FOIA Friday: An introduction
The Michigan Freedom of Information Act spells out the requirements for all "public bodies" in the state to disclose records to the public. It describes which organizations are subject to FOIA law, which records are open to disclosure, and which records are not required to be disclosed. It also spells out what fees can be charged and what time public bodies have to comply with requests, and how a denial in part or whole of a request can be appealed.
Reporters, as a rule, know how FOIA works, as a part of their jobs. Government officials sometimes understand FOIA law, but sometimes don't really understand it, and sometimes they reject perfectly reasonable requests for information. And lots of people wish they knew more about the workings of the organizations that spend their tax dollars.
I'm going to post something Fridays to give an update on some of AnnArbor.com's FOIA efforts. Some of these are stories in progress, some are requests that might not generate a story, and some are broader issues of access to government information and the process of getting details. Here's a brief run down on an agency by agency basis of FOIA requests, current and past.
Ann Arbor Transportation Authority. The outstanding request that I have from the AATA is for records pertaining to times and dates that the buses run so full that they drive past passengers waiting at a stop. A previous request was fulfilled for comments from the public on the end of Link bus service.
City of Ann Arbor. We ask all the time for records from the city; one recent document I've been looking at is copies of inspection reports for the East Stadium bridges from Feb. 19, 2009, and I've asked for an update of the latest correspondence with the engineering firm on that topic.
There's more than this, of course. If you have something you wish you knew from a public body, and it's not published on their Web site, you as a citizen have the right to know within the bounds of the law.
Edward Vielmetti is the blogging leader at AnnArbor.com. Contact him at edwardvielmetti@annarbor.com.
Comments
Moose
Mon, Sep 28, 2009 : 4:41 p.m.
@Marvin. Yeah, worst law ever, for public officials with something to hide.
Larry Kestenbaum
Sat, Sep 26, 2009 : 7:26 p.m.
Buses on Woodward and other major routes in Detroit are almost always standing-room-only on weekdays. It's routine for the bus to get packed so full that it would bypass stops where people are waiting. Bottom line, Detroit has nowhere near enough bus service to comfortably meet the demand. Now they're cutting back severely.
Laura Bien
Fri, Sep 25, 2009 : 8:15 p.m.
I like this post a lot--interesting to see what stories you are working on. Look forward to the next FOIA Friday post. Might also be instructive to post a how-to on "How to file a FOIA." Some are familiar with it but I think the average person doesn't know where to start. Just a thought.
Chris Goosman
Fri, Sep 25, 2009 : 2:22 p.m.
Really? You think that this is the worst law ever? Maybe you can explain why you feel that way? Personally, I'm pretty happy it's on the books.
Marvin Face
Fri, Sep 25, 2009 : 1:19 p.m.
Worst. Law. Ever.