Secrecy Tracker

New Jersey recently introduced a bill that would require agencies to black out any handwritten signatures on documents before uploading them to the web. The bill would also require state agencies “to archive any document published on the State agency’s website that displays a person’s handwritten signature prior to the…

A bill enrolled in California will change the required response time for public records requests from 10 days to 10 business days. Previous versions of the bill would have also allowed agencies to charge additional fees for commercial requests and go to court against requesters they believed had “malicious intent.” Assembly Bill 1821, which…

A bill making its way through the California legislature would require reports from data centers to be public. The bill recently passed both chambers and should soon go to the governor. If it becomes law, the bill will require the “owner or operator of the data center” to provide data on…

Maine agencies can file for an “action for protection” against public records requesters, and a recent legislative change expanded the time they have to do it. The “action for protection” is meant to protect the agency from “a series of requests that are unduly burdensome or oppressive,” according to the state’s Right…

Louisiana recently changed its open meetings law to say that “viva voce” voting – votes that are spoken aloud – are no longer required to conduct public business. Under the new requirement, a vote “that is displayed and recorded using electronic machines” will count as viva voce. According to the Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate, the law…

Several states debated bills this legislative session that would have required public bodies to proactively publish their meeting minutes online. A Massachusetts bill died in committee that would have required minutes to be posted within 10 business days of approval. New York, like Louisiana, already has this rule on the books, but would have…

Earlier this year, Tennessee considered a bill that would have made death penalty information more public. The bill died in committee, but circulated around the topic of drugs used for executions and whether their makers and ingredients are confidential under the state’s public records law. “The identity of a supplier…

Nearly a dozen states have recently passed or discussed laws that would allow them to take requesters to court if they deem their requests disruptive, vexatious, malicious or overly broad. Tennessee allows agencies to seek an injunction if they think someone is submitting a request meant to disrupt government operations.…

Library checkout histories are private in basically all states, but New Hampshire recently debated going farther: should a patron’s status, whether they have an active library card or not, be exempted from public record? That was the proposal put forth by state representative Lisa Mazur, who was elected to the…

The Virginia state legislature recently commended the Virginia Coalition for Open Government in a joint resolution. The legislators praised the organization’s 30 years of advocacy, which has included online publications, help hotlines for requesters, fellowships in policymaking and other resources. The resolution specifically praised VCOG’s guidance for government agencies on how…

A bill making its way through the Louisiana legislature would exempt student athletes’ compensation from public disclosure. Under state public records law, general information about university athletics financials are public. But this bill would exempt details such as payments for a specific student or sport. Negotiations would be private as…

New Jersey is debating changing its public records law to prevent exploitative police body cam footage from being posted online. “It has come to the sponsor’s attention that bad actors have been taking advantage of the State’s open public records law in order to exploit on social media young women…