Chipping Away At W. Va.'s Right To Know

West Virginia's Legislature has enacted nearly 100 exceptions to the state's Freedom of Information and Open Governmental Proceedings acts since crafting those laws in the mid-1970s, The Associated Press has found.

"From the results of regulatory probes to the location of endangered wild animals and rare plants, lawmakers have steadily added limits to the public’s right to know," AP reports.

AP ferreted out these added exemptions, mostly tucked away in various corners of the state code, as part of its long-running push for freedom of information, free press and media access (recently recognized by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press).

Lawmakers believe the additions address areas not meant for disclosure under FOIA or the open meetings laws. For at least some of these new limitations, public access advocates disagree.

AP follows up on that review by highlighting the only recourse Mountain State citizens have when their FOIA requests are denied: lawsuits.

(People and businesses, not the press, file the bulk of FOIA requests, according to the public agencies that receive them.)

AP contrasts West Virginia's situation with the different ways other states resolve FOIA disputes or impasses. Much of those findings come from research by Harry Hammitt of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government and published by the National Freedom of Information Coalition.

Advocates for open records and meetings laws include the aforementioned RCFP and NFOIC, the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government, and the annual Sunshine Week.