tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4108304506692463212.post8308171438953981603..comments2022-11-19T10:20:19.049-05:00Comments on U.S.Transparency: OpenGovRadio 6/8/10: The Secret Public-Participation Act of 1969Stephen Buckleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07538022879355413101noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4108304506692463212.post-58983208719299089762011-12-30T16:46:14.925-05:002011-12-30T16:46:14.925-05:00Here's a subsequent report(August 2010) confir...Here's a subsequent report(August 2010) confirming the connection of NEPA with Open Government:<br /><br />"NEPA Success Stories:<br />Celebrating 40 Years of Transparency<br />and Open Government"<br /><br />with a foreword quote by the first head of CEQ, Russell Train:<br /><br />"As this publication shows,NEPA’s legacy is that what the people know has great value to a government that seeks their knowledge and takes it seriously."<br /><br />http://bit.ly/vi7y3L<br />.Stephen Buckleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07538022879355413101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4108304506692463212.post-6060162521884572392010-06-08T13:05:36.410-04:002010-06-08T13:05:36.410-04:00Thanks, Tiago, for adding the providing the histor...Thanks, Tiago, for adding the providing the historical perspective.<br /><br />So, yes, many years before NEPA (which I refer to as "The Secret Public-Participation Act of 1969"), there was the APA (Administrative Procedures Act) which, to keep things simple for the new learners, could be looked upon as "The Secret Public-Participation Act of 1946".<br /><br />In a nutshell, APA is the federal law that requires federal agencies to ask for public feedback on proposed Regulations before a final decision is made.<br /><br />NEPA is similar to APA in that it requires federal agencies to ask for public feedback on federal proposed Projects before a final decision is made.<br /><br />And, since some people have noted that these laws are not really "Secret", I figured it was better than saying "The Largely- Unknown-and-Misunderstood ...".Stephen Buckleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07538022879355413101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4108304506692463212.post-11376259660038249972010-06-07T06:23:29.246-04:002010-06-07T06:23:29.246-04:00Dear Stephen,
Actually, it seems that formal req...Dear Stephen, <br /><br />Actually, it seems that formal requirements for citizen participation go from as early as 1946, with the Administrative Procedures Act. <br /><br />1) "Since the Administrative Procedures Act was adopted in 1946, establishing a policy for the involvement of citizens in the federal arena, legislative requirements have multiplied at all levels of government. At the federal level these range from the very broad freedom of information and government in the sunshine legislation to specific participation requirements in particular pieces of legislation such as the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, and the 1976 extension of the General Revenue Sharing Act of 1972. The Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (ACIR) has found that by the end of 1978 citizen participation requirements were included in 155 separate federal programs which involved over 80 percent of all grant funds at that level. These developments have been paralleled by the actions of state governments. The ACIR indicates that all 50 states have some form of open meeting laws, 47 have FOI legislation, 48 have administrative procedure acts with varying provisions for citizen involvement, and 32 have state offices of volunteerism." <br /> <br /><br />Source: Cooper, Terry L. 1983. Citizen participation. In Organization Theory and Management, Edited by Thomas D. Lynch, 13-46. New York, NY: Marcel Dekker. <br /><br />2) "According to the Attorney General's Manual on the Administrative Procedure Act (1947), drafted after the 1946 enactment of the APA, the basic purposes of the APA are: (1) to require agencies to keep the public informed of their organization, procedures and rules; (2) to provide for public participation in the rulemaking process; (...) <br /><br />Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_Procedure_ActTiago Peixotonoreply@blogger.com