South Carolina FOI Bills

The South Carolina House is considering two bills that could change the way South Carolina citizens get information from police and their local and state governments. Freedom of Information Act experts are in favor of the first bill, the “FOI Bill”, which would reduce administrative and copying cost for records by banning public agencies from charging more than fair market rates for copies. However, they are against the second bill, the “Law Enforcement Bill”, which would allow police agencies to withhold information from the public. There have already been multiple cases of police agencies withholding information and experts fear that this bill will only make these cases legal. Those in favor argue that the bill is needed to protect crime witnesses and victims.

Take a look at the links below. Let us know if you think there will be a significant impact with these new bills put in place.

The Republic - SC FOI Bills

The State - SC bill seeks to keep some crime

Post and Courier - Bills would overhaul State FOI Laws

#Oops @UKSupremeCourt

By: Lorien S.

Many and more official organizations are creating twitter accounts and developing groups of followers.  Ostensibly, for these official parties the reasoning is to keep citizens apprised of important information.  An amusing and oft seen example is the Boston Police with their ‘Injured Officer’ post that has now become somewhat of a meme. See below.

Public official organization disseminating information to the public quickly and efficiently?… that almost sounds like the Freedom of Information response process.  The Information Commissioner’s Office thought so too.  ICO contacted the UK Supreme Court to remind them of the guidance issued last year, specifically that:

"Public authorities that use Twitter and other social networking sites must recognise that, like any other communication channel, they can be used to submit freedom of information requests provided the requester includes their real name, an address for correspondence and a description of the information requested," the ICO spokesman said.

Within only a few hours @UKSupremeCourt tweeted to amend their policy to accept FOI requests:

That being said, clearly Twitter is not designed to handle the breadth and depth required for your typical FOI request.  A standard request form in the UK is a nine page document; easily dwarfing the 140 character limitations of Twitter.  Still, under pressure from the ICO and publicservice.co.uk, @UKSupremeCourt will be accepting FOI requests provided that 140 characters is indeed enough “to sufficiently describe the information that the requester is seeking that the court can find it in a timely manner.” 

Moreover, a response to such requests, per ICO guidance “is that we [@UKSupremeCourt] upload full FOI response (following a valid request) to our website and tweet user a link.”  It appears as if the simple act of creating a twitter account may have completely altered the way the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court receives and responds to FOIs. They have, however, noted that the tweeters use the policy responsibly and remember the potential costs associated with FOI requests.

So, Tweet at your own risk, your FOI tweet could cost you £25 per man hour required to respond.  The United Kingdom’s Supreme Court may have inadvertently amended its practice and policies regarding FOI and Twitter, but don’t you inadvertently charge up fees for your tweet.  The days of ‘harmless’ tweeting may be over.   

Substantially Prevailed

Substantially Prevailed
by: mikeystoons

Transparency or Censorship: Should Public Universities be Subject to FOIA?

By: Travis J.

In March University of Wisconsin Professor William Cronon posted an entry to his blog, Scholar as Citizen, calling for greater investigation into the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative group that proposes “model bills” for republicans to adopt in state legislatures nationally.

Stephan Thompson, of the Wisconsin Republican Party, responded to Cronon’s post by submitting a FOIA request for all emails sent from Cronon’s state-university account that referred to “republicans,” Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, and certain labor unions and their leaders. 

For Cronon and his supporters, Thompson’s FOIA request is an attempt to intimidate and embarrass the Wisconsin professor.  In a subsequent blog post Cronon calls the FOIA request an attack on academic freedom, an abuse of the open records law, and an attempt to “prove that Bill Cronon has been engaging in…use of state emails to lobby for recall elections designed to defeat Republicans” (using public university resources to influence votes or political nominations is illegal by state law).  Cronan argues that Thompson’s FOIA request, in the academic world in particular, “raises special concerns because such inquiries have often in the past been used to suppress unpopular ideas.”

Not everyone, however, agrees with Cronon.  Jack Shafer of Slate magazine argues that “if university emails are under the purview of records requests, every citizen—even self-identified Republican Party apparatchiks—has every right to file a request.”  Shafer makes the point that a significant number of FOIA requests are politically motivated and nevertheless held valid. 

He quotes the Wisconsin open records law that we are “entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those officers and employees who represent them,” which includes the affairs of public university professors.

What do you think?  Is the Thompson FOIA request an attempt at censorship and intimidation?  Or is Thompson simply exercising his right under Wisconsin law?  Should public universities be subject to FOIA?  Sound off in the comments section below!

Ontario Hospitals Post-FIPPA Compliance Deadline

By: Stephanie J.

As the first month for hospitals and health networks to comply with Ontario’s Freedom of Information & Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) comes to an end, there have been many publications from various outlets regarding the release of information and how health organizations are complying. It isn’t a surprise to know that regardless of size, each hospital is facing scrutiny of their process for responding to FIPPA requests. But of the upmost importance is the need to know there is a system in place at each health organization to comply in order to satisfy the annual reporting requirement by the Information & Privacy Commissioner (IPC) of Ontario.

My name is Stephanie Juarez and I have been the Account Manager and point of contact for AINS' FIPPA-related customers ranging from small and large hospitals and health networks to colleges and universities. We have aided our newest customers in various ways, from helping them establish a sophisticated FIPPA office, to providing innovative features such as the implementation of our web portal, Public Access Link (PAL). PAL is our citizen-centered solution via which requesters can submit their request and application fee, track the status of their request, receive their responsive documents and access a public reading room which contains information that the health organization has disclosed to the general public. 

As the AINS Account Manager for Ontario, I closely monitor Ontario Health Association (OHA) and the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) to expand our knowledge so that all updates and new legislation can be translated into ATIPXpress. AINS welcomes any questions regarding our solution for FIPPA compliance, be they general or specific to an organization's existing FIPPA office. I look forward the success of Ontario's FIPPA offices in 2012.

Stay tuned for updates on FIPPA implementation! New ATIPXpress for FIPPA customers include:

• Guelph General Hospital
• Kingston General Hospital
• Perth Smith Falls District Hospital