Editorial, The Day of New London
May 27, 2025
Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Act turns 50 this year, and there are plenty of examples of news stories during its golden anniversary year that it is safe to say would not have seen the light of day had the law never been enacted.
The most egregious of these is the case of Terrence Cheng, the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities chancellor who agreed to step aside after a spending controversy was discovered.
But if a bill currently in the state legislature were to be made law during the current session, which ends next week, the Cheng story, and many like it, would have never been made public. Senate Bill No. 1226 aims to amend the Freedom of Information Act to exempt certain proprietary records held by a public institution of higher education pertaining to teaching or research from disclosure.
Cheng was found to have severely overspent on meals, alcohol and more, only after reporters got their hands on documents that wouldn’t have been seen without the FOI Act.
At its most fundamental, the FOI law forces transparency and accountability from government entities, municipalities and various agencies. We should all want that, and anyone asking for an exemption deserves more scrutiny, not less.
The bill was introduced by Democratic state Sen. Mae Flexer, whose district includes the University of Connecticut. The state’s flagship school supports over 26,000 jobs and generates over $3.5 billion to the state’s economy, according to the school.
UConn, long joked about as the state’s fourth branch of government, is still a public university.
The school last year received $326.2 million in state aid, which included $98.8 in one-time funding. UConn’s 2026 budget ask is technically less, but without the one-time funding factored in.
Simply put, the school can’t survive without state funding, and that means that the taxpayers of Connecticut have skin in the game. The bill asks for a disclosure exemption on records maintained or kept on file by or for the faculty or staff of a public institution of higher education arising out of teaching or research on medical, artistic, scientific, legal or other scholarly issues. It would exempt just about everything from public disclosure, except for budgets. One could argue the public has a huge stake, financial and otherwise, at what goes on at both UConn and state university system colleges.
The UConn chapter of the American Association of University Professors has said the school’s professors and other faculty have been victims of harassment. While that is likely true, it shouldn’t give schools cover to do whatever they want. It’s the era we live in. Many in public life have to deal with wingnuts who call and email. Why should professors and researchers be a protected group?
The bill also comes shortly after two other recent scandals at UConn: A professor was arrested for allegedly using university funds for personal trips; and another professor resigned after an investigation into a relationship with a student.
These, like the separate Cheng scandal, would not have come out if not for the state’s FOI law.
The bill has already been endorsed by a legislative committee and could go the Senate and House soon.
The Freedom of Information Act is an essential part of journalistic work, and The Day does not take that work lightly. The paper’s executive editor, Izaskun E. Larrañeta, is the Treasurer of the Connecticut Foundation for Open Government, and its managing editor, Karen Florin, is a member of The Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information.
Maintaining strong public access laws is crucial. Governments must be transparent and held to account. That is exactly why the FOI law is in place. Everyone should have access to public information.