Public invited to Idaho government transparency workshops in Boise — or online

Idaho residents, public officials and journalists are encouraged to attend a series of government transparency workshops relating to Idaho’s open meeting laws, public records laws and campaign finance laws, according to a press release from Idahoans for Openness in Government.

The workshops, which will feature discussions with members of the Idahoans for Openness in Government nonprofit group, as well as Secretary of State Phil McGrane and Idaho Controller Brandon Woolf, are free and include in-person or online options for participation. Each of the in-person sessions will be held in the Lincoln Auditorium at the Idaho Statehouse in Boise, and the events will be streamed online in partnership with Idaho Public Television.

The scheduled events include:

• Transparent Idaho/Townhall Idaho: How to access public data, meeting info online for free. Presenter: Woolf. This event will be held 10 a.m. mountain time on Aug. 30.
• Campaign Finance and Lobbying: The rules and how to access data. Presenter: McGrane. This event will be held at 10 a.m. mountain time Sept. 27. 
• Idaho Open Meeting Law workshop. Presenters: Brian Kane, former chief deputy Idaho attorney general, and Betsy Russell, IDOG president. This event will be held at 10 a.m. mountain time Oct. 25.
• Idaho Public Records Act workshop. Presenters: Kane and Russell. This event will be held at 10 a.m. mountain time Nov. 28.

Attendees are asked to register in advance of the workshops at www.openidaho.org or by calling the Idaho State Controller’s Office at 208-334-3100, extension 0.

Questions from the public will be taken during each workshop at idogquesti[email protected] and will be answered by presenters as time allows.