Freedom of Information Act Birthday is July 4, 2009.
If you have been reading this series of articles, you may have picked up some new information on FOIA at the Federal level. Few people’s daily lives are directly affected by the Federal FOIA. However, each state has its own version of FOIA, and that can bring the issue right into your yard (both literally and figuratively).
One thing becomes crystal clear when you take the time to compare the various acts of the states. Federal FOIA is equal for everyone across the nation. The State FOIA (or whatever name they choose for their open government laws) may be equal for everyone within the state, but the differences between states are significant! If you are considering moving to another state in the future, you may want to take a few minutes to look at how that state compares to where you currently live as it pertains to your right to access of public records.
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press provides a comprehensive tool for doing just that, and it is available on the internet for free! This tool is the Open Government Guide.
For instance:
Court invalidation of decisions:
- The State of Florida clearly gives the courts the authority to invalidate any actions taken while a meeting was held in violaiton of the Sunshine Law.
- The State of Virginia does not address this issue.
Interviews for public employment:
- The State of Florida provides no exemption for interviews.
- The State of Virginia allows that prospective appointees may meet in closed session, but the appointment itself must be public.
Penalties for failure to give adequate notice:
- The State of Florida considers this “irreparable public injury”. All decisions are voided. No finding of intent is required and one the violation has been “established, prejudice is presumed”. Those public officials in attendance may be fined or criminal charges pursued.
- In the State of Virginia, the standard penalties under FOIA apply. Thus, Statute 2.2-3714 applies. It must be proved that the violation was willfully and knowingly made each individual can be fined from $250 to $1000 for first violation and from $1000 to $2500 for additional events. This money goes to the State Literary Fund.
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press also provides ongoing coverage of FOIA cases and law changes across the nation (we’ll get to Virginia specific soon:) If you want to find out more about the Senate passing a bill to withhold torture photos, you’ll find a link here. In Florida a case is in progress whereby the National Collegiate Athletic Association has tried to keep information unreleased that pertains to academic scandal sanctions.
You get the general idea. Watching what is happening in different states concerning those state freedom of information laws, can tell you a lot about how much the lawmakers care about openness in government or secrecy of the same.
