Brechner Freedom of Information Project

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has filed a lawsuit against the Des Moines Register to block the release of certain government emails, citing a claim of “executive privilege” that her office says protects candid internal communications. According to a report from the Des Moines Register, the lawsuit, filed April 25 in…

Brechner Freedom of Information Project Director David Cuillier said the University of Michigan should be more responsive in providing records to people by the state-imposed deadline. Cuillier was quoted this week in an article by The College Fix about the university failing to release public records tied to a fall 2024 course taught by former…

According to new figures out this week from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Information Policy, Freedom of Information Act requests have dramatically surged in the past year, along with denials, backlogs, delays and costs.  The annual FOIA Report for fiscal year 2024, released April 28, indicates that federal…

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…

As local newspapers continue to go out of business, researchers are turning to artificial intelligence to preserve historic image archives. A research team from Northeastern University used the Boston Globe’s photo morgue to test how machine learning can help digitally archive photo collections. With AI, the researchers were able to…

The National Freedom of Information Act Hall of Fame is back, under the leadership of the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications.  The Hall of Fame was created in 1996 by the First Amendment Center, an operating program of…

A recent study published in the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory examined the role of regulatory bodies’ enforcement powers in building public trust. The research, conducted across several European countries, found that people showed slightly more trust in agencies regulating sectors like farming, banking, and health data when…

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…

Journalists in the United Kingdom have become increasingly frustrated with roadblocks in acquiring public records, according to a study published in Journalism Practice.   Jingrong Tong of the University of Sheffield interviewed 31 journalists about their struggles to obtain government records, pointing to several key issues: lack of resources at government…

In Oklahoma, House Bill 2163, proposes the creation of a Public Access Counselor within the Office of the Attorney General to handle complaints related to denied public records.  According to reporting from the Oklahoma Voice, Republican House Rep. John Pfeiffer, R-Orlando, who authored the bill, said he hopes this will…

Citizen Documenters’ summaries of public meetings are more readable and useful to the public than agency meeting minutes, according to a study by Nina Kelly, a doctoral candidate at Wayne State University, published in the Journal of Civic Information.  The Documenters Network is a program started in 2018 by City…

Iowa House representatives are moving forward with legislation that aims to increase training for local officials on open meetings and public record laws, and to raise penalties for open meeting violations According to a report from Iowa Capital Dispatch, the passing of House File 706 marks the second year that…