Michael Beach

New CT bill would exempt ALPR data from FOIA: https://lnkd.in/dfpqddnx This is a very bad move for transparency. The bill specifically calls out sharing of ALPR data with ICE and other federal agencies, which was rumored to be one of the reasons lawmakers were bringing it forward. Government bad actors abusing data sharing is a real concern. But abuses can be reformed without permanently putting public information outside the scope of public scrutiny, which is what will happen if this passes. Here in CT and elsewhere, journalists have exposed extremely concerning practices of Flock Safety and other ALPR companies through public records requests. I'm currently fighting Manchester Police Department for access to their ALPR data. The public has a right to know what information is being collected through dragnet surveillance and how it's being used. This bill would make that watchdog function that journalists provide impossible. It might stop information from being shared with bad government actors, but it will also eradicate public oversight.

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Lobbying terminology can be confusing when you're just starting out, but knowing these terms helps you stay compliant across all 50 states!

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Benchmark Your Mission Agency Against the Broader Movement The Missio Nexus Member Data Report, Volume 5 delivers year-end 2024 insights from 96 of 361 member agencies—representing more than 40,000 staff serving globally. This... https://lnkd.in/gzRBFNCQ

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“The correlation between ad activity and victory among Democrats is striking.” That line from a Center for Campaign Innovation report on the Virginia House of Delegates elections jumped out at me — hard. Eric Wilson and his team analyzed the digital programs of every House of Delegates race and found a clear pattern: stronger digital programs were often correlated with victory. One of the starkest differences? Whether a candidate ran Meta ads at all — and how many different Meta ads they tested. I was so intrigued by the findings that I immediately invited Eric on the pod. (If you haven’t checked out our conversation yet, you should — HelloMergeTag . com.) Let this be the year we commit to fully investing in our digital programs — not treating them as an afterthought to our fundraising program or our comms shops.

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New from CDT’s Maddy Dwyer and Quinn Anex-Ries, in partnership with the GovAI Coalition, an “AI Governance Checklist for State & Local Leaders.” As agencies adopt AI tools, strong governance is essential to improve services, avoid failures, and build public trust. The checklist outlines core actions across transparency, accuracy, coordination, privacy, & safety — helping leaders set government-wide structures for responsible AI use in public services. A practical guide for officials shaping AI policy + oversight. Read the checklist: https://lnkd.in/g_6jzv5C

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🤝 Partnerships in federal work aren’t built on promises. They’re built on alignment. Federal projects move under strict rules, tight schedules, and constant oversight. Subs and primes don’t just need vendors — they need partners who can work within that system. That’s why we’re launching Aeris Ops — a platform designed to support construction companies in the federal space. Our focus: – Clearer scopes, so nothing falls through the cracks – Compliance built into the process from the start – Smarter data handling with AI to guide decisions faster We’re early, and we’re opening this conversation with the industry. The vision is simple: federal partnerships that are more reliable, more transparent, and more efficient. 📡 If this resonates, follow our page Aeris Ops— we’ll be sharing what we’re building and learning along the way. #FederalContracts #Subcontractors #ConstructionManagement #InfrastructureDevelopment #Compliance #ProjectDelivery #AERIS

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Digital tools change policy influence, but they're just the start. At EPIC Policy Group, we pair tech with legislative expertise for precise advocacy that gets results. The right tools + right expertise = success. #epicpolicy Legible AI is a great tool. Check them out.

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If you want a better handle on what is happening right now between Anthropic and the Department of Defense, follow the detailed reporting from Madison Alder at FedScoop.  The latest, below. 

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Exclusive: A Russia-based Yandex employee is the sole maintainer of a widely used open-source tool embedded in at least 30 pre-built software packages in DOD. The situation subordinates the maintainer “to a legal framework that’s not in his control,” former NSA deputy director George Barnes told me. More below with the report from Hunted Labs —>

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Digging through government filing documents to track political donations is incredibly slow and tedious. For Political Analysts who need to understand campaign contribution patterns and donor networks. This scraper extracts detailed contribution data from the Federal Election Commission database. Get contributor details, committee information, transaction amounts, and direct links to original PDF filings. Filter by contributor name, committee, amount ranges, and dates. You used to manually search through scattered FEC records. Now you get structured datasets with 102+ data fields per contribution. This means you can quickly analyze donation patterns and track political influence without manual document review. Use multiple search filters to target specific committees or contributor types. Built on Apify Link in comments #CampaignFinance #PoliticalData #FEC #TransparencyReporting #PoliticalAnalysis

Agreement with Vulcan Elements and ReElement Technologies is strong sign Pentagon is intent on building a supply chain to reduce China’s control; real-estate developers are betting on sustainable communities; EU countries agree weaker climate targets ahead of COP30; turbine earnings—in the latest WSJ Pro Sustainable Business newsletter. https://lnkd.in/dzZTKWWQ

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Election officials: Planning for the next election? 🗳️ Check out the new U.S. Election Assistance Commission Voting Location Resource Calculator. Estimate wait times, identify bottlenecks, and optimize your resources to ensure a smooth experience for voters. 📱 https://lnkd.in/eew2AXHn Video Description: A white header and footer bar line the frame. Centered is light and dark blue gradient with grid lines in the the background. Top center is a circular EAC logo. Below in bold white text reads "EAC Voting Location Resource Calculator". Below in a rectangle is a screen recording of the voting location calculator, scrolling through the basics of the interface. Below in bold white text reads "Optimize Your Voting Locations. Minimize the Wait."

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The U.S. State Department just launched a Substack to publish official updates and opinion content, under the same roof. This move isn’t just unconventional. It marks a turning point, and potentially a test, in a broader strategy to consolidate narrative control. And it matters, not just for how we access public information, but for how we protect ourselves in the process. Substack wasn’t built for transparency or public accountability. It’s a platform optimized for tiered access, monetization, and tracking. Profiles are tied to what you read, engage with, and publish. And notably, Substack is a platform also widely known for hosting progressive and anti-Trump content. When public institutions, especially under this administration, adopt private platforms like this, the risks multiply. I unpack a few of those risks, metadata implications, and what this means for democratic communication norms in my latest: https://lnkd.in/dcAeAuf7

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