A free society is predicated on transparency and access to information. The ability to examine records generated by public entities can help expose controversies and keep people in power in check. Moreover, a well-informed society is better equipped to make good decisions regarding its future. These public records laws, known as “sunshine laws”, set ground rules for promoting and preserving access. With National Freedom of Information Day on March 16, it is important to revisit the process of asking for public information, which is done through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
The Freedom of Information Act was passed in 1966 and signed into law by then-president Lyndon Johnson. It was updated in 2016 to accommodate electronic records. With a handful of exemptions related to national security and personal privacy, the law states that all federal government documents are available for viewing by any US citizen upon request. All requests must be examined by the appropriate government agency and all petitioners must receive a response within 20 days (not including weekends and holidays) but copying and receiving documents may take longer depending on the size and format of the documents requested.
The FOIA website has everything required to begin a request. All federal agencies ranging from the Federal Reserve to the Institute for Museum and Library Services have pages on the official FOIA site. Each of these pages gives a rough timeline to expect a response for different types of requests, an opportunity to see if the request being made concerns already public information and a link to begin the FOIA request form. The form itself consists of six parts that allow visitors to write requests for information with detailed specificity. Throughout the FOIA website, in fact, specificity is repeated frequently – the more detail given in the request, the easier it will be to fulfill.
National Sunshine Week, which in 2024 is March 10 to March 16, highlights the importance of information access. But that importance can be forgotten if the average person does not understand why public records access matters. According to the Society of Professional Journalists, which hosts the event, “Research has shown that citizens are supportive of (freedom of information) when it has a public purpose. If that public value is not apparent, then citizens often oppose journalists’ access to the records, and it can lead to backlash. Make it clear why the information is important to the public.” In other words, while public records clearly have informational value, the importance of that information in the lives of everyday people might need to be explained.
In addition to the federal government, individual states also have FOIA laws. In Indiana, the Access to Public Records Act (APRA) defines the rights of everyday citizens to request and receive information generated by city, county and state government entities. The state of Indiana has written a handbook that covers both APRA and the Indiana Open Door Law, which ensures the right of the public to attend meetings of government agencies. Ohio also has a Public Records Act, which highlights the process to request records and includes a records retention policy describing how long the state keeps certain documents.
The right to access public records is key to understanding how government works at all levels. Interested in learning more about the FOIA act or state sunshine laws? Curious about what kind of information to access? Want to try to file a FOIA request? Ask us! iueref@iue.edu