How do public records laws work in New England?
We tested it.

By: Liz Neisloss | GBH | Oct. 16, 2026

Massachusetts voters are now deciding the fate of Ballot Question 1, which asks if the public should have access to most records held by the Massachusetts Legislature and the governor’s office. Massachusetts is the only state to exempt the governor’s office, the legislature and the judiciary from public records laws.

That distinction earned the state this year’s “Black Hole Award” by the Society of Professional Journalists for “deficiencies in the state’s public records law, including broad exemptions, weak enforcement mechanisms and persistent delays that limit access to government information.”

The Most Public Part of Public Service

By": Matthew Reed | Oct. 20, 2026

“(As a police chief, my) experiences have convinced me of something very simple: public records do not belong to us.

They do not belong to the police chief, the town administrator, the department head, the board or commission, or the employee who created them. We are merely their custodians. They belong, ultimately, to the public we serve.

That distinction matters.”

Final task force report details recommended changes to New Mexico public records law

Searchlight NM | Oct. 19, 2026

The final report by the Inspection of Public Records Act Task Force sheds more light on the 11 proposals summarized in a letter to legislative committees earlier this month.

“The work of a task force dedicated to examining New Mexico’s public records law came to an end Friday, but it’s only the beginning for a spate of recommendations the group hopes state lawmakers will consider.

The newly released final report by the Inspection of Public Records Act Task Force sheds more light on the 11 proposals summarized in a letter to legislative committees earlier this month. The 344-page report also details a handful of recommendations the task force’s eight members considered but shot down and provides a lengthy look at the hundreds of public comments the group heard during its cross-state listening tour beginning in April.

“It’s an amazing report,” said New Mexico Foundation for Open Government Executive Director Christine Barber. “The attorney general’s office put so much time and effort into this — and not only that, in organizing more than 30 meetings over six months. That is a lot of work.”

The recommendations include expanded records digitization for better access, a self-service public portal to enable one to get one’s own accident reports, creating a public records Ombudsman or similar entity, a grant program for local government to acquire public records management and redaction software, and a public records training and credentialing program.

Man sues after Nebraska DHHS says public records will cost $1 million, take 50 years to produce

By: Molly Ashford | Nebraska Public Media | Oct. 20, 2026

Curt Safranek could get the records he requested from Nebraska’s Department of Health and Human Services. It would just take 50 years and nearly a million dollars.

The eye-popping estimate was in response to Safrenek’s public records request for emails from DHHS that mentioned a now-scrapped no-bid contract with a consulting firm to evaluate the controversial InterRAI assessment tool, which was adopted last year to assess eligibility and funding tiers for the state’s developmental disability waiver program.

After a narrowed version of the request still resulted in an estimate of $474,000 and 25 years, Safranek sued the records manager at DHHS.

His adult son, Will, has a developmental disability and autism, and the family relies on state funding to help pay for his daily care. After his first InterRAI assessment in September 2025, Will’s funding tier was reduced from “high” to “intermediate.”

Following backlash to InterRAI from families like Safranek’s, DHHS announced in August that it would partner with consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal to evaluate the tool’s implementation. That decision was quickly reversed after the department faced additional pushback for the no-bid nature of the $420,000 contract, and it was opened up for bidding.

New website posts federal spending TheFiscalFinder provides people the ability to look at federal spending broken down in charts and visual presentations from 2020 through 2026 by contractor, agency and industry. The website employs data from USASpending.gov, according to its methodology page.

MuckRock offers four new free tools

MuckRock, a nonprofit founded in 2010 to aid public record requesters, is now offering four new tools to help monitor government. Klaxon notifies you when a website is changed, Bloom allows reporters to geotag their stories, Scoutpost monitors social profiles, news, aircraft, webpages and other sources, and The Accountability Project (TAP) allows searches across 1.9 billion public records including voter registration, campaign contributions and lobbying reports. Other MuckRock tools include DocumentCloud, Agenda Watch, Datasette Cloud, Plucky Wire, FOIPA Machine and Big Local News.

New York, Kansas FOI coalitions launch new websites

The New York Coalition for Open Government revamped its website to provide additional resources and a tool to help requesters with their common questions.

The Iowa Freedom of Information Council, as well, revamped its website with an excellent design and an AI-driven tool to help requesters. They named it “Ask Herb,” after their founding director, Herb Strentz.

Public Records News from the Brechner Freedom of Information Project

The Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project provides research, expertise and education for journalists, policymakers and the general public in acquiring government information to foster an engaged and informed citizenry.

Public Record Request Fee: $2,484,599.04

By: Lauren Harper | The Intercept | October 1, 2026

How much does it cost to get information about an Oregon cop who punched someone? According to The Intercept, the Eugene Police Department claimed searching for and processing the records would take a minimum of 44,816 hours and cost $2,484,599.04.

In August, the local news outlet Double Sided Media filed a public records request for records about police officer Justin Peckels, which focused on potential misconduct between 2018 and 2026. Peckels has been the subject of community complaints, including for punching a resident in the face during a traffic stop, making the records vital for oversight and their release clearly in the public interest.

The city’s response is beyond belief. In its response to the request on Monday, the Eugene Police Department claimed searching for records and processing the request would take at least 44,816 hours of staff time and cost approximately $2,484,599.04. (A separate request by the outlet for similar records concerning a former police officer, Eric Klinko, was met with a comparatively modest estimate of $195,869.52, for a grand total of nearly $2.7 million for both requests.)

Double Sided Media is rightly appealing the fee estimate, and it should prevail. But cities like Eugene will continue these efforts unless lawmakers across the country force agencies to adopt fee caps, mandate public-interest fee waivers for journalists, and require agencies to procure software that allows them to respond to records requests in an efficient and timely manner.

Until then, police departments will likely continue to issue multimillion-dollar ransoms for their records — weaponizing the public’s right to know into another avenue for police to operate with impunity.

How to make officials care about public records reform? Wait till their requests are denied.

By: Nancy Lavin | Rhode Island Current | September 23, 2026

Ralph Mollis is no stranger to Rhode Island’s Access to Public Records Act. Which might be why Mollis was not expecting to encounter resistance when North Kingstown submitted records requests to two quasi-public state agencies involved in reviewing the now-paused sludge processing project in Quonset Business Park.

But Quonset Development Corporation and the Narragansett Bay Commission refused to provide all or most of the internal emails, project documents and other materials North Kingstown, through outside law firm Desautel Browning, asked for in May. The quasi-public agencies cited confidentiality protections in the state law as reasons why certain portions of Desautel Browning’s request cannot be fulfilled, or at least not without hundreds of hours of staff time and thousands of dollars.

But the problem of a vague and loophole-ridden public records law persists, despite repeated attempts to rectify it.

ICE directives may violate Florida's open records laws. A Sarasota case shows where courts stand 

By:  Gabriella Paul | WUSF, June 2, 2026 

A new directive from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may violate Florida's open records laws. 

These so-called 287(g) agreements keep participating local agencies, like police, sheriff's offices and airports, from releasing information about immigration enforcement activities without federal approval.  

This contradicts Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes that protects the public's access to government records. The state's public records law also prohibits an agency from entering into a contract that "impairs the ability of the public to inspect or copy the public records." 

"Any documents created by the LEA that contain information developed or obtained as a result of this MOA, is under the control of ICE," according to text from the memorandum. 

After backlash over $2.4 million tab, agency now says it won’t charge man for records  

By: Sammy Fretwell | The State‍ | ‍Updated July 25, 2026

The S.C. Department of Environmental Services, which told a citizen that it would cost him $2.4 million to obtain public records, has now abandoned the plan and will give him the records about school pollution at no cost. An email obtained by The State newspaper said that due to confusion about the Freedom of Information Act request, the agency has decided not to charge the Darlington County resident for providing records of soil contamination at Black Creek Elementary School. 

Orlando restaurant shuts down for 5th time this year, records show 

News 6, Orlando, July 27, 2026

Some folks think public records are not relevant to their everyday lives.  It is stories like this that show that public records can provide very useful information that helps consumers make smart choices. In this case, it’s whether to frequent restaurants that have serious and repeated health code violations.  If you want to know if a restaurant has had problems with roaches, rodent droppings, poor food handling techniques, and poor food storage practices, the public records will help you know before you go.  Moreover, private businesses can get access to this information and make it available on apps that help you pick healthy and safe places to dine out. 

“Last week, nearly a dozen Central Florida eateries were forced to shut down temporarily after a visit from a health inspectors, according to state records. 

But out of all these businesses, one has now closed down five times this year thus far.” 

To see the kind of data that the inspectors report on each restaurant they cite, follow the link below.    

Sunshine Week: People are requesting more government records. Why are they getting less? 

By ANNA MASSOGLIA, March 15, 2026 

More Americans are filing Freedom of Information Act requests than ever, topping 1.5 million in 2024 and on track for another record in 2025. This will mark the third consecutive year that FOIA requests have reached seven figures. 

But more requests do not necessarily equal more access to public government information. 

As the volume of records requests has swelled, so has the portion of those requests that are rejected or otherwise incomplete.  

The likelihood of a requester receiving everything they asked for is lower than ever. 

Governments can only be held accountable when we know what’s happening inside of them. 

That’s what freedom of information laws were built to prevent and right now, they’re losing ground.  

Together, we can hold power to account and shine a light on government transparency. 

The Foilies 2026: Recognizing the Worst in Government Transparency 

Written by Kelly Kauffman, Anna Massoglia, Dillon Bergin, Aaron Mackey, Dave Maass and Beryl Lipton 

Established in 2015, The Foilies are an annual project by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and MuckRock to recognize the agencies, officials and contractors that thwart the public’s right to know. We give out these tongue-in-cheek “awards” during Sunshine Week (March 15-21), a collective effort by media and advocacy organizations to highlight the importance of open government.  

This year, we’ve got a few “winners” whose behavior defies belief.

The website called the Public Records Hub provides links to public record portals of 3,095 counties in the United States (out of 3,143), for 13 types of records, such as property records, court records, and property tax records.  Browse official county and state sites (and clearly labeled vendor portals) with simple navigation and search.

Illinois FOIA Gras author launches records ‘Inspector General’

Citizen journalist Tom Hayden of Evanston, Illinois, ended his Substack newsletter FOIA Gras last year after burnout and issues with the platform. But he’s back, requesting records to illuminate issues in his community, with the help of artificial intelligence. His new Inspector General tool allows people to find records with the help of AI.

Ask questions about government meetings, budgets, contracts, and documents. Inspector General searches through public records and cites its sources so you can verify the facts.

90.6% of Americans Support Freedom of Information

By Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project and Center for Public Interest Communications of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications

Strong support, limited engagement. 90.6% of respondents said they support access to public information. At the same time, 91.9% have never filed an FOI request, and four out of five have never visited a website related to freedom of information. Only 5.9% said they know a lot about FOI or consider themselves experts.

Shared values across political lines. When participants rated a list of descriptors on how well each described the function of freedom of information, “right to know” scored highest across liberal, moderate, and conservative respondents alike.

Political ideology shaped emphasis, not core support.

More evidence that Mass. must cure its anemic Public Records Law

By: The Republican Editorials, Mar. 20, 2026

As we’ve already noted this week, the state’s Public Records Law is hobbled by the lack of consequences for agencies that withhold information. The poster child for abuse of the law’s provisions is the Massachusetts State Police. We documented that agency’s woeful secrecy in coverage last Sunday. 

Today, we point to another instance in which the public struggled to realize the promise of open government. It concerns four years in which Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan appears to have stubbornly held back public information.

Fighting for public records is more common in Pennsylvania, sometimes aided by AI

Jaxon White/WITF, March 19, 2026

“More people than ever are fighting denials for public records from their counties, school boards and other public agencies in Pennsylvania.

Many appellants are turning to artificial intelligence to help in their efforts.

Liz Wagenseller is the executive director of Pennsylvania’s Office of Open Records, which decides whether to reverse a public records request denied by a government agency. Her agency has seen a “real explosion” of appeals in recent months, Wagenseller said, thanks in part to the spread of AI.

“Around September, we started to see evidence of AI being used in appeals,” Wagenseller said. “If you compare the recent six months to six months a year ago at that same time, there’s been a 64% increase in appeals — an enormous increase.”