2001 Second Prize Essay Winner

2001 Second Prize Essay Winner!

Christina Chamberlain
January 19, 2001
AP Government - B6

"How have the residents of CT benefited from the state's freedom of information laws?"

Citizen Bob of Bristol had not been aware that a Board of Education meeting was held, despite the fact that he had asked to be notified of upcoming meetings. One week after the gathering, he contacted the Board and requested the meeting's voting records. He waited two weeks before finally being informed that they had not yet been released to the public. Prior to 1975, Citizen Bob would have been rendered helpless in this situation; however, as a result of Connecticut's passage of the Freedom of Information Act, Citizen Bob is today protected from such closed government policies.

The American government is supposed to be conducted "of the people, by the people, and for the people." It is fitting, then, that the people have access to records connected with their government. Under the Freedom of Information Act, residents may inspect payroll and expenditure records of public agencies in Connecticut, and thus, may learn precisely how their tax dollars are being put to use. Citizens may ask for reports delineating the duties of a particular agency, what statistics that agency has collected, and what action it has been taking, in order to better understand their government. They may request records relating to environmental hazards, taxes and labor relations, and in doing so, may learn more about issues directly relating to them.

Whereas a government agency's meetings may once have been virtually clandestine operations, today, they must be announced at least one week in advance, and agendas must be made available at least twenty-four hours in advance. Citizens now are fully aware of gatherings, and are free to attend meetings without facing registration requirements. The public and the media are allowed to photograph, record, and broadcast these meetings, opening the door of government agencies to an even greater audience. Votes at meetings must be taken in public, and tabulations must be filed within forty-eight hours. Attendance records must also be made public. Both help to ensure that public agencies and the members who comprise them are working in favor of the masses.

The residents of Connecticut are entitled to prompt access to inspect or copy public records. Several types of records must be filed within a specified period of time, for example, regular meeting minutes must be made available within seven days of a meeting. The Freedom of Information Act mandates that an agency respond to a request for information within four working days of receiving it. Connecticut's people no longer need deal with waiting an inordinate amount of time for requested information. They may, instead, locate the pertinent records of their local and state government agencies in a reasonable period of time.

Had the Freedom of Information Act not been passed over a quarter of a century ago, Citizen Bob and the rest of the Connecticut population would discover themselves with few rights when it came to finding information about and gaining access to public agencies. The passage of the act has helped to "shine the light through government," and has essentially made Connecticut and its towns more open, and therefore, more democratic. Clearly, residents have benefited as Connecticut has become the paradigm of states of, by, and for the people.