There is a nice read online:
Freedom of Information: How Americans got their right to know by George Kennedy.
It takes you through a brief history of FOIA but also what COULD have happened to FOIA along the way. A lot of fancy words accompanied the signing of the FOIA. On the surface, the rhetoric would make it appear that Pres. Johnson was happy to sign such a wonderful piece of legislation.
It is clear there was a long and hard battle (starting in 1955) to bring the FOIA to the point of being signed on July 4, 1966. Although a weak and watered down version of what was desired, it was a crucial first step. In the article noted above, it is reported that there were a lot of concerns about the number of exceptions that were likely to be requested and put into place. If enough of them existed, the very document meant to support Freedom of Information COULD have become the law that actually strengthened the government’s right to secrecy!
Fortunately, we had some editors of major newspapers (a highly competitive field) that set aside competition and joined forces to keep pressure on to make FOIA what it was meant to be, a way for citizens to learn what was going on in their government. This drive continued to grow and apply pressue until the FOIA was actually strengthened rather than weakened with the 1974 amendment. Now, with the ‘internet age’ fully upon us, the numbers of those striving to find information, lookiing for truth is expanding. It has the potential to be inside every business, every home, ever vehicle, every backpack, and many phones. (Case in point, the information we are still receiving from Iran despite what appears extraordinary government efforts to stop those leaks of information.)
Virtually nothing happens or is done these days that someone can’t find out about. It seems to me the logical response would be for government to maintain itself as openly as possible to public scrutiny. It is far better to be open with errors and ommissions now than to have them reach out and grab you in the future.
Now, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and some Territories all have their own versions of the FOIA at the state level. Florida was the first to do so in 1967. the “Sunshine Laws” of Florida remain considered some of the best in the country. However, not all state FOIAs are created equal.
Just by moving to another state, you could suddenly find yourself losing rights you had in the state in which you previously lived. In other cases, you could have spent all of your life in a state with limited FOIAs and relocate to a state like Florida where Sunshine has long been the standard.
How can a person keep up with it all? Easy answer – one person cannot do it. It requires many people watching and working to keep the information flow going. However, each person can access some of the information at places like the Sunshine Review Click on Virginia (the word) or Virginia on the map to get information specific to the State of Virginia.
This site, like most of the wiki sites is a work in progress. People are constantly updating the data you find here, so it is a good idea to check back often. Within the Virginia pages you will find: Statewide, School Districts, Counties, and Cities. (Yes, I’ve already written in to request that Towns be included:)
A closing thought:
“A popular government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy; or, perhaps, both.” Pres. James Madison, August 4, 1822
