National Freedom of Information Coalition
Protecting Your Right to Open Government

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Florida legislature adds to the more than 1,000 exceptions to public records law

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TALLAHASSEE  Nearly a dozen new exemptions to public records are poised to become law after this year’s legislative session, as lawmakers chipped away at what information is available to the public under the state’s Sunshine Law. At least two of those exemptions — crafted as part of the state’s response to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas […]

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Two California public record laws: one for the Legislature and one for everyone else

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Documents released in February, showing current and former California legislators had been accused of sexual misbehavior and other harassment, weren’t released under the California Public Records Act. Instead, the Legislature has its own, more restrictive public records law: the Legislative Open Records Act. The California Public Records Act was signed into law 50 years ago […]

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U.S. Justice Department Launches New FOIA.gov Site

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the U.S. Justice Department has launched a new FOIA.gov site, redesigning the online portal through which citizens can request information under the Freedom of Information Act. Transparency groups have praised the redesign, which was mandated by Congress in 2016, describing it as a significant improvement over the previous FOIA.gov. The Sunlight Foundation, an open data […]

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Nebraska public utilities, media organizations trying to find compromise in public-records case

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Failing to clarify a law exempting the state’s public power providers from making proprietary records public could affect ratepayers, representatives of those public utilities told the Legislature’s Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday. But media organizations said a proposal by Sen. Dan Hughes of Venango on behalf of the public power industry carved out too much […]

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Louisiana’s AG sued a local school board over a meeting where teacher were removed

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 Louisiana’s attorney general sued a local school board Thursday over a meeting disrupted by the video-recorded arrest of a teacher being roughly handcuffed on a hallway floor after she criticized the district superintendent’s pay raise. Attorney General Jeff Landry’s lawsuit accuses the Vermilion Parish School Board and its members of violating the state’s Open Meetings […]

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Illinois AG: Carlinville violated Open Meetings Act; Local rules do not trump State Law

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On March 7, 2018, the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor issued a determination that the Carlinville City Council violated Section 2.02(c) of the Open Meetings Act during its January 2, 2018 meeting when it voted to suspend its rules and to adopt an ordinance without said ordinance being properly placed on the meeting agenda. […]

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Michigan Legislature OKs exempting cybersecurity info from FOIA

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LANSING, MI (AP)–   Cybersecurity plans and vulnerabilities would be exempt from open-records requests under legislation approved by Michigan’s Legislature.    Legislators sent the bill to Gov. Rick Snyder Tuesday on a 104-4 vote, paving the way for the state to block cybersecurity information shared with Michigan State Police and other public bodies. Supporters of […]

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Pennsylvania: Technology can help solve the government transparency problem

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In 2009, the Pennsylvania Right to Know Act went into effect. The Act deems all records public unless the government can show that it isn’t. Unlike some states, the burden is on the government entity to prove that the record is exempt under Pennsylvania State law. Despite the focus on transparency in the 2009 Act, […]

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