open records laws

For nearly 30 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released an annual report tracking the country’s greenhouse gas emissions—until this year. In a report from CBS News, the agency failed to publish its 2025 Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report, prompting the Environmental Defense Fund to file a Freedom of…

As public records requests continue to rise, a new paper in AI & Society argues that artificial intelligence could play a key role in helping government agencies manage the growing demand.  Jason R. Baron, a professor at the University of Maryland and member of the National Archivist’s FOIA Advisory Committee,…

The Mackinac Center for Public Policy has filed a lawsuit against Flint Community Schools for failing to comply with Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act. The legal complaint comes after the school district ignored a Feb. 17 records request for more than 50 business days—well past the legal deadline.  The request…

An experiment published in Government Information Quarterly found that public record requesters who remind record custodians of the public records law are more likely to get the records they seek, particularly when asking for large amounts of data. The researchers emailed record requests to 800 randomly selected cities in Slovakia,…

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…

A recent survey by the Faculty Senate at Western Washington University found that a subset of faculty members has experienced harassment related to their areas of research – but little harassment through public records requests. Of the 202 faculty who responded, about 25% reported being targeted, particularly for work focused…

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…

A West Virginia bill that was set to make last-minute changes to the state’s freedom of information law, allowing more copy fees, longer delays, and more secrecy, died this month before it reached Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s desk. According to reporting from West Virginia Watch, House Bill 3412 passed out of the…

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…