Click on each answer to see whether you’re right and for an explanation.
True or False? Under freedom of information law, public companies must disclose information to the public.
True
Incorrect. Public companies have to disclose a great deal of information to states and to the federal government, but not under freedom of information law.
False
Correct. Freedom of information law applies to government agencies.
True or False? Local governments must comply with their state’s freedom of information law.
True
Correct. Each state has freedom of information statutes on the books and these laws apply to state and local governments, as defined under the statutes.
False
Incorrect. Local governments are in fact covered by state freedom of information laws and are obligated to meet their state’s requirements.
True or False? The federal government posts all public information on its agencies’ Web sites. If the information isn’t posted, you’re not entitled to it.
True
Incorrect. Government agencies at the federal, state and local levels are making more and more information available online. However, the vast majority of government records are not disclosed to the public unless requested either informally or through formal freedom of information requests.
False
Correct. While there may come a time when all information that should be public is publicly available online, we are nowhere near that point.
True or False? Generally, the fastest and most efficient way to obtain a government record is to file an electronic freedom of information request.
True
Wishful thinking, and generally incorrect. Freedom of information requests are a great way to obtain difficult to obtain government information, but it’s often much faster and more efficient to ask someone for the information. If the answer is “no”, then you may need to file a freedom of information request.
False
Correct. Freedom of information laws provide important rights of access to government records, but it can take weeks or months, or in the case of some federal government requests, years to obtain the records you are seeking.
True or False? You should check your freedom of information statute to find out about all of the many kinds of information and government records available upon request.
True
Incorrect. Under freedom of information laws, all records in the custody and control of covered agencies are generally available to the public unless excluded under one of the exceptions.
False
Correct. You should check your freedom of information law to find out what you CANNOT obtain from covered agencies and offices. If a record does not fall under one of the exclusions spelled out in the applicable statute, it should be available to you.
Which of the following is likely to be off limits under your state’s freedom of information law?
A. Salaries and overtime payments to all Village Hall employees.
Incorrect. Information about government employee salaries and overtime payments is generally available under freedom of information law.
B. E-mails sent from a lobbyist to an agency employee seeking special consideration of a proposed rule that impacts the lobbyist’s client.
Incorrect. E-mails are increasingly requested and obtained under freedom of information law. While some intra-agency and inter-agency communications (communications between individuals within an agency or between individuals at different agencies) may be off limits under freedom of information exceptions, communications between government officials and employees and those outside of government are generally available under freedom of information law.
C. Police investigation records relating to a closed arson investigation.
Incorrect. While there are many limitations on obtaining law enforcement records, including that you generally cannot obtain information that would jeopardize an ongoing investigation or compromise a law enforcement source or law enforcement technique or constitute an unwarranted invasion of an individual’s personal privacy, information that doesn’t fall within an exception should be available.
D. You learn that six individuals have died in a city-owned home for the elderly in the space of one week and you want their medical records to investigate whether there were common causes or unusual circumstances.
Correct. Medical records are very tough to obtain because of specific laws relating to health records and privacy exclusions under freedom of information law. It would be difficult to obtain this information under freedom of information law. To report out this story, you would be better off trying to contact the friends or relatives of the deceased and law enforcement and nursing home sources.
What should you and shouldn’t you do as you prepare a freedom of information request?
A. Check with an agency official to find out whether the information is publicly available on a Web site or elsewhere.
Yes you should. Filing a freedom of information request for publicly available information is a waste of time.
B. If the information isn’t publicly available, ask your local agency clerk whether you may have the record or inspect the file.
Yes you should. Withholding information or requiring someone requesting it to file a freedom of information request is often a matter of discretion and often if you simply ask to see the information or record, you will gain access.
C. If you are told to file a freedom of information request, ask your local agency employee to explain how records are kept and for help describing the records you’re seeking.
Yes you should. That will save you time, it will save your local government time, and it will make it more likely that your request will be successful.