A bill that would exempt the residential addresses of employees in the attorney general’s office from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) moved one step closer to becoming law after it was advanced out of the Government Administration and Elections Committee (GAE) on a party line vote.
It is one of several bills, many of which have appeared in multiple legislative sessions, seeking to expand the categories of public employees whose home addresses are exempt from disclosure under FOIA.
The bill received public testimony in support of its passing from a number of officials in the attorney general’s office, the Connecticut Association of Assistant Attorney Generals, and the AFL-CIO union, whose representatives argued it would protect attorney general’s office employees from threats. Testimony cited recent bomb threats made against Attorney General William Tong’s and Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding’s homes.
The Freedom of Information Commission (FOIC) and the Connecticut branch of the American Civil Liberties Union were among those who testified in opposition to the bill, arguing that the bill restricts public access to public information. The FOIC noted that the statute exempting certain categories of public employees is limited and does not prevent them from being removed from certain records like land records or grand lists. They also noted there is a process where public employees can request to have a business address substituted for their residential address.
The Connecticut Education Association also testified against the bill, citing its testimony in favor of a similar bill that would exempt the residential addresses of public school teachers from FOIA disclosure. That bill was scheduled to receive either a favorable or unfavorable vote from the Government Oversight Committee (GOC) in late February but was held back. The GOC has not publicly moved on the bill since and is not slated to take any action on it when it meets on Friday.
A third bill that would exempt the addresses of attorneys employed by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection and by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut from FOIA disclosure was referred to the GOC at the beginning of the session but hasn’t been taken up further by the committee.
A fourth bill that would expand the FOIA exemption for residential addresses to cover all public employees whose residency is not a requirement for their employment was voted out of committee by GAE in late February.
Transparency Note: Katherine Revello is a member of the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information’s board of directors. CCFOI submitted testimony on these bills.
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