Dark Money Invades Our Politics, Part Infinity

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One of the most important stories of the week was a long one from the AP about some shenanigans in the several states. Ordinarily, I’d leave this for our semi-annual weekly survey of what’s goin’ down there, but, frankly, this one covers too much territory not to be examined on its own. There is a concerted effort across the country to shut down sources of public information within state governments.

Lawmakers across the country introduced and debated dozens of bills during this year’s legislative sessions that would close or limit public access to a wide range of government records and meetings, according to a review by The Associated Press and numerous state press associations. Most of those proposals did not become law, but freedom-of-information advocates in some states said they were struck by the number of bills they believed would harm the public interest, and they are bracing for more fights next year.

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