State Freedom of Information Laws

While federal government resources related to the Freedom of Information Act are plentiful and well documented through the Department of Justice’s Office of Information and Privacy website, the same is not true with regard to state open government laws and resources.   Different organizations have compiled information related to open government at the state level.  State governments, through the legislative and executive branch portions of the official websites, often have information on the actual laws and those offices charged with implementation and oversight of those laws.  Privately owned websites offer easy to use compendia of state laws; others provide links to the private organizations dedicated to promoting and preserving open government.  Rarely is all this information found in one place.

The Media Law Resource Center’s Legislative Affairs Committee now presents a state-by-state index of links which MLRC members should find useful as primary and secondary resources on open government issues throughout the nation.  Please do not hesitate to contact an MLRC staff member if any of these links appear outdated or incorrect or if you have information to add that would benefit the MLRC membership. 

Special thanks go to the following members of the MLRC Legislative Affairs Committee for compiling this information: Bruce Brown; Malena Barzelai; Chad Bowman; Dawn Phillips Hertz; Donna Jacobs; Kathleen Kirby; Alice Lucan; Bob Lystad; Tom Newton; Mark Prak and Tonda Rush.

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