Connecticut Freedom of Information Act

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Contents

State sunshine
State laws
How to ask for records
Transparency headlines
Statutory changes
Notable FOIA requests
State sunshine lawsuits
State court cases
E-mail access
Private agency, public dollars
The WikiFOIA portal

The Connecticut Freedom of Information Act is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of governmental bodies in Connecticut. The law was first enacted in 1975.

The Connecticut Open Meetings Law legislates the methods by which public meetings are conducted.

Statues 1-200 through 1-259 define these transparency laws.

Connecticut's transparency report card

A 2008 study, BGA - Alper Integrity Index, conducted by the Better Government Association and sponsored by Alper Services, ranked Connecticut #14 in the nation with an overall percentage of 57.40%. [1]

A 2007 study, Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, conducted by BGA and the NFOIC, gave Connecticut 53 points out of a possible 100, a letter grade of "F", and a ranking of 18 out of the 50 states.[2]

A 2002 study, Freedom of Information in the USA, conducted by IRE and BGA, ranked Colorado's law as the 17th best in the country, giving it a letter grade of "C".[3]

Public Records

" "Public records or files" means any recorded data or information relating to the conduct of the public's business prepared, owned, used, received or retained by a public agency, or to which a public agency is entitled to receive a copy by law or contract under section 1-218, whether such data or information be handwritten, typed, tape-recorded, printed, photostated, photographed or recorded by any other method." [4]

Who May Request Connecticut Records?

Anyone may request public documents in Connecticut. "[E]very person" shall have the right to inspect, copy or receive public records.[5]

For requester residency requirements in other states, see the list of who can make public record requests by state.

Open Meetings

"The meetings of all public agencies, except executive sessions, as defined in subdivision (6) of section 1-200, shall be open to the public. The votes of each member of any such public agency upon any issue before such public agency shall be reduced to writing and made available for public inspection within forty-eight hours and shall also be recorded in the minutes of the session at which taken, which minutes shall be available for public inspection within seven days of the session to which they refer."[6]

Freedom of Information Commission

The Connecticut public records law also requires there to be a Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission. This commission consists of 5 members appointed by the Governor, paid $200/day that they take part in commission hearings or other duties.

The Commission's primary responsibility is to review allegations of FOIA violations, and issues orders pertaining to them.

The CT FOIC has already seen more than 800 complaints in 2008, up from only 716 in 2007, making this the busiest year since the commission's formation. [7]

See Also

External Links

References

  1. ↑ Integrity Index available for download here
  2. ↑ Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, 2007
  3. ↑ Freedom of Information in the USA, 2002
  4. ↑ Chapter 14, section 1-200
  5. ↑ Connecticut General Statutes, Sec. 1-210
  6. ↑ Chapter 14, section 1-225
  7. ↑ Business booming for FOI Commission, The Advocate, September 30, 2008
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