04/07/2026
By Paul Hughes, CT Insider
State legislators are proposing a study of how long state agencies take to answer requests for public records after some have reportedly taken years to respond in certain cases.
State Sen. Robert Sampson, R-Wolcott, said he co-sponsored the study bill because one of his most frequent constituent complaints is how long it takes state agencies to respond to requests for records made under the state Freedom of Information Act. In his view, an open records request unnecessarily delayed is transparency denied, Sampson said.
“It is unacceptable,” he said.
Delayed responses to FOI requests or obstruction diminish public trust and weaken government accountability, Sampson said. Transparency only has meaning if it is timely and enforceable, he said.
The Government Oversight Committee unanimously voted to advance legislation that would direct the state Office of Policy and Management to conduct a study on the response times of state agencies to FOI requests and submit a report on its findings to the committee by Jan. 15, 2027. The legislation now awaits action in the Senate.