South Carolina’s Freedom of Information law contains two significant and frequently used exemptions. The first is for lawmakers. Having written the FOIA law, they have exempted themselves, as have lawmakers in many other states.
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Tag: South Carolina FOIA
S.C. lawmaker proposes registry for journalists
South Carolina Rep. Mike Pitts, R-Laurens, filed a bill Tuesday to establish a “responsible journalism registry” to be operated by the S.C. secretary of state.
That bill’s summary says the bill would “establish requirements for persons before working as a journalist for a media outlet and for media outlets before hiring a journalist.”
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South Carolina senator seeks quicker release of police dash cam videos
State Sen. Larry Martin said he plans to introduce a bill that would require law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to get approval from a judge to withhold videos taken at the scene of a crime beyond the period allowed in the state’s Freedom of Information Act.
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Effort to create FOIA office developing (S.C.)
Government agencies could face a new authority for improperly withholding public records in the face of a Freedom of Information Act request.
But at the same time, government agencies could also strike back at people who make overly burdensome requests for documents. Continue>>>
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COLUMN: ‘We’ need a grassroots push in SC to get the FOI ‘Act’ together
The pulpit is calling. It’s time do a little preaching. The subject isn’t fresh. The spin is different. The old sermon is about FOI. The new message is about FYI. For your information, FOI stands for Freedom of Information. Hopefully, that is not new information. For your information, FOI is information for you.
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Simpsonville (S.C.) reviewing FOI draft policy
How citizens access public information may change in Simpsonville. City officials are drafting a Freedom of Information policy to create a standardized process for handling FOI requests, but some provisions in the draft policy’s current form have raised concerns by specialists in public information access.
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State FOIA Friday for August 16, 2013
From NFOIC: A few state FOIA and local open government news items selected from many of interest that we might or might not have drawn attention to earlier in the week. While you're at it, be sure to check out State FOIA Friday Archives.
Indy district seeks records on takeover of schools
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Opinion: Revive the FOIA bill in South Carolina
Opinion from Rock Hill Herald Online:
S.C. House members apparently don’t mind sunshine unless it shines directly on them.
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