Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project

05/21/2026

Federal FOIA Advisory Committee is zeroing in on a half dozen recommendations for improving FOIA – more funding, transparency in the judicial/legislative branches, and more. Next meeting June 11.

President Gerald R. Ford and First Lady Betty Ford Voting in the 1976 Election at Wealthy Elementary School in East Grand Rapids, Michigan. National Archives Identifier 45644327 Members of the FOIA…

05/19/2026

Bills would prohibit government agencies from keeping data center agreements secret.

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05/14/2026

Did you catch the latest FOI news in the Brechner Report, including journalist frustrations with increasing secrecy? Check it out and sign up for the free monthly email newsletter.

https://mailchi.mp/jou.ufl.edu/the-brechner-report-dec-4830139

05/12/2026

Brechner FOI Project seeks part-time contractor to coordinate Sunshine Week. Join the fun!

https://brechner.org/2026/04/23/brechner-foi-project-seeks-sunshine-week-contractor/

05/07/2026

Maryland inspectors general ask for special access to public records so they can root out corruption.

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04/30/2026

Illinois bill would exempt from public records requests “junk mail” clogging government inboxes. Question: Who is requesting junk mail and why?

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04/28/2026

Jason Leopold of Bloomberg News tells students: Always appeal when denied records! He won the 2026 Brechner FOI Award.

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04/23/2026

Sunshine Fest plenary videos about promoting FOI, big ideas in improving transparency, and stories from FOI champions. Check them out!

https://sunshineweek.org/sunshine-fest-2026-recap/

04/21/2026

Hoosier request from? Indiana passes law thwarting automated out-of-state request bots.

https://brechner.org/2026/04/16/hoosier-request-from-indiana-passes-law-thwarting-automated-out-of-state-request-bots/