Freedom of information in the United States explained

Freedom of information in the United States relates to the public's ability to access government records, meetings, and other information. In the United States, freedom of information legislation exists at all levels of government: federal level, state level, and local level.

Federal level

Since the founding of the United States, the public's right to know the affairs of their government has been foundational democracy. James Madison wrote during the United States Constitutional Convention, "The right of freely examining public characters and measures and free communication, is the only effective guardian of every other right."

Several federal laws have strengthened the public's ability to access public records.

Federal legislation

See main article: Freedom of Information Act (United States). The most important was the Freedom of Information Act, signed into law on July 4, 1966, by President Lyndon Johnson.

• Administrative Procedure Act PL 79-404; 1946
• Freedom of Information Act PL 85-619; 1966
• Federal Advisory Committee Act PL 92-463; 1972
• Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act PL 93-344; 1974
• Government in the Sunshine Act PL 94-409; 1976
• Inspector General Act PL 95-452; 1978
• Ethics in Government Act PL 95-521; 1978
• Presidential Records Act PL 95-591; 1978
• Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments PL 104-231; 1996

Proposed legislation

• FOIA Oversight and Implementation Act of 2014 (H.R. 1211; 113th Congress) - would amend the FOIA to speed up the response time and ease of making a "FOIA request", among other changes.^{[1] [2]}

Miscellaneous Authoritative Federal Sources

• Executive Order 13233, drafted by Alberto R. Gonzales and issued by George W. Bush on November 1, 2001, is used to limit the FOIA by restricting access to the records of former presidents.
• Executive Order 13392

Improving Agency Disclosure of Information.^[3]

U.S. Attorney General Memoranda

History

The Holder Memo is part of series of policy memos on how federal agencies should apply FOIA exemptions. Beginning in 1977 with Attorney General Griffin Bell, and continued by Attorney General William French Smith in 1981 and Attorney General Janet Reno in 1993, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced how the executive branch should approach FOIA, its application, and DOJ's defense of agency's actions. In other words, DOJ's position on when they would defend in a FOIA suit has seesawed for about the last three decades.

Reno Memo

The Reno Memo^[4] established a "presumption" in favor of disclosure by providing that "it shall be the policy of the Department of Justice to defend the assertion of a FOIA exemption only in those cases where the agency reasonably foresees that disclosure would be harmful to an interest protected by that exemption". It encouraged all government agencies to review FOIA requests in a manner most favorable to openness and to release information, even though it might fall within one of the nine exemption categories, if no "foreseeable harm" would result from the disclosure. The goal was to achieve the "maximum responsible disclosure".

Ashcroft Memo

On October 12, 2001, Attorney General John Ashcroft issued a policy memorandum on FOIA to all federal executive agencies. The AG declared the Department of Justice (DOJ) would defend agencies' decisions to withhold documents from a FOIA requester under one of the statute's exemptions "unless they lack a sound legal basis or present an unwarranted risk of adverse impact on the ability of other agencies to protect other important records".

The Ashcroft Memorandum reversed the Reno standard. Agencies were told that in making discretionary FOIA decisions they should carefully consider the fundamental values behind the exemptions—national security, privacy, government's interests, etc.—and to lean in their favor whenever possible. The Ashcroft Memo^[5] with its "sound legal basis" standard encouraged (or at least seemed to support) greater use of FOIA exemptions by federal agency personnel.

AG Holder Memo

The Ashcroft Memo was rescinded by Attorney General Eric Holder on March 14, 2009. The AG Holder Memo^[6] appears to have reinstated the Reno Memo standard and extends the policy. The policy of the executive branch is to be open, responsive, transparent, and accountable. The current memo encourages the maximum disclosure possible in discretionary exemptions and to, whenever possible, reasonably segregate exempt information and release the rest.

State legislation

All fifty U.S. states and the District of Columbia also have freedom of information laws that govern the public's access to government records at state and local levels.^[7] These laws go by many different names including Sunshine Laws, Public Records Laws, Open Records Laws, etc. Additionally, Open Meeting Laws govern the public's access to meetings of public officials or appointed boards.

All Freedom of Information style laws supports the ideal that in a democracy, people have the right to know the business of their government. However, the laws vary in scope and strength among jurisdictions.^[8] For example, Florida's Sunshine Law creates both a statutory and constitutional right to access whereas many states only provide the statutory right.^[9] Additionally, while a state may have strong legislation the state's compliance with its own laws may negatively impact the public's ability to access records.^[10]

Freedom of Information laws by state

State	Freedom of Information Law	Code Section^[11]	First Enacted	Who May Request Records
Alabama	Alabama Public Records Law	Al. Code §§ 36-12-40; 36-12-41	1923^[12]	Any citizen
Alaska	Alaska Public Records Act	A.S. §§ 40.25.110 to 40.25.125; 40.25.151	1900^[13]	Any person
Arizona	Arizona Public Records Law	A.R.S. §§ 39–121.01 to 39–121.03	1901^[14]	Any person
Arkansas	Arkansas Freedom of Information Act	Ark. Code Ann. §§ 25-19-101 to 25-19-111	1967^[15]	Citizens of the state/commonwealth
California	California Public Records Act	Gov't Code §§ 7920.000 to 7931.000	1968^[16]	Any person
Colorado	Colorado Open Records Act	C.R.S. §§ 24-72-200.1 to 24-72-205.5	1969^[17]	Any person
Connecticut	Connecticut Freedom of Information Act	Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 14 §§ 1–200 to 1-242	1975^[18]	Any person
Delaware	Delaware Freedom of Information Act	Tit. 29, §§ 10001 to 10007; 10112	1977^[19]	Citizens of the state/commonwealth
Florida	Florida Sunshine Law	Fla. Stat. §§ 119.01 to 119.19	1967^[20]	Any person
Georgia	Georgia Open Records Act	O.C.G.A. §§ 50-18-70 to 50-18-103	1959^[21]	Citizens of the state/commonwealth
Hawaii	Uniform Information Practices Act (Modified)	Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 92F-1 to 92F-43	1975^[22]	Any person
Idaho	Idaho Public Records Act	Idaho Code §§ 74–101 to 74-126	1990^[23]	Any person
Illinois	Illinois Freedom of Information Act	ILCS 5 §§ 140/1 to 140/11.6	1984^[24]	Any person
Indiana	Access to Public Records Act	IN Code §§ 5-14-3-1 to 5-14-3-10	1983^[25]	Any person
Iowa	Iowa Open Records Law	Iowa Code §§ 22.1 to 22.16	1967^[26]	Any person
Kansas	Kansas Open Records Act	KSA §§ 45–215 to 45-524	1984^[27]	Any person
Kentucky	Kentucky Open Records Act	Kentucky Revised Statute Chapter §§ 61.870 to 61.884	1976^[28]	From Kentucky: "an individual residing in Kentucky, a domestic business with a location in Kentucky (or an out-of-state business registered with the Secretary of State), a person who works in Kentucky, a person or business that owns real property within Kentucky, a person or business authorized to act on behalf of a Kentucky resident, or a news-gathering organization"; inmates have some restrictions; non-Kentucky people may request records, but their requests can be denied
Louisiana	Louisiana Public Records Law	La.R.S. §§ 44:31 to 44:41	1940^[29]	Any person 18 or older
Maine	Maine Freedom of Access Act	Tit. 1, §§ 400 to 434	1959^[30]	Any person
Maryland	Maryland Public Information Act	Gen. Provis. §§ 4–101 to 4-601	1970^[31]	Any person
Massachusetts	Massachusetts Public Records Law	Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 66, §§ 1 to 21	1897^[32]	Any person
Michigan	Michigan Freedom of Information Act	Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. §§ 15.231 to 15.246	1977^[33]	Any person
Minnesota	Minnesota Data Practices Act	Minn. Statutes §§ 13.01 to 13.99 Ch. 13 Appendix	1974^[34]	Any person
Mississippi	Mississippi Public Records Act	Miss. Code Ann. §§ 25-61-1 to 25-61-19	1983^[35]	Any person
Missouri	Missouri Public Records Act	Mo. Code §§ 109.180; 610.010 to 610.225	1961^[36]	Citizens of the state/commonwealth
Montana	Montana Public Records Act	Montana Code §§ 2-6-101 to 2-6-1020	1895^[37]	Any person
Nebraska	Nebraska Public Records Law	Nebraska Statutes §§ 84–712 to 84-712.09	1866^[38]	Any person
Nevada	Nevada Open Records Act	N.R.S. §§ 239.010-239.340	1911^[39]	Any person
New Hampshire	Right to Know Law	R.S.A. Ch. 91-A:1 to 91-A:10	1967^[40]	Any citizen
New Jersey	New Jersey Open Public Records Act	N.J.S.A. §§ 47:1A-1 to 47:1A-13	2002^[41]	Citizens of the state/commonwealth
New Mexico	Inspection of Public Records Act	NMSA §§ 14-2-1 to 14-2-12	1993^[42]	Any person
New York	New York Freedom of Information Law	Pub. Off. §§ 84 to 90	1974^[43]	Any person
North Carolina	North Carolina Public Records Law	NCGS Chapter 132–1 to 132-11	1995^[44]	Any person
North Dakota	Open Records Statute	NDCC §§ 44-04-18 to 44-04-32	1957^[45]	Any person
Ohio	Ohio Open Records Law	Ohio Rev. Code §§ 149.43 to 149.45; 2743.75	1963^[46]	Any person
Oklahoma	Oklahoma Open Records Act	Title 51 Oklahoma Statutes §§ 24A.1 to 24A.32	1999^[47]	Any person
Oregon	Oregon Public Records Law	O.R.S. §§ 192.311 to 192.513	1973^[48]	Any person
Pennsylvania	Right-to-Know Law	65 Pennsylvania Statute §§ 67.101 to 67.1310	1957^[49]	Any legal resident of the United States
Rhode Island	Rhode Island Access to Public Records Act	P.L. §§ 38-2-1 to 38-2-16	1979^[50]	Any person
South Carolina	South Carolina Freedom of Information Act	S.C. Code Ann. §§ 30-4-10 to 30-4-165	1974^[51]	Any person
South Dakota	South Dakota Sunshine Law	SDCL Chapter 1-27-1 to 1-27-48	2009^[52]	Any person
Tennessee	Tennessee Open Records Act	Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 10-7-503 to 10-7-508	1957^[53]	Citizens of the state/commonwealth
Texas	Texas Public Information Act	Gov't §§ 552.001 to 552.376	1973^[54]	Any person
Utah	Government Records Access and Management Act	Utah Code Title 63G-2-101 to 63G-2-804	1991^[55]	Any person
Vermont	Vermont Open Records Law	Vermont Statute Tit. 1, §§ 315 to 320	1976^[56]	Any person
Virginia	Virginia Freedom of Information Act	Code of Virginia §§ 2.2-3700 to 2.2-3715	1968^[57]	Citizens of the state/commonwealth
Washington	Washington Public Records Act	RCW §§ 42.56.001 to 42.56.904	1972^[58]	Any person
West Virginia	West Virginia Freedom of Information Act	W.Va. Code §§ 29B-1-1 to 29B-1-7	1977^[59]	Any person
Wisconsin	Wisconsin Open Records Law	Wisconsin Statute §§ 19.21 to 19.39	1981^[60]	Any person
Wyoming	Wyoming Sunshine Law	Wyo. Stat. §§ 16-4-201 to 16-4-205	1983^[61]	Any person
District of Columbia	Freedom of Information Act^[62]	DC Official Code §§ 2–531 to 2-540	1974^[63]	Any person

See also

• Freedom of information laws by country
• Sunshine Week
• Open government
• Declassification

Individuals

• Jason Leopold
• Ryan Shapiro

U.S.

• Moynihan Commission on Government Secrecy
• McBurney v. Young
• Muckrock
• National Archives and Records Administration
• NSA warrantless surveillance controversy
• Patriot Act
• U.S. reclassification program
• United States v. Reynolds

External links

• Sunshine Week
• The Open Government Guide of the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press.
• The National Freedom of Information Coalition
• The Joseph L. Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications

Notes and References

1. Web site: Gold . Hadas . House unanimously passes FOIA bill . 19 April 2015 . . 26 February 2014 . blog .
2. FOIA . Act . H.R. 1211 . 25 February 2014 . 19 April 2015 .
3. Web site: Freedom of Information Act. National Archives. whitehouse.gov. 21 January 2009 .
4. Web site: FOIA Update: Attorney General Reno's FOIA Memorandum. 13 August 2014 .
5. Web site: New Attorney General FOIA Memorandum Issued.
6. http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/foia-memo-march2009.pdf
7. Web site: State Public Record Laws . FOIAdvocates.
8. Stewart . Daxton R. "Chip" . 2010-07-08 . Let the Sunshine In, or Else: An Examination of the "Teeth" of State and Federal Open Meetings and Open Records Laws . Communication Law and Policy . 15 . 3 . 265–310 . 10.1080/10811680.2010.489858 . 144106823 . 1081-1680.
9. Edwards . K. . 2003 . Freedom of information laws . Encyclopedia of International Media and Communications . 53–67 . 10.1016/B0-12-387670-2/00100-X . 9780123876706 . Elsevier Science & Technology.
10. Web site: 2007 . States Failing FOI Responsiveness – National Freedom of Information Coalition . 2023-03-17 . en-US.
11. Book: National survey of state laws . William S. Hein & Co., Inc. . Richard A. Leiter, Wendy Leiter . 2022 . 978-0-8377-4269-4 . 9th . Getzville, NY . 807–816 . 1343162981.
12. Web site: Open Government Guide Alabama - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-05 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
13. Web site: Open Government Guide Alaska - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-05 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
14. Web site: Open Government Guide Arizona - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-05 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
15. Web site: Open Government Guide Arkansas - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-05 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
16. Web site: California Public Records Act FAQs . 2023-03-05 . post.ca.gov.
17. Web site: Open Government Guide Colorado - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-05 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
18. Web site: Open Government Guide Connecticut - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-05 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
19. Web site: Open Government Guide Delaware - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-05 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
20. Kalil . Earl L. . 1975 . Florida Sunshine Law . Florida Bar Journal . 49 . 2 . 72–116 . HeinOnline.
21. Web site: Open Government Guide Georgia - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-05 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
22. Web site: Open Government Guide Hawaii - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-05 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
23. Younger . Cally . 2015 . In Year 25 Idaho's Public Records Law Gets a Checkup by Idaho's Public Records Ombudsman . Advocate (Idaho State Bar) . 58 . 2 . 32–34 . HeinOnline.
24. Web site: Open Government Guide Illinois - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-05 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
25. Web site: Office of the Public Access Counselor . 2022 . Handbook on Indiana's Public Access Laws . March 3, 2022 . Access to Public Records Act.
26. Web site: Open Government Guide Iowa - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-05 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
27. Web site: Open Government Guide Kansas - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-05 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
28. Web site: Open Government Guide Kentucky - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-05 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
29. Web site: Open Government Guide Louisiana - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-05 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
30. Web site: Open Government Guide Maine - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-06 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
31. News: In new report, Maryland open-records officials urge greater transparency . en-US . Washington Post . 2023-03-07 . 0190-8286.
32. Web site: Open Government Guide Massachusetts - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-06 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
33. Web site: Open Government Guide Michigan - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-06 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
34. Web site: Open Government Guide Minnesota - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-06 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
35. Web site: Open Government Guide Mississippi - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-06 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
36. Web site: Missouri . 2023-03-06 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
37. Web site: Open Government Guide Montana - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-06 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
38. Web site: 2023 . Outline of Nebraska Public Records Statutes . 2023-03-06 . Attorney General Mike Hilgers . en.
39. Web site: Open Government Guide Nevada - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-06 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
40. Web site: Open Government Guide New Hampshire - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-06 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
41. Web site: Open Government Guide New Jersey - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-06 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
42. Web site: Open Government Guide New Mexico - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-06 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
43. Web site: Open Government Guide New York - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-06 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
44. Web site: Open Government Guide North Carolina - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-06 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
45. Web site: The State and Local Division, Office of Attorney General . 2022 . Open Records Manual . March 9, 2023 . North Dakota Office of Attorney General.
46. Web site: Open Government Guide Ohio - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-06 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
47. Web site: Open Government Guide Oklahoma - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-06 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
48. Web site: Oregon . 2023-03-06 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
49. Web site: Pileggi . Dominic . 2007 . Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law . March 9, 2023 . The Office of Open Records.
50. Web site: Open Government Guide Rhode Island - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-06 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
51. Web site: Open Government Guide South Carolina - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-06 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
52. Web site: Open Government Guide South Dakota - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-06 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
53. Web site: Open Government Guide Tennessee - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-09 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
54. Web site: Open Government Guide Texas - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-06 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
55. Web site: Open Government Guide Utah - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-06 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
56. Web site: Vermont State Archives & Records Administration . 2023-03-06 . Vermont Secretary of State.
57. Web site: Open Government Guide Virginia - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-06 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
58. Web site: Open Government Guide Washington - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-06 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
59. Web site: McGraw, Jr. . Darrell V. . 2011 . The West Virginia Freedom of Information Act . March 9, 2023.
60. Web site: Open Government Guide Wisconsin - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-06 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
61. Web site: Open Government Guide Wyoming - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-09 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.
62. Web site: Office of Open Government . Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) . March 3, 2023 . Open DC.
63. Web site: Open Government Guide District of Columbia - Reporters Committee . 2023-03-05 . The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press . en-US.