Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information
Minutes, Oct. 24, 2024
The regular monthly meeting was via Zoom.
Present: Mike Savino, Tom Scheffey, Jacqueline Smith, Mary Connolly, Jeff Daniels, Chris Powell, David DesRoches, Paula Pearlman, Liz Gemski.
The minutes of the Sept. 18, 2024 meeting were accepted.
Treasurer’s report: Smith reports a balance of $6,586.82. Some individual contributions were received. The Connecticut Foundation for Open Government contributed $1,500.
Annual FOI Conference: Pearlman reported a good response and the Oct. 25 event will be at full capacity. CT-N will attend so the conference will be available at ct-n.com.
Legislative report: Pearlman reported that, as predicted, there is considerable confusion at state agencies over the new law adopted by the legislature and proposed by the Office of Policy and Management on the handling of FOI requests. OPM did not consult the FOIC on this law. It sets up a procedure for handling FOI requests for information that has been shared among state agencies by sending the requests to the originating agency. OPM said the goal was to prevent the improper release of information. CCFOI opposed the proposal because it would create an obstacle to public access and create confusion as people are forced to go from agency to agency.
2025 legislative agenda: Gemski suggested five issues for CCFOI’s agenda. We would continue to oppose proposals to exempt university documents and state employee home addresses from FOI. We will carefully watch proposals to charge a fee to obtain body cam video held by law enforcement, the use of AI in public actions and the formulation of “hate” bills being discussed. We expect to finalize a 2025 agenda at the November meeting.
50th Anniversary of FOIA: There was discussion of how to celebrate this achievement. We hope to involve the governor, legislative leaders and the public. A committee will include Daniels, Savino, Gemski and Russell Blair of FOIC.
Board membership: Clare Dignan, director of philanthropy at Connecticut Mirror and a former Hearst reporter, attended our September meeting as a guest. Savino made a motion to extend an invitation to Dignan to join the board. The vote was unanimously approved.
Looking ahead: A short organizational meeting to meet the requirements of the incorporation process will be Oct. 30 at 9 a.m. via Zoom. The next monthly meeting will be Nov. 20 at 9 a.m. via Zoom.