The executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council has raised concerns about court filings in which the attorney general’s office suggests the state’s freedom of information law is not standing policy, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported Aug. 20, 2021.
“I am worried that the state’s legal arguments … will be viewed by government officials and government employees across Iowa as a roadmap for how to circumvent the clear duties and obligations imposed upon them by the Open Records Law,” Randy Evans said.
In its motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a terminated health department spokeswoman, the state attorney general’s office said the open records law “is not well-recognized public policy,” and that the law does not protect public employees who respond to information requests.