual property management, legal issues in project-based management, and organizational development (www.scopevision.net).]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 26 Aug 2008 07:28:04 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[New Blog Author Dean Phillips]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/deanphillips/</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/deanphillips/</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Dean Phillips counsels private and municipal corporations on some of the biggest construction and transportation projects in the Portland area. His work includes major light rail initiatives and airport terminal expansion, as well as school district bonded remodeling. Dean provides counsel and arbitration and litigation assistance in a wide range of construction issues, including construction claims, design-bid-build and fast track arrangements, eminent domain and relocation issues, construction defects, and government contracting matters.

Recent Articles
Co-author, ?Legislature sends builders back to school,? The Daily Journal of Commerce, August 23, 2007 
Co-author, ?Legislative changes sweep up chimney workers, more,? The Daily Journal of Commerce, August 24, 2007 
Author, ?Home resell industry spurs host of myths,? The Daily Journal of Commerce,
June 28, 2007 
Author, ?Construction managers can help - in most cases,? The Daily Journal of Commerce,
June 22, 2006 
Author, ?Construction defect claims leave water, water everywhere,? The Daily Journal of Commerce, Jan. 26, 2006]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:04:11 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[New Blog Author Paul Josephson]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/pauljosephson/</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/pauljosephson/</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Paul P. Josephson is a partner of Hill Wallack LLP. He is partner-in-charge of the firms Regulatory & Government Affairs and Gaming Law Practice Groups.

Mr. Josephson concentrates his practice in Regulatory Law, with a focus on Redevelopment, Gaming, Government Procurement, Complex Civil Litigation, Election and Campaign Finance, Government Ethics and corporate compliance issues.

An accomplished commercial and administrative litigator, he has represented many national and state corporations in legal disputes and advised numerous State agencies on licensing, enforcement, procurement and real estate development and redevelopment matters. He is also experienced in all aspects of the gaming industry, including casino, horse racing, lottery and Internet issues. He has also published numerous articles on gaming and ethic law. He spearheaded the historic merger of the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway and the successful effort to fix EZ Pass. Mr. Josephson has also served as counsel to numerous Senate, House and Gubernatorial candidates, including Governor Jon S. Corzine, and has represented many of New Jersey's other top elected officials. Mr. Josephson was listed in the top tier of PoliticsNJ.com's list of most influential attorneys in New Jersey for 2002 and 2004, and recognized for distinguished legislative service by the New Jersey State Bar Association. 

Prior to joining Hill Wallack, Mr. Josephson served Chief Counsel to the Governor and as Chief of Authorities, representing the Governor on more than 50 bi-state and state authorities including the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, New Jersey Transit, the Casino Control Commission, the State Ethics Commission and the State House Commission. He later served as Assistant Attorney General and Director of the Division of Law within the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety. In that capacity, he managed a 550-attorney division responsible for all civil representation of the State of New Jersey.

Mr. Josephson is a 1987 graduate of the University of Michigan, from which he graduated with a B.A. degree in Political Science and served as Student Body President. He is a 1990 honors graduate of George Washington University Law School. 

Mr. Josephson is admitted to practice in New Jersey and in the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the District of New Jersey. He is a member of American Bar Association, the New Jersey State Bar Association, and the International Association of Gaming Attorneys. ]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:18:01 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[New Blog Author Terry Francke]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/terryfrancke/</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/terryfrancke/</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Since 1980 Terry Francke has been helping journalists, citizens and public officials understand and use their First Amendment, open government and public information rights.

Francke and his daughter, Emily, founded Californians Aware in the spring of 2004. The idea setting this nonprofit, nonpartisan public interest norganization apart is that working with public-spirited citizens, journalists and government officials and employees at the same time can effect a change in the overall landscape, and improve the public trust while also making openness more convenient for those at the gates. 

Francke previously served 14 years as executve director and general counsel for the California First Amendment Coalition, after a 10-year post as legal counsel for the California Newspaper Publishers Association.

Over all these periods Francke has fielded tens of thousands of phoned and e-mailed queries on press and citizen rights; written the most widely used guidebooks to the law governing open meetings, open courts and public records in California; served as an advisory panel member to the National Center on Courts and the Media; taught journalism law at the Department of Communication at Stanford University; and served as an expert contributor to the 1994 major revisions to the Ralph M. Brown Act and Propositioin 59 of 2004, making open government a basic right of citizens under the California Constitution.

Francke is a 1967 graduate of the University of Notre Dame and a 1979 graduate of McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific. Prior to his legal career, Francke worked as a weekly newspaper editor and in military and local government public affairs positions.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:01:52 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[New Blog Author Charles Davis]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/charlesdavis/</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/blog/charlesdavis/</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Charles N. Davis is an associate professor at the Missouri School of Journalism and the executive director for the National Freedom of Information Coalition, headquartered at the School.

Davis' scholarly research focuses on access to governmental information and new media law, including jurisdictional issues, intellectual property and online libel. He has earned a Sunshine Award from the Society of Professional Journalists for his work in furthering freedom of information and the University of Missouri-Columbia Provost's Award for Outstanding Junior Faculty Teaching, as well as the Faculty-Alumni Award. 

Davis has been a primary investigator for a research grant from the James S. and John L. Knight Foundation for NFOIC and another from the Rockefeller Family Fund for the study of homeland security and freedom of information issues. He was a co-investigator for an award from the U.S. Department of State for a curriculum reform project for Moscow State University in Russia. 

Davis worked for newspapers and as a national correspondent for Lafferty Publications, a Dublin-based news wire service for financial publications, Davis reported on banking, e-commerce and regulatory issues for seven years before leaving full-time journalism in 1993. He completed a master's degree from the University of Georgia's Henry W. Grady School of Journalism and Mass Communication and earned a doctorate in mass communication from the University of Florida in 1995. He received his bachelor's degree from North Georgia College. 

Davis participates in numerous professional organizations, including the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:37:39 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[An Overview of the Environmental Issue Petition Process]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=1260</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=1260</link>
			<description><![CDATA[If you have an environmental issue that you feel needs to be addressed, there is a petition process that all citizens are required to follow. You do need to do your research about the issue and contact your local government authority to find out more about the project and express your concerns. This will help you decide if this project warrants a review and whether or not you need to start a petition about the issue.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 04 Mar 2009 11:21:20 CST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Public Records? Where? How?]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=1259</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=1259</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Most people know about public records, that the government holds all kinds of paperwork on everyone. However, when it comes to searching for someone in the public records, things become a little murky. What information is available? Where to find the information? And how to get at the information? Starting off, there is the federal government.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 04 Mar 2009 11:18:05 CST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Need for Stormwater Regulations and Training]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=1041</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=1041</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Erosion is the detachment and transport of sediment particles caused by wind, rain, ice, and gravity. Sediment is a byproduct of erosion and is composed of organic and mineral particles that are suspended, transported and relocated from their origin. The deposition of these particles is called sedimentation. Erosion is a natural event. It is a slow, uniform process that is essential for maintaining a balance between plant and animal life. It is a soil forming process. Human induced land disturbing activities such as construction or mining greatly accelerate the natural erosion process. Many studies have been done on our nations waterways and sediment has been found to be one of the top pollutants.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 04 Nov 2008 13:33:30 CST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[State and Local Procurement Liability Allocation: Constitutional and Statuatory Limitations]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=878</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=878</link>
			<description><![CDATA[This paper summarizes common constitutional and legislative limitations1 on the liability&nbsp;allocation approaches in state and local government contracting.Requests by contractors for indemnification or hold harmless provisions2 often are&nbsp;opposed by governments based on constitutional principles. Other liability allocation&nbsp;techniques, such as warranty disclaimers, damage exclusions, ceilings on contractual damages orother liability, usually are not analyzed in terms of constitutional provisions. These clauses do&nbsp;not create liability of the state flowing to the contractor or a third party, but they limit possible&nbsp;damages that can be claimed against a contractor.&nbsp;This paper highlights common themes in analyzing the legality of these provisions.&nbsp;]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:25:03 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[ANATOMY OF A MULTI-STATE COOPERATIVE IT PROCUREMENT]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=880</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=880</link>
			<description><![CDATA[In 2005, Congress passed the Real ID Act of 2005. The Act prescribes uniform requirements for State-issued driver's licenses and identification cards to enable their acceptance as identification for entry to federal facilities and boarding federally-regulated commercial carriers, i.e., commercial airlines. On December 13, 2007, the Department of Homeland Security announced availability of grant funding for the States for a demonstration program, the 2008 Real ID Demonstration Grant Program.[1] The program guidance and grant application kit stated, "the Department encourages grant applications from States with a multi-state approach to Real ID identification systems implementation design and development."&nbsp;&nbsp;]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 17 Sep 2008 08:48:54 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[When the Executive Has to Take the Stand]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=849</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=849</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Not so long ago, persuading corporate executives that they needed extensive
preparation before testifying in a legal proceeding was a battle. Many
confident, articulate executives were convinced they could just &quot;go
in and tell my story,&quot; and they were insulted by the notion that they
needed some lawyer to prepare them. Too many experienced lawyers didn't
push back.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 26 Aug 2008 07:40:10 CDT</pubDate>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Department of Justice Proposes Changes in Evaluation of Corporate Cooperation ]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=848</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=848</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Last week, the Department of Justice announced planned revisions to its
Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations
(Principles) that signal changes to its policies regarding its
evaluation of cooperation, including waivers of the attorney client
privilege. The DOJ Principles govern the DOJ's process of
investigating, charging and prosecuting corporate crimes. These Principles
were last revised in December 2006 when U.S. Deputy Attorney General Paul
J. McNulty issued what has been referred to as the &quot;McNulty
Memorandum.&quot; In particular, the Memorandum governs how DOJ measures a
corporation's cooperativeness in a criminal investigation and how the DOJ
determines whether the entity itself should be charged with a crime. On
July 9, Deputy Attorney General Mark Filip, in a letter to Sen. Patrick J.
Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, outlined proposed
changes to the McNulty Memorandum.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 26 Aug 2008 07:39:55 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Tackling Envrionmental Issues In Real Estate Agreements - Addressing the Potential Issues]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=843</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=843</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Addressing environmental issues has emerged as one of the most
sig&not;nificant concerns in commercial real estate transactions today.
The strict liability nature of environmental laws has resulted in a
heightened awareness of environmental issues in real estate
transac&not;tions for decades now. Dealing with envi&not;ronmental
concerns, however, has become increasingly important in recent years, due
to rigid state and federal environmental requirements and the fact that
many New Jersey developers, investors and property owners are now
acquiring existing and/or redeveloping abandoned or underuti&not;lized
sites. Because environmental law has become a specialty practice area,
pro&not;visions in real estate deals regarding envi&not;ronmental matters
seem to be managed either so intensely that the environmental concerns
smother the transaction, or are virtually ignored. While it is not
practi&not;cal to include provisions in an agreement that address every
potential environmental issue that may arise, it is crucial that
par&not;ties to a real estate transaction understand the representations
and warranties that are made and the due diligence that is per&not;formed
regarding environmental issues, along with the fiscal and legal
implica&not;tions of such information.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 01 Aug 2008 12:03:50 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Supreme Court Addresses Conflicts of Interest in ERISA Benefit Claims]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=842</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=842</link>
			<description><![CDATA[In Metropolitan Life Insurance Company v. Glenn, issued on June
19, 2008, the United States Supreme Court ruled that when a ERISA
fiduciary responsible for determining in its discretion eligibility for
benefits under an employer plan is also the party financially responsible
for paying claims under that plan, a structural conflict of interest
exists that must be taken into consideration by courts when reviewing
benefit denials.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 01 Aug 2008 12:03:46 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[What Does the Future Hold for "Pay to Play"?]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=836</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=836</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The far better view, in our experience, is to treat redevelopers (and government contractors for that matter) just like all other citizens, and allow them to fully participate in the political process.&nbsp; The ballot box remains the best and most efficient regulator of the conduct of elected officials.&nbsp; Allow redevelopers and their professionals to make contributions and to solicit funds, subject to the same limits and rules as every other concerned voter or business.&nbsp; Require them to fully disclose their contributions during the redevelopment process.&nbsp; Allow voters to decide whether an elected official deserves to be reelected after balancing the merits of the redevelopment plan, the official's position on the plan, and the contributions he or she received.&nbsp;]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:25:12 CDT</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Reductions in Force: The Supreme Court Escalates The Legal Risks]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=832</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=832</link>
			<description><![CDATA[While economists debate whether the United States is in a recession, there
is no doubt that business conditions have greatly deteriorated as a result
of the subprime crisis, high oil prices and increasing inflation. There
also can be no doubt that as employers consider possible reductions in
force (&quot;RIFs&quot;) in response, the Supreme Court&rsquo;s decision
in Meacham et al. v. Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, No. 06-1505,
553 U.S. ___ (June 19, 2008), has greatly increased the legal risk from RIF
decisions. In Knolls, the court held in a 7-1 decision that employers bear
the burden of proving a legitimate non-discriminatory reasonable
factor other than age when a RIF has an adverse or disparate impact on
employees 40 years of age or older.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:58:06 CDT</pubDate>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Ninth Circuit Ruling Raises Stakes for Companies and Individuals Facing Parallel Civil and Criminal Investigations]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=831</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=831</link>
			<description><![CDATA[A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit,
United States v. Stringer, 521 F.3d 499 (9th Cir. 2008), gives
government lawyers, and prosecutors in particular, significant latitude to
conceal the existence of a criminal investigation from individuals and
companies, and their attorneys, who are actively defending against a civil
investigation initiated by a government agency. In the wake of
Stringer, there exists a blurry distinction between what
government lawyers are allowed to do and say in conducting parallel civil
and criminal government investigations, and what may constitute bad faith
and deceit that infringes on defendants&rsquo; constitutional rights. ]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:58:03 CDT</pubDate>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Supreme Court Clarifies the Extent to Which the False Claims Act Applies]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=833</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=833</link>
			<description><![CDATA[On June 9, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of Allison
Engine Co., Inc., v. U.S. Allison Engine was a test of the False
Claims Act, which rewards whistleblowers who report when the U.S.
government&nbsp;is being defrauded by those who do business with it. At
issue was the question of whether the law covers only those cases in which
a fraudulent bill is presented directly to the government or whether it
could also cover situations in which government funds may be misspent, but
the actual fraudulent bill is presented to a company or other institution
that receives federal funds and not directly to the government.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:57:58 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[President Signs Executive Order Requiring All Federal Contractors to Use E-Verify]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=830</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=830</link>
			<description><![CDATA[President George W. Bush signed an executive order requiring all federal
government contractors to use E-Verify to confirm the employment
authorization of new hires and persons assigned to perform work on future
federal contracts.&nbsp;E-Verify is the Internet-based system operated by
the Department of Homeland Security in partnership with the Social
Security Administraion to electronically verify employment eligibility of
newly hired employees.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:57:43 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Court's Order Recalls the Earliest Free Press Case]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=829</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=829</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The New York Times provides the most thorough early account of a federal judge in San Francisco recently ordering the disabling of a website devoted to disclosing leaked confidential documents, "in a move that legal experts said could present a major test of First Amendment rights in the Internet era."&nbsp; The best recent report on what information a Swiss bank wanted kept secret and who's behind Wikileaks has been done by The Guardian&nbsp; in England, where the website is based. For technical reasons the judge's order did not and could not entirely block access to Wikileaks.&nbsp; But the fact that the judge tried to do just that, and believed he had the authority to do so is astonishing, given that the very first case in the United States Supreme Court invoking the First Amendment as protection for the press and declaring the constitution's repugnance for prior restraint involved-at least for its day-a very similar annihilating spirit.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:13:23 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Covering Candidates' Paper Trails]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=828</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=828</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Hillary Clinton's White House experience is documented in her husband's presidential papers, which they claim are at the mercy of the National Archives to release from his Presidential Library-and then only on the archivists' schedule, which they insist they can't accelerate. Whatever the Church Lady might make of those protestations-Barack Obama, as quoted in the Chicago Tribune, and Judicial Watch in two federal court lawsuits, for example, are skeptical-the fact remains that the automatic filter that the presidential papers archiving process puts on the official record of those running for office is a problem that needs correcting, and it's mirrored in a California law that needs equal attention but may never get it.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:08:04 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[New Fed FOIA Study Out ]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=827</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=827</link>
			<description><![CDATA[An Opportunity Lost...A just completed study by the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government shows that federal departments and agencies have made little if any progress in responding to Freedom of Information Act requests, despite a two-year-old presidential order to improve service. The CJOG findings are in stark contrast to a bullish Justice Department report made public in mid-June that claims &ldquo;remarkable improvements.&rdquo;]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:31:06 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[E-Mail Retention: Not So Good]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=826</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=826</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Federal officials inconsistently preserve government e-mail, creating gaps in the public record and making it difficult for the public to understand the activities of the government, according to a report released by the Government Accountability Office yesterday. The report came before a scheduled House vote today on a bill that would create standards for the electronic storage of e-mail by federal agencies. As the use of e-mail has increased dramatically, federal agencies are struggling to determine which e-mails can be deleted, which must be preserved as public records and how those records should be stored.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:28:57 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[House Moves to Open Homeland Security A Bit]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=825</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=825</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Congress on Thursday will take a major step in rolling back the tide of secrecy that has swept through government since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, with the House Homeland Security Committee poised to pass two bills making the Homeland Security Department more transparent. Both bills are expected to pass the committee easily: One would crack down on too-frequent use of classification, while the other would go after "pseudo-classification" - the new labels such as "for official use only" that have popped up to keep even unclassified documents out of the hands of the public and other government agencies.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:21:02 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[World Press Freedom Study]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=824</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=824</link>
			<description><![CDATA[A new worldwide poll finds widespread support for freedom of the press and strong opposition to government restrictions on Internet access. Although most publics surveyed believe the media in their countries should have more freedom, those polled in Russia and many Muslim countries think their leaders should be able to regulate news coverage they consider politically destabilizing.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:14:33 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[SGI: Thoughts for The Fed Ombuds Office]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=823</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=823</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The Sunshine in Government Initiative is today releasing recommendations for developing the independent Office of Government Information Services with in the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Created by Congress last year, the Office serves as an independent mediator and analyst into problems the federal government has fulfilling requests for public records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). SGI is recommending that in tight budget times, a small scale OGIS should begin immediately and be built out as resources and experience permit.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:05:05 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Information Control Isn't Always a Matter of Law]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=822</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=822</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The New York Times takes a masterful look at the information control strategies of the Pentagon. This story is the fruit of a successful FOIA lawsuit against the Department of Defense. Pay particular attention to some of the bone-chilling quotes... "It was them saying, &lsquo;We need to stick our hands up your back and move your mouth for you,' " Robert S. Bevelacqua, a retired Green Beret and former Fox News analyst, said.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:03:29 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[A Clinton Records Dispute]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=821</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=821</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The National Archives wants a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit seeking quick access to records about a health care task force Hillary Rodham Clinton headed as first lady, or delay the release for about a year. Judicial Watch, a conservative public interest group, has complained in a lawsuit that the National Archives isn't moving fast enough on its April 2006 request to see the documents. The archives says Judicial Watch is trying to jump ahead of those who made earlier requests under the Freedom of Information Act.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:45:58 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Water, Water Everywhere... Secret Water Pact Makes the Papers]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=820</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=820</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Look for more of this sort of thing as water becomes more precious: Officials from Alabama, Florida and Georgia signed a confidentiality agreement in January that includes two private utilities and prohibits the parties from disclosing to the public details of the ongoing negotiations over water rights in the region. A Florida seafood industry group says the secrecy deal, which also includes the federal government, is illegal and is asking the state's open government commission to throw it out.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:43:58 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[A "Borderline Preposterous" Denial]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=819</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=819</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Jacksonville State University has refused a newspaper's request for athletic-department records less than a year after the state attorney general's office said a request for copies of coaches' contracts should be granted. The Anniston Star has been seeking the results of the school's athletic department drug-testing program since April 2007 to review its effectiveness. But the university has denied the request each time, saying it would compromise the identity of student-athletes who tested positive.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:42:14 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[A Great Idea: Grade the Public Notes]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=818</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=818</link>
			<description><![CDATA[My buddy Joel Campbell out in Utah is involved in a great new project: grading the notice given under the state's open meetings law by local governments. This is a wonderful idea, and one that could easily be reproduced out there (hint, hint)... A snippet: When controversy hits in Utah Valley, municipal leaders often hear a singular message from affected residents -- we were not given important information when we needed it.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:38:57 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Federal Magistrate Tells White to Cough Up E-Mails]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=817</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=817</link>
			<description><![CDATA[A federal magistrate ordered the White House on Tuesday to reveal whether copies of possibly millions of missing e-mails are stored on computer backup tapes. The order by U.S. Magistrate Judge John Facciola comes amid an effort by the White House to scuttle two lawsuits that could force the Executive Office of the President to recover any e-mail that has disappeared from computer servers where electronic documents are automatically archived. Two federal laws require the White House to preserve all records including e-mail.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:36:47 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[EPA Chief Uses White Duct Tape For Redaction]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=816</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=816</link>
			<description><![CDATA[This amazing sequence on Capitol Hill yesterday is a vivid demonstration of just how reflexive secrecy is, and how little we as citizens know about what goes on in our names... The head of the EPA stood firm Thursday against a chorus of congressional criticism over his refusal to allow California and more than a dozen other states to impose greenhouse gas reductions on cars and trucks. "I am bound by the criteria in the Clean Air Act, not people's opinions," EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson testified to the Senate's environmental panel. It was his first congressional appearance since issuing the controversial waiver denial last month.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:32:14 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Google, Wikipedia: Government Records Hard to Find]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=815</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=815</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The Washington Post drops in on the pubic records/search engine issue:These days you can Google just about anything, from your favorite celebrity's pet to your boss's middle name. But using the biggest search engine to get information about the government often falls short. That's what leaders from Google and Wikipedia plan to tell the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs today, urging Congress to require federal agencies to make their Web sites, records and databases more searchable...]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:57:37 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Huge FOI News]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=814</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=814</link>
			<description><![CDATA[This just in... Reversing a trend toward secrecy, federal agencies would have to be more responsive to Freedom of Information Act requests under legislation approved by the Senate Friday. The bill, approved by voice vote, commits the government to be more open, shifting policies that since the Sept. 11 attacks have emphasized security in responding to requests for information.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:55:29 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Videotaping a Public Meeting: Yea or Nea?]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=813</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=813</link>
			<description><![CDATA[A Vienna, Virginia, resident may pursue legal action against Fairfax County Public Schools after being told he had to turn off his video camera or leave Westfield High School during a meeting on the western county high school boundary study Dec. 3. Bruce Bennett had started to record one of 50 small group discussions taking place in classrooms at the event when a police officer summoned him to the hall and asked him to put his video camera away.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:53:39 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Medical Study Fueled By FOI]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=812</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=812</link>
			<description><![CDATA[More than 500 lives a year can be saved annually in the United States and Canada through the widespread placement of defibrillators, finds a new study that emerged out of real-life, emergency situations. Portable defibrillators can quickly treat a sudden heart attack by analyzing a person's heart rhythm and delivering an electrical shock if needed to get the heart pumping again.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:51:34 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[A Town, A Walmart and A Land Deal]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=811</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=811</link>
			<description><![CDATA[An entity that receives 90 percent of its funding from the public, is housed in a public building and conducts business that affects the community should be subject to the open meetings and public records law, an assistant attorney general told the Wisconsin Supreme Court today. In a case involving the Beaver Dam Area Development Corp. and its secret negotiations to woo a Wal-Mart distribution center, Assistant Attorney General Monica Burket Brist disputed the quasi-governmental corporation's claim that it was a private entity and didn't have to tell the public when it meets or why.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:50:24 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Info of Farm Bill Federal FOIA Exemption]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=810</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=810</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The Northeast Organic Farming Association/Massachusetts Chapter, Inc. (NOFA/Mass) called upon Senators Kerry and Kennedy this week to reject a provision in the 2008 farm bill, which recently passed out of the Senate Agriculture Committee, that would criminalize disclosure of information from the USDA's new proposed program, the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). NAIS is a program proposed by and administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which if fully implemented would require all farmers and livestock owners to individually identify their livestock animals and report each time any one of them is moved from one property to another. USDA says it is implementing the program to contain animal disease outbreaks and reassure foreign meat buyers.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:48:43 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[In South Dakota, A Proposal for FOI Reform]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=809</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=809</link>
			<description><![CDATA[A task force is working on a plan to help settle disputes that arise about access to public records in South Dakota. Here's the basic idea behind the plan: Have the Office of Hearing Examiners take over responsibility for settling disputes. Anyone who has been turned down in an attempt to see a record in the state can appeal to the OHE, which would determine if the initial denial was right or wrong.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:46:52 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Telecom Lobbying Records Opened]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=808</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=808</link>
			<description><![CDATA[An electronic privacy group challenging President Bush's domestic spying program scored a minor victory when a judge ordered the federal government to release information about lobbying efforts by telecommunications companies to protect them from prosecution. The Electronic Frontier Foundation in January 2006 filed a class-action suit against AT&amp;T Inc., accusing the company of illegally making communications on its networks available to the National Security Agency without warrants.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:43:04 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Nice New Audit by Cal Aware...]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=807</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/articles/view.php?article_id=807</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The vast majority of San Diego's law enforcement agencies are still not meeting the basic requirements of California public records law, according to an audit organized by Californians Aware, an open government advocacy group. The audit, carried out in San Diego by local journalists, found that local law enforcement agencies had reasonable or good customer-service levels, but that most of them still do not provide citizens with basic information about crimes.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:31:29 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Pennsylvania's Sunshine Act: An Overview of Public Meetings - 10 Things You Need to Know]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/reports/view.php?whitepaper_id=54</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/reports/view.php?whitepaper_id=54</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Under the Sunshine Act, committees of an agency that are authorized to take official action or render advice to the main board are, themselves, agencies subject to the requirements of the Sunshine Act. Any time a quorum of the committee meets to deliberate agency business or take official action, they must do so at a public meeting (unless one of the executive session exceptions applies).]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:39:10 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[False Claims Act and Other Fraud Statutes]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/reports/view.php?whitepaper_id=24</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/reports/view.php?whitepaper_id=24</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The genesis of the False Claims Act can be found during our nation&rsquo;s darkest hour. At a time when the United States was in danger of being irrevocably torn apart, unscrupulous individuals saw an opportunity to profit from their country&rsquo;s misfortune. The war effort required a tremendous budget. With so much money changing hands, government contractors had ample opportunities to defraud the government and hide losses in a mountain of paperwork. Congress learned of several abuses that occurred early in the war and garnered embarrassing headlines. Purchase officers were accused of overpaying for lame and disabled horses, a practice that resonates to the present day with the term &ldquo;horse trading.&rdquo; In at least one instance, bullets provided to the Union forces contained sawdust instead of gunpowder. Men who had contacts in the government were often given substantial &ldquo;commissions&rdquo; for their ability to secure government contracts. The matter reached a boiling point in 1863, when Congress passed the False Claims Act in response to public outcry against government contract abuse.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:12:55 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[The Many Face of SEQRA: Municipal Compliance With SEQRA]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/reports/view.php?whitepaper_id=25</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/reports/view.php?whitepaper_id=25</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) was adopted by the Legislature with the intent, as expressed in SEQRA&rsquo;s implementing regulations2, that &ldquo;all agencies [state and local] conduct their affairs with an awareness that they are stewards of the air, water, land, and living resources, and that they have an obligation to protect the environment for the use and enjoyment of this and all future generations&rdquo; (&sect;617.1(b)) and that a &ldquo;suitable balance of social, economic and environmental factors be incorporated into the planning and decision-making processes of state, regional and local agencies&rdquo; (&sect;617.1(d)). SEQRA also requires that the decision making process be open to the public and that the public be given certain opportunities to contribute directly to the process.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:54:07 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Public Contracts: Sealed Bidding, Competitive Negotiation and Indenfinite Delivery Contracts]]></title>
			<guid>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/reports/view.php?whitepaper_id=23</guid>
			<link>http://www.resourcegovernment.com/reports/view.php?whitepaper_id=23</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The landscape of obtaining government contracts has changed significantly. Sealed bidding is used less frequently than in the past. Nevertheless, when certain conditions are present, sealed bidding is mandatory. Thus the government contract practitioner must familiarize himself with the sealed bidding process in the event he encounters a situation that calls for its use. In the mid-1990s, Congress amended several key statutes relating to the acquisition of government contracts. Up until that time, sealed bidding was the norm. The amendments gave federal contracting officers more discretion to award contracts through a process called competitive negotiation. As the name implies, the goal of saving government funds by means of competition among bidders remains paramount. An indefinite delivery contract is used when there is uncertainty as to the exact time and exact quantity of future deliveries. Indefinite delivery contracts have been used traditionally by the Department of Defense to furnish its ongoing supply needs.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:50:02 CDT</pubDate>
		</item>
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