National Freedom of Information Coalition
Protecting Your Right to Open Government

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SLED chief: Keep agents’ access to death records

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South Carolina's top cop asked legislators Tuesday to ensure that agents who investigate child deaths continue to have access to records like autopsy reports and birth certificates, saying he hopes a recent court ruling won't change that.

"There is no higher mission than the protection of our children," State Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel told a special Senate panel Tuesday. "This is paramount to the department's ability to continue to fulfill its purpose and duties."

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Philly law firm files FOIA against National Transportation Safety Board

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A Philadelphia-based law firm says that the National Transportation Safety Board's current method of releasing plane crash data and information unfairly favors airplane and component manufacturers at the expense of victims and their families, according to a Freedom of Information Act suit filed at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

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The Cost-Only Rule Applies To FOIA Fees For Illinois Property Tax Records

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A recent Illinois appellate court decision should remind government entities that charging a fee for a FOIA request should not be assessed without due care. In Sage Information Services v. Suhr, 2014 IL App (2d) 130708, the plaintiffs requested "a copy, on CD or similar electronic media, of the current real property assessment record file for the entire county, together with an electronic copy of the sales file" from the Supervisor of Assessments.

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Consumer Group Loses FOIA Fight with Drugmakers

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A consumer rights advocacy group has lost a Freedom of Information Act fight to access the compliance records Pfizer Inc. and Purdue Pharma LP filed with the government as part of their settlement of health care fraud cases.
 
U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell of the District of Columbia agreed with the pharmaceutical companies and HHS that the records were exempt under FOIAís exemption for trade secrets and confidential commercial, financial information.
 

FOI Request: California School Cops Received Military Rifles, Grenade Launchers, Armored Vehicles

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School police in several California public school districts are ready for anything — including, apparently, a small invasion.

The open news website MuckRock found through a recent Freedom of Information Act request that not only are California state and local police departments receiving military-grade equipment from the Department of Defense, but several school police departments are as well.

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Former ‘Eagle’ editor, publisher Donnis Baggett honored at Texas Freedom of Information Foundation conference

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Veteran journalist Donnis Baggett, former publisher and editor of The Eagle, was honored Friday by the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas for his work in fighting for open government and the First Amendment.

Baggett, who is executive vice president of the Texas Press Association, leads the group's governmental affairs program, which focuses on protecting open records, open meetings and public notice at all levels of government.

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Editorial: There is plenty your government doesn’t want you to know

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There are a lot of things that government doesnít want you to know: It can be a relatively simple thing, such as the details of a $6.8 million no-bid contract for a D.C. firm to basically run the state Medicaid program after the McCrory administration excused most of the people who knew what floor the break room was on.

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