public records

People seeking government information to make their communities better face frustrations and obstacles because of high copy fees, according to a new study “To Fee or Not to Fee: Requester Attitude Toward Freedom of Information Charges, co-authored by David Cuillier, director of the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the…

The Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information (FOI) Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications partnered with the Student Press Law Center to launch the 2023 Student Freedom of Information (FOI) Awards. The two inaugural recipients in the college and high school divisions received cash awards of $2,000 and $1,000, respectively. In…

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “Access to Public Records is ‘Deteriorating Terribly’” published on route-fifty.com on Oct. 31. The article focuses on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recommendation to change Florida’s records law to exempt the governor’s travel records. Not only would the…

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “Closed-Door Sessions Endure at County, City Meetings” published on nogalesinternational.com on Oct. 13. The article focuses on a closed-door meeting by Arizona’s Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors involving a legal discussion between the county and South32,…

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, is quoted in “What Are They Hiding? State Agency Quotes High Fees to Bog Down Requests” published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Sept. 8, 2023 The article focuses on public records requests made by the Las Vegas Review-Journal to…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, has developed the online course “Open Records Success: Strategies for Writing Requests and Overcoming Denials” for poynter.com. LoMonte and Barbara Allen, Poynter director of college programming, created a video lecture tutorial offering strategies…

Police who exercise arrest powers at private universities should abide by the same transparency standards as all other law-enforcement agencies, a coalition of open-government advocates argues in a brief filed with the Utah Supreme Court. In a brief filed Friday, the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information and nine other…

A string of mismanagement scandals at university foundations across the country demonstrates the urgency of opening foundations’ financial records to public scrutiny, open-government advocates told the Virginia Supreme Court in a brief filed Monday. A coalition of government-transparency organizations led by the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information is supporting…

Attorneys for the Brechner Center and a coalition of open-government groups are urging Pennsylvania’s highest court to reaffirm that journalists are entitled to view video from school surveillance cameras that capture newsworthy information. A brief filed Wednesday with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court argues that footage from security cameras cannot be…

Frank LoMonte, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center for Freedom of Information director, was quoted in “#317 – Making Access to Public Records a Public Priority” published on itsalljournalism.com on Aug. 2. The article focuses on how to get the average person to care about open…

Newsworthy video from school surveillance cameras can’t be withheld from the public on the grounds of student privacy, a group of open-government groups argues in a brief filed with a Pennsylvania appeals court. The brief, authored by the Brechner Center’s Frank LoMonte and David Jadon, supports television journalists from Harrisburg who used their state’s Right-to-Know-Law to request footage of a school-bus security camera that captured an altercation between a parent and a student.