Federal Controls on
State Information Disclosure:
FERPA, HIPAA and DPPA
By Harry Hammitt
Volume 2, Number 2
Reinstituting the FOI Reports service on behalf of the NFOIC
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FEDERAL PROTECTION LAWS CAN HINDER OPEN GOVERNMENT
New NFOIC white paper explores barriers to state records that federal legislation erects.
COLUMBIA, MO and ROANOKE, VA – Never before has the clash between an individual’s privacy and the public’s right to access been more apparent, or more misunderstood. The National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC -- http://nfoic.org/) highlights that debate with the release of a new report examining public access to state records. The report, “Federal Controls on State Information Disclosure: FERPA, HIPAA and DPPA,” by attorney and FOI expert Harry Hammitt, will be released to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government (VCOG -- http://opengovva.org/) at its Nov. 17 conference.
“NFOIC's latest report documents a troubling trend in open government: the pre-emption of state access law by the federal government,” said Charles N. Davis, executive director of the NFOIC, headquartered at the Missouri School of Journalism. “Teaming with one of the nation's foremost FOI experts, the NFOIC is producing timely research on topics of interest to access advocates.”
Megan Rhyne, associate director of the Virginia coalition, notes that “Figuring out if a federal statute preempts a state one is always difficult. It's even more problematic when it's local officials, who don't work with the federal laws regularly, who are left to answer the question when a FOIA request comes in.” Rhyne said the paper “takes a lot of the guesswork out of what is and isn't preempted.”
"Whatever one's views about privacy protections or 'carve-out' access rights for journalists, this NFOIC white paper provides a useful tool for record custodians and record requesters alike in trying to make sense of federal decrees," said Frosty Landon, director of the Virginia coalition. "Unfortunately, the Feds are running roughshod over state's rights each and every time a federal law is written that trumps the 50 states' public records laws. Until the federal government gives more than lip service to open government, these ‘significant restrictions on access,’ as described by Hammitt, no doubt will keep growing."
The timing of the publication is no accident. In addition to being a 2001 inductee into the FOI Hall of Fame, Hammitt is vice president of VCOG.
“VCOG, an original member of the NFOIC, is a testament to the power of state FOI coalitions," Davis said. “The coalition is one of our greatest success stories.”
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