The New England First Amendment Coalition today opposed Maine legislation that would cause unnecessary delays to the release of public records.
The legislation, L.D. 1432, allows an agency or official to “require payment of all costs before the public record is provided to the requester” under the state’s Freedom of Access Act.
If L.D. 1432 were to become law, NEFAC explained, inexpensive and routine documents could be withheld for the sake of the relatively low fees collected in return, creating “a system ripe for obfuscation and needless delay.”