Secrecy Tracker

A group of Maryland inspectors general are asking to be granted special access to public records that would normally be exempt from disclosure. In February, the state attorney general’s office advised records custodians to treat the inspectors the same as any other requester. “Fundamental to our work is having unrestricted…

A proposed bill in Illinois would exempt from disclosure junk mail that the government might receive. HB0021, sponsored by Rep. Daniel Didech, would update the statute’s definition of a “public record” to exclude “junk mail,” defined as “any unsolicited commercial mail sent to a public body and not responded to…

Police in the middle of official duties would have been exempted from accepting public records requests, if a proposed amendment had gone through to Florida’s public records law. The bill passed two committees but died in the judiciary committee last month. House Bill 627 would have allowed law enforcement officers…

Indiana passed a law making several changes to its Access to Public Records Act, including anti-scraping, anti-outsider and anti-automation measures. Agencies can now use CAPTCHAs on portals or require a requestor’s address, including whether or not they are a state resident. The text of the bill suggests it is concerned…

An Illinois lawmaker has put forth a bill, SB 1357, called “FOIA-ABUSE BY OFFICIAL” that is currently in committee. Michael Hastings, the sponsoring legislator, declined to comment on what prompted him to propose the bill that targets local officials misusing FOIA. “An elected official of a unit of local government shall…

A bill in Connecticut would allow agencies to ignore threatening or harassing public record requests for up to three years. Senate Bill 466, titled “An Act Concerning Vexatious Requesters Under the Freedom of Information Act, passed out of committee a few weeks ago (on a 13-6 vote). Current law allows…

The Illinois Legislature has an astonishing 22 bills in its current session revolving around the topic of burdensome public records requests. That is far more than most states, which typically have a few such bills, according to research by Samantha Sunne of the Brechner FOI Project. Six of the bills…

A group of public information advocates is proposing an easier alternative to resolve denied public records requests in Idaho. Earlier this month, the Idaho Press Club proposed a bill that would create a new process akin to a “small claims” court, the Idaho Statesman reports. Under current law, requesters’ only…

Leading data journalist, educator and trainer Samantha Sunne will coordinate the Brechner FOI Project’s national Secrecy Tracker, monitoring legislation across the nation related to public records and open meetings, synthesizing trends, and educating advocates and policy makers. Sunne (pronounced “Sunny”) is co-author of the textbook “Data + Journalism: A Story-Driven…

Washington state House lawmakers have reinstated a controversial email auto-deletion policy, allowing most legislative emails, including those about bills and communications with lobbyists, to be permanently erased after 30 days. The move has drawn criticism from transparency advocates who say it weakens the public’s ability to scrutinize how laws are…

The Iowa Legislature has passed House File 706, a bill that would add a new exemption to keep Capitol security camera footage confidential. On the plus side, the bill raises fines for open meetings violations — from $100–$500 to $500–$2,500 — and increases penalties for knowing violations to $5,000–$12,500. It also requires…

A bill clarifying aspects of Arkansas’ public meetings law has passed the Senate and is now heading to the governor’s desk. Senate Bill 227 specifies what city councils, quorum courts, and school boards can discuss outside of a public meeting. It also allows courts to nullify decisions made by a…