Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information
Minutes, Nov. 21, 2025
The regular monthly meeting was via Zoom.
Present: Michele Jacklin, Tom Scheffey, Jacqueline Smith, Mary Connolly, Mitch Pearlman, Jeff Daniels, Chris Powell, Karen Florin, Mike Savino, Katherine Revello, Jodie Gil, Colleen Murphy, Paula Pearlman, Russell Blair.
The minutes for the Oct. 17, 2025 meeting were accepted.
Treasurer’s report: Smith reported a balance of $7,422.63. Thanks to the Connecticut Foundation for Open Government and Hearst Connecticut for their continued financial support. CCFOI will send a short note to our email list on Giving Tuesday, Dec. 2. In January, as the legislature gears up for the 2026 session, CCFOI will send a more detailed letter on the challenges facing Connecticut’s historic FOI Act and request financial help to support our lobbying efforts.
Legislative report: Gemski discussed the Secretary of the State’s continuing effort to restrict access to what is known as the “voter file,” which contains complete information on all voter registrations. Given today’s actual and verbal political threats, Gemski says support has grown for proposals to limit public access to personal information such as home addresses.
Murphy reported an alarming development: Attorney General William Tong is asking state Superior Court to rule that all General Assembly records that relate to “legitimate legislative activities” are exempt from disclosure under the state Freedom of Information Act. Tong is appealing a decision by the Freedom of Information Commission that involved a citizen’s FOI complaint that requested documents included numerous redactions. The FOIC found some of the redacted documents were exempt from required disclosure under FOIA because they were preliminary drafts or the product of attorney-client discussion. But FOIC found the other documents at issue should be available to the public.
Tong’s argument is that the Connecticut Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause applies to legislative records. Generally, this clause is interpreted in state constitutions and the U.S. Constitution as protecting legislatures from interference by other branches of government – including the arrest of legislators when in session.
Looking ahead: The next CCFOI monthly meeting will be Friday, Dec. 19, at 9 a.m. via Zoom. CFOG’s annual “Stories Beyond the Big Stories” is scheduled for Jan. 20 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Elmwood Community Center, 1106 New Britain Ave, West Hartford.