The meeting was held by Zoom.
Present: Mike Savino, Kimberly Phillips, Matt Kauffman, Gary Gold, Liz Gemski, Michele Jacklin, Paula Pearlman, Jeff Daniels, Chris Powell, Mitch Pearlman, Tom Scheffey.
The minutes of the Jan. 27, 2021 meeting were approved.
Treasurer’s Report: Phillips reported a balance of $15,053. Several major contributions have not been received, including one from Hearst.
President’s Report: Savino asked the board to start thinking about the June annual meeting, which is usually held on the third Wednesday of the month. Phillips said she would call the Pond House and gather some information. Savino also asked the board to give consideration to possible award recipients.
Legislative Report: Gemski reported that GAE’s deadline for raising bills had passed and it didn’t appear that the bill requiring public hearings would be raised. She reported that the FOI Commission’s 2021-22 budget is in “good shape” and reflects what was requested. The proposed changes in the police accountability bill don’t affect the FOI provisions. Public hearings on FOI-related bills had not been scheduled.
A memo on algorithms has been completed by Sarah Lamsifer, a Yale student. Copies were distributed to board members for comment. A one-page summary will be written by Savino, including CCFOI’s specific objectives, and a packet will be sent to Prof. Robert Post at Yale, who will then ask Rep. Roland Lamar to seek an OLR report on the subject. The targeted date to send the packet to Prof. Post was March 15. Also, targeted outreach will be done to begin educating legislators about the use of algorithms by state and local government.
Paula Pearlman reported that the FOIC has received few complaints regarding virtual meetings.
Looking Ahead: The next meeting will be March 17 at noon via Zoom.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:04 p.m.