Author Archives: Attorney Mark Dumas

The Sunshine Review

The internet can be a powerful tool for open government, but sometimes a great idea doesn’t achieve its potential.  For Connecticut, the Sunshine Review is a good example of an opportunity lost for freedom of information. The Sunshine Review is … Continue reading

Posted in Freedom of Information Law Websites | 1 Comment

What is the best way for your city or town to reduce open government compliance costs?

The good folks over at the Open-Government Blog recently raised a very good point about how municipalities can reduce the costs associated with Freedom of Information requests. So what’s the key factor to reducing the costs of FOI requests?  A … Continue reading

Posted in Freedom of Information Law, Freedom of Information Law Tips, Freedom of Information News | Comments Off

Two weeks until the 2009 Connecticut Freedom of Information Conference

The annual Connecticut Freedom of Information Conference will be held on April 9th in Rocky Hill and this year’s topic is the management of electronic records. More information is available at the Freedom of Information Commission‘s website.  The registration deadline … Continue reading

Posted in Freedom of Information Law | Comments Off

Stephen Colbert FOIA LOL!

The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c The Word – Locked and Loathed comedycentral.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Mark Sanford Here’s an entertaining treat to close out Sunshine Week on the Connecticut Freedom of Information Law … Continue reading

Posted in Freedom of Information Law, Sunshine Week | Comments Off

Bill to delay impact of online notice law moves through the General Assembly

I’ve written several times this week about Connecticut’s new law that requires municipalities post meeting notices and minutes on their websites. But if you don’t like the new law, you should remember that Connecticut’s Freedom of Information law is like … Continue reading

Posted in Freedom of Information Law, Sunshine Week | Comments Off

How a new law and “gotcha people” forced one Conn. town to shutdown its website

Last week, I told you about a great website created by the State of Utah that provides a centralized source for browsing and searching public meeting records for just about every state and local government entity.  I also mentioned that … Continue reading

Posted in Freedom of Information Law, Sunshine Week | 1 Comment

Rell asks legislature for more detailed information in sex offender registry website

Yesterday, we found out that Connecticut stumbled into a 37th place finish in the Sunshine Week survey about online access to public records.  But there is hope for the Nutmeg State when it comes to one disturbing category of records: … Continue reading

Posted in Freedom of Information News, Sunshine Week | Comments Off

Connecticut tied for 37th in Sunshine Week survey on availability of online records

The University of Connecticut’s college basketball teams may be number one seeds during March Madness, but the 2009 Survey of State Government Information Online ranks Connecticut a lowly 37th for online access to public records.  Connecticut was tied with Massachusetts … Continue reading

Posted in Freedom of Information Law, Sunshine Week | 2 Comments

Read a Sunshine Week article that I wrote that appears in today’s Connecticut Post

On Friday, I told you about Utah’s Public Meeting Notice website.  If you want to read more on the topic, I wrote an article that appears in today’s Connecticut Post about how Connecticut should follow Utah’s lead. Update: My article … Continue reading

Posted in Freedom of Information Law, Sunshine Week | 2 Comments

Sunshine Week is here!

As I mentioned two weeks ago, this week is Sunshine Week, an annual initiative led by the American Society of Newspaper Editors.  Sunshine Week seeks to highlight the importance of open government and freedom of information.  To start the week … Continue reading

Posted in Freedom of Information Law, Freedom of Information Law Websites, Sunshine Week | Comments Off