Tag Archives: Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission

05/08/2023
By Christine Stuart

Similar to what lawmakers have been trying to practice this session, some lawmakers want local boards and commission members to show their faces when talking and voting remotely.

The bill, which passed the Planning & Development Committee, last week would require boards of selectmen, city councils, boards of representatives, local and regional boards of education, zoning commissions and other local bodies to show their faces on Zoom when talking and voting. (Read More)

04/24/2023
By Katie Seltzer

I was recently asked if I had ever filed a Freedom of Information appeal. Sure, I said. Many times.

What I meant was that I had filed a Freedom of Information records request and had been denied, and then I objected to that denial. The public information officer might say something like “the records you have requested are exempt from public disclosure based on this statute.” And then I would respond and say something like “I disagree with your interpretation of how that exemption is applied. So do the courts; see this case for further information about why I’m right and you must give me access to those public records.” I’m more polite in my actual appeals, of course, but what’s important is that I’ve filed appeals with agencies directly. Sometimes it works, but often it doesn’t, and then the only recourse is to sue, which can be costly and time-consuming. (Read More)

04/24/2023
By Kendra Baker

BETHEL — The Freedom of Information Commission has found the town in violation of public records laws over its refusal to provide public access to unedited video from a meeting from last year.

The February ruling by the state FOI Commission stemmed from a Planning and Zoning Commission meeting on March 8, 2022, during which a microphone was left on during a recess and picked up Town Planner Beth Cavagna making what the FOI Commission described as “negative comments” about Bethel resident and developer Tim Draper. Cavagna and Town Counsel Martin Lawlor declined to comment to Hearst Connecticut Media. (Read More)

By Allison Dunn
04/04/2023

The Connecticut Appellate Court upheld an administrative appeal that concluded the Yale University Police Department properly denied a student’s request to access certain body camera recordings created when officers were responding to “an uncorroborated allegation of a crime.” (Read More)

By Thane Grauel
03/29/2023

WESTPORT — The Board of Selectwomen and the Town Attorney’s Office will hold Freedom of Information Act training for town staff, board and commission members Thursday.

The sessions, at 3 and 7 p.m., in the Town Hall auditorium, weren’t publicly noticed or listed on the town’s calendar. (Read More)