Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information
Minutes, April 17, 2026
The regular monthly meeting was via Zoom.
Present: Michele Jacklin, Jacqueline Smith, Mary Connolly, Jeff Daniels, Mitch Pearlman, Mike Savino, Paul Bass, David DesRoches, Katherine Revello, Liz Gemski, Russell Blair, Danielle McGee.
Minutes for the March 20, 2026 monthly meeting were accepted.
Legislative update: There is less than three weeks left in the legislative session. Gemski is meeting with Speaker Matt Ritter next week on FOI-related bills and is working to set up appointments with other leaders. She is monitoring 20 FOI-related bills. Many of these proposals have been debated in recent years and were not adopted. There are three bills to protect the confidentiality of public employee home addresses and there is legislative support for approving some version. The bill that requires FOI training for public employees has legislative support. The training will be done through videos and will not require additional funding.
Annual CCFOI awards event: At the April monthly meeting, we discussed taking a new approach to this event by partnering with another organization. Jacklin reported that her conversations with Martha Shanahan, president of the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists, have been positive and the SPJ board is supportive. SPJ traditionally had a dinner at its annual awards event. CCFOI traditionally had an annual awards luncheon and in recent years switched to an early evening reception. The new joint event will be a dinner in June. A search has begun to find a conveniently located venue in the Hartford area.
Awards: The Stephen A. Collins Award is given to outstanding work by journalists. The Bice Clemow Award is given to nonjournalists who show leadership in supporting government transparency. The Champion of Open Government Award is given to journalists and nonjournalists for their support of government transparency. Nominations were discussed but no decisions were made. Jacklin suggested a committee be formed to recommend nominations after the legislative session ends on May 6. Volunteers are Jacklin, Savino, Gemski, Blair and Connolly. Jacklin suggested the committee have a Zoom meeting May 8 at 9 a.m. to discuss award winners.
Finance meeting: At the April monthly meeting, it was decided to have a special meeting in May devoted to finances and fundraising strategies. The meeting is tentatively scheduled for 9 a.m. via Zoom during the week of May 11-15. Savino will send out a Doodle Poll to find the best day.
Looking ahead: The next CCFOI monthly meeting will be Friday, May 15, at 9 a.m. via Zoom. An awards committee meeting is tentatively scheduled for May 8 at 9 a.m. via Zoom. A finance committee meeting is tentatively scheduled during the week of May 11-15 at 9 a.m. via Zoom.