Forging a Career in Open Records Law: On Record PR
The Georgia Supreme Court on Monday issued a ruling that expands the scope of who is responsible for producing public records under the state’s Open Records Act. The court also allowed for records requests to be sent to...more
In Frank Curry and FOIABuddy v. South Western School District, AP 2024-1311, a school district (“District”) received a request for records related to IT operations, contracts, staff, and IT budget from Frank Curry and...more
The Pennsylvania Office of Open Records (OOR) has determined that investigations of alleged discrimination by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) are “noncriminal investigations,” and that associated records...more
On June 5, 2024, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law the first comprehensive reform to New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA) since its passing in 2002. This amendment to the long standing legislation was met with much...more
On June 5, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed long-contested legislation, S2930 (2024 OPRA Amendment), amending the Open Public Records Act (OPRA), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1, et seq. As most New Jersey environmental practitioners...more
Congratulations on your election to the board of education and thank you for volunteering your time to your community. As you begin to embark on your board journey you will unfortunately, find that way too much of your time...more
In Pa. Office of the Governor v. Brelje, 2024 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 65, at *1 (Commw. Ct. Feb. 23, 2024), the Office of Open Records (“OOR”) concluded that requests for all incoming and outgoing email for two agency employees over...more
Gov’t Emps. Ins. Co. v. Koppel, No. 2:21-cv-03413-MEF-JRA, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151531, (D.N.J. Aug. 28, 2023) - The insurance carrier brought a civil action against various medical providers, asserting an illegal kickback...more
Foster v. Pennridge School District, AP 2023-0931 (July 5, 2023). The Office of Open Records determined that a school district properly redacted and withheld certain email chains discussing the school district’s investigation...more
As the summer (and your vacation) becomes a distant memory, and the days get shorter and colder, I’ll bet you have had passing thoughts about changes to Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Act’s (“FOIA”), especially in light...more
In Forrest v. Erie City, AP 2023-1701 (Sept. 28, 2023), Erie City responded to a request for a list of all rental properties registered and licensed in the City in an Excel spreadsheet by providing a PDF conversion of the...more
In this episode of On Record PR, Gina Rubel goes on record with Terry Mutchler, Chair of Transparency Law and Public Data Practice at Obermayer, to discuss her trailblazing career helping clients navigate open records law....more
The Illinois Appellate Court recently ruled that the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) does not obligate a public body to produce records that it does not already maintain in response to a FOIA request. Further, the Court...more
In the summer of 2022, the Office of Open Records (“OOR”) announced that it was moving forward with an E-File Appeal Portal. The goal was to provide a one-stop location for all records involving appeals. ...more
In Seman v. Baldwin Borough, AP 2023-00778, the Requester sought legal invoices related to a specific project. In responding to the Request, the Borough completely redacted entries in the legal invoices that were not related...more
In Beckes v. North East School District, AP 2022-2826, the OOR determined that the attachments to two emails from the District Solicitor to the District were protected from disclosure under the attorney-client privilege and...more
The public will need to wait longer to obtain information about fired police officers and potentially other public employee terminations due to a recent Commonwealth Court ruling. As an exception to an exemption, the...more
Nearly anyone who can read a newspaper understands the meaning of a FOIL or FOIA request. FOIA refers to the Freedom of Information Act, which allows a requester to obtain documents from federal agencies, while its...more
Methacton Sch. Dist. v. Off. of Open Records of Cmmw., 250 C.D. 2021, 2021 WL 6122163, at *1 (Pa. Cmmw. Dec. 28, 2021). The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania holds that a request for the emails of four individuals over a...more
Chester Water Authority v. Pennsylvania Dept. of Community and Economic Development, 249 A.3d 1106, 1108 (Pa. 2021), reargument denied (June 17, 2021). Pennsylvania Supreme Court holds that communications between an agency...more
You may notice water being diverted from a neighboring property onto your property. Or, perhaps you have concerns that the property located above yours seems to be shifting, and you fear a landslide....more
When it comes to data and records management functions at government agencies, recent years have been trying times. A number of concerning trends have continued to be a factor, such as the growth of the data generated by...more
Section 708(b)(10)(i)(A) of the Law, which excepts from the general requirement for disclosure of public records: A record that reflects: The internal, predecisional deliberations of an agency, its members,...more
Highlands School District v. Rittmeyer, — A.3d –, 2020 WL 7061810, 163 C.D. 2020 (Pa. Commw. Dec. 3, 2020). Commonwealth Court holds that school districts are not required to disclose the names of employees when issuing a...more