Reporters gain useful insights into government operations at the local, state and federal level by examining government records or attending government meetings. Whether it involves probing police misconduct, scrutinizing how local governments spend taxpayer money, or gathering information on school bus drivers’ traffic records, open records and meetings laws are a powerful oversight tool for journalists and citizens.
All states, the District of Columbia and the federal government have enacted open records or “freedom of information” laws that guarantee access to government documents. The laws are amended regularly and, in recent years, there has been an effort to address access to electronic records in many jurisdictions.
The 2007 amendments to the federal Freedom of Information Act established the Office of Government Information Services to help resolve FOIA disputes between requesters and agencies.
Open records and meetings laws vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Records laws often contain exemptions for personal privacy, law enforcement and investigative files, commercially valuable information, pre-decisional documents, national security interests, and attorney-client communications and attorney work product.
Open meetings or “sunshine” statutes give the public the right to attend the meetings of commissions, councils, boards and other government bodies. Some states permit electronic meetings so long as public access to the meetings is assured. Most states include exemptions for personnel matters, collective bargaining sessions, discussions with agency attorneys, and discussion of the acquisition or sale of public property.