Proposed bill would remove Smithsonian’s FOIA exemption

Two U.S. senators introduced legislation this week that would remove the Smithsonian’s exemption from the Freedom of Information Act and the Sunshine Act, according to the Washington Post.

Republican Sens. Charles Grassley and Arlen Specter are co-sponsors of the Open and Transparent Smithsonian Act, which would force the Smithsonian to hold meetings in public and make records available to the public upon request, The Post said.

The Smithsonian, created by Congress as a federal trust, has been exempt from such requirements since the mid-1990s, when the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington (D.C. Cir.) decided FOIA would apply to the Smithsonian only if Congress said so.