| Freedom Of Information In The United States |
Article Index for Freedom Of |
Website Links For Freedom |
Information AboutFreedom Of Information In The United States |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT FREEDOM OF INFORMATION IN THE UNITED STATES | |
| united states law | |
| classified documents | |
| freedom of information in the united statesunited states law | |
| classified documents | |
| freedom of information in the united states | |
| censorship | |
| freedom of information legislation | |
| disclosure | |
|
Specific legislation may require that all government meetings be open to the public, or that written records be released upon request. The usual intent of these laws is to enable citizens to examine government activity to detect Political Corruption , or to allow them to have input into government decisions that affect them. The first open records law was passed in Wisconsin shortly after it became a state in 1848. All of the other states have a similar law that requires the release of information held by the state government. Florida was the first state to pass an open meetings law in 1967. While all of the other states also have such a law, their exact provisions vary; 41 states require advance notice of meetings, 37 states are required to take and publish Minutes of every meeting, and in 31 states actions or decisions are only recognized as official if decided upon during an open meeting. FEDERAL LEGISLATION The federal government is bound by several laws intended to promote openness in government. However, these normally apply only to federal bodies, leaving many institutions exempt compared to their counterparts in other countries.
Executive Order 13233 , drafted by Alberto R. Gonzales and issued by George W. Bush on November 1 , 2001 shortly after the September 11, 2001 Attacks , is used to limit the FOIA by restricting access to the records of former presidents. STATE LEGISLATION All fifty states have some form of freedom of information legislation, as well as the District of Columbia and some of the territories. EXTERNAL LINKS |
|
|