open records laws

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…

A recent study reveals that confusion over the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) isn’t limited to students or parents. It extends to university officials themselves.  Richard Rainsberger, a former university registrar, conducted a nationwide survey to understand how FERPA is interpreted and applied across the states. The results…

A new study led by the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project indicates widening disparity of Americans acquiring government information through public record laws. The study, published this month in News Research Journal, shows that the most active users of public record laws are much more likely to be…

Brechner Freedom of Information Project director David Cuillier is questioning Florida’s decision to remove detailed contract records tied to its new $250 million detention camp from a public website.  “That’s a lot of our money that we deserve to see how it’s spent, and it’s a high-profile project,” Cuillier told…

As federal agencies increasingly use artificial intelligence to process public records requests, new research calls for stronger transparency requirements. In the Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary, Ronald Capaldi argues that the U.S. government should implement algorithmic audits to monitor how AI is used in the FOIA…

The Journal of Civic Information is launching a Research Competition and Special Issue to mark the upcoming 60th anniversary of FOIA. Scholars, journalists, practitioners, advocates, and students are invited to submit innovative proposals exploring the future of access to public information and what transparency, accountability, and civic information should look…

A study from the Hong Kong University Business School suggests that Freedom of Information Act requests aren’t just tools for transparency – they can also move markets. Researchers analyzed 22,724 FOIA requests made to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) between 2006 and 2022. They tracked stock market behavior…

A new partnership led by MuckRock and involving the National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC), the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Brechner Freedom of Information Project is working to help journalists acquire the information they need to inform the public.   Journalism relies on public records, but…

Universities should proactively post records of research misconduct investigations on their websites to strengthen trust in academic science, argue Ivan Oransky and Adam Marcus in a recent paper published in the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics. The authors highlight cases where excessive secrecy has shielded misconduct, like falsified data…

A national hunting advocacy group is alleging that members of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission violated the state’s Public Records Act and is asking Gov. Bob Ferguson to remove them from office. In a lawsuit, The Sportsmen’s Alliance says records it obtained show commissioners discussed agency business via text…

The Center for Biological Diversity is suing the Trump administration for failing to release records identifying industrial polluters who requested exemptions from Clean Air Act protections.  In March, the Trump administration invited fossil fuel companies and other industries to apply for exemptions from limits on hazardous pollutants like mercury and…

University of North Carolina professor David Ardia argues that the public’s right to access government information should be a constitutional right—not just a statutory one.  In a Arizona Law Review article, Ardia writes that access to information is essential for democratic self-governance and should be recognized as a constitutional safeguard…