Landmark Ruling Liberates California GIS Data

"The California Supreme Court ruled Monday that digital mapping files known as geographic information systems must be released under the state's public records law," reports Tony Barboza. "The decision could make it easier for media organizations, advocacy groups and others to obtain government GIS databases, rich collections of data that can be used to display and analyze multiple layers of geographical information."

"Terry Francke, general counsel for the open-government group Californians Aware, said the court's decision has major significance for the increasing number of people requesting detailed government planning and mapping databases."

For additional background on the case, see our prior post.