Like 2023, 2024 was not a great year for Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests filed by Inside Investigator.
As of January 1, 2024, I alone had 14 outstanding requests to state agencies that were over a month old. For many of those requests, the only communication I had received about them was an auto-generated message from GovQA acknowledging their receipt. While that message fulfills the statutory requirement that agencies acknowledge FOIA requests within four business days, it does not give any indication that an actual human being has looked at that request.
For those 14 outstanding requests, which date back to May 2024, I’ve been waiting an average of 129 calendar days, or about three months, either for records or for some message about the status of the request. Five of those outstanding requests are with the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP). Not only have I received no communication about their status beyond the GovQA acknowledgment email, but when I recently asked for status updates for each individual request, I received a generic form email for three of them stating the request had been received and would be processed in the order for which it had been received.
Most of those DESPP requests are simple requests for reports that shouldn’t take months–eight months for my oldest request–to produce.
In asking for a status update for another request sent to the Department of Labor (DOL), which has been sitting for almost two months without an update, I was told to expect an initial batch of records in a few months and that the request will take “well over a year” to review completely and require a significant amount of the agency’s time, so if I don’t want the records please let them know as soon as possible.
Now, this is a more complex request so I can understand a longer processing time. But the way agencies act as if large requests are a burden is a pet peeve of mine.
Requests that return large numbers of responsive documents are valid FOIA requests. Public information offices exist in large part to facilitate public records requests. The idea that a request taking up a large part of staff time somehow makes it less valid is absurd. Is it unfortunate that public information staff working on one large request delays fulfilling requests for others? Sure, but that’s a resource allocation problem. It’s long past time for public information officers to focus less on trying to guilt requesters into narrowing large requests so they don’t have to do the work, and to instead have a conversation about how to allocate more resources to handle the increasing number of FOIA requests that are being filed.
One of the problems with FOIA in Connecticut is there’s no good holistic picture of how well state and municipal agencies handle requests. I can tell you from my experience with different agencies–and it is incredibly varied across agencies–but there’s little public-facing information about request processing times, the number of requests filed per year, or what kind of information is being requested.
GovQA actually has the capacity to do this. Each state agency’s portal has a page that can be used to log requests they are processing or have processing. But I’ve yet to come across an agency that actually uses it. And statutorily-required reporting by state agencies provides little insight that helps increase public understanding of how FOIA operates in the state.
Each agency that receives funding from the state budget is annually required to submit a report on its activities to the governor, who in turn files it with the Department of Administrative Services (DAS). The reports are a good source of information for top-line budget numbers and statistics for activity in a variety of programs.
But in the data 59 agencies reported for the fiscal year 2023-2024, only a few have chosen to include information about the number of FOIA requests they have handled. In total, the reports from 19 agencies and other state entities mention FOIA. In most cases, these simply mention which internal department’s lawyers or subject matter experts handle requests and any appeals or court cases that arise from them.
Only five agencies–DAS, the Office of State Ethics (OSE), the attorney general’s office, the Department of Corrections (DOC), and the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC)–mentioned the number of requests they received.
SEEC reported responding to approximately 237 FOIA requests. OSE noted that it processed 25 requests. DAS reported it processed over 300 requests and “continued to fulfill the agency’s safety risk determination role for other agencies under FOIA.” The department’s report also noted that it supported 38 other state agencies in their use of GovQA, the online portal the state uses to handle requests.
According to the attorney general’s office, they defended 250 cases in front of the Freedom of Information Commission (FOIC) as well as other bodies, including the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) and the Office of Public Hearings.
Of the agencies that reported on the number of requests they handled in 2023, DOC stands out for the number of requests it reports processing. DOC stated it responded to approximately 4,800 requests. As with the other agencies that reported top-line numbers on the requests it had processed, DOC made no mention of when those requests were received or how long they had been outstanding.
Its report also included more information on steps the agency is taking to allegedly improve its handling of FOIA, including information about the law being incorporated into training for staff. It reported that “open communication” between staff and the incarcerated has led to “many” complaints being withdrawn from the FOIC. The agency added that it “continues to find ways that would alleviate the number of hearings it is required to attend while upholding the integrity of the Freedom of Information Act and maintaining a strong working relationship with the Freedom of Information Commission.”
According to the FOIC’s 2023-2024 report, the commission received 683 complaints in 2023, which is up 13 percent from the previous year but “in line with the historic average.” Over the past five years, the commission has received an average of 689 complaints annually.
The FOIC reported it has made “significant progress” in reducing the time between when a complaint is filed and when it is docketed for review and potential action, such as hearings. It reported resolving more than two-thirds of cases without a hearing last year. The remaining either proceeded to a hearing, are scheduled for a hearing, or may be resolved without a hearing.
In addition, the commission said it held 97 FOIA workshops across the state. In a given week, the commission reports receiving more than 100 calls or emails.
“Many questions remain focused on newer provisions in the law that allows for agencies to conduct remote or hybrid meetings. An increased focus on police accountability and state laws governing police body cameras has also led to an uptick in calls and emails from both requesters and police departments dealing with law enforcement records.” the agency wrote.
We’re working to root out corruption through investigative journalism, and transparency is key to that success. Have your own frustrations obtaining information through FOIA? Let me know by emailing katherine@insideinvestigator.org.
Was this article helpful?
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
