National Freedom of Information Coalition
Protecting Your Right to Open Government

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CELEBRATING F.O.I.A. ON INDEPENDENCE DAY

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On July 4, 1966, Lyndon B. Johnson surprised even some of his closest aides by signing the Freedom of Information Act. Johnson was said to have hated the “government-information bill”; he questioned the motives of the Democrat who was its chief architect, and was so disturbed by its passage that Bill Moyers, then L.B.J.’s press secretary, warned its supporters not to get their hopes up. With Congress in recess and the President vacationing in Texas, it was widely expected that Johnson would pocket-veto the bill.

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Opinion: FOIA helps keep government transparent

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Independence Day 2014 marks 48 years since the landmark Freedom of Information Act went into effect — yet Americans are still distrustful of government.

The Freedom of Information Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 4, 1966. This legislation gives citizens the right to request and obtain documents from any agency of the Executive Branch of the United States Government except those that are exempted by statute such as classified documents.

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Lawsuit: Fort Smith (AK) Directors, Clerk Violated FOIA

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The Fort Smith city clerk and four members of the city board of directors are accused of violating the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Sebastian County Circuit Court.

City Clerk Sherri Gard is accused of individually polling Directors Keith Lau, George Catsavis and Kevin Settle after Ward 3 Director Mike Lorenz contacted her to remove items from the June 17 and July 1 directors’ meeting agendas, in the complaint.

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Bill Lueders: A wish-list for open government in Wisconsin

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Most candidates for public office, when asked, will pledge their support for open and transparent government. The real question is: Are they committed to fixing problems and expanding what information is available?

Recently, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council drew up a “Legislative wish-list for open government”—changes in state law to improve access and accountability. As the various candidates in this fall’s elections crow about how open they will be, here are specific proposals they could and should be asked about.

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NTSB’S Role in the Freedom of Information

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Tomorrow, many of us will gather to celebrate Independence Day, the first step our nation took to becoming a democracy. In signing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on July 4, 1966, President Lyndon Johnson said, “This legislation springs from one of our most essential principles: a democracy works best when the people have all the information that the security of the nation will permit.”

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Minimal Transparency in Mayor’s FOIL Tracker Compared to Federal Website

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The web page set up by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office to track freedom of information document requests pales in comparison to the government transparency standards currently in place at the federal level.

The mayor’s office introduced its Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request tracker website on June 9. That website merely displays the dates on which requests were received and decided upon and the status for each request.

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Colorado Supreme Court: Legal fees can be reimbursed in records challenges

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The Colorado Supreme Court has sided with open-government advocates in a case over records and court costs. The court ruled 5-2 Monday that people who win open-records lawsuits can be reimbursed for legal fees — even if they win access to only some of the records.

The case stemmed from a 2006 open-records request from the Colorado Republican Party to some Democratic state lawmakers. The GOP wanted to see results from a public survey, and a court later ruled that some but not all of the surveys were subject to the Colorado Open Records Act.

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US National Archives To Upload All Holdings To Wikimedia Commons

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Ever since the National Archives and Record Administration launched the Open Government Plan in 2010, it has increasingly been uploading content to Wikipedia to digitize and gain a wider reach for its holdings. But all this time, uploading its digitized holdings to the Wikimedia Commons was a side project. Now, as mentioned in the 2014 Open Government Plan published earlier this month, the project is a core part of the NARA, according to The Signpost.

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