16-IB23 10/28/2016 FOIA Opinion Letter to Mr. Kevin Ohlandt re: FOIA Complaint Concerning the Pathways to Prosperity Steering Committee
Petitioner alleged that a meeting of the Pathways to Prosperity Committee met without providing public notice. HELD: The Committee acknowledged that it had violated FOIA by failing to provide public notice of its first meeting. As no action was taken at the meeting, minutes were made publicly available, and the Committee expressed that its oversight would not be repeated, this office found no additional remediation was warranted.
Read More16-IB22 10/24/2016 FOIA Opinion Letter to Mr. Peter Kostyshyn re: FOIA Complaint Concerning the State Elections Commissioner
Petitioner requested campaign finance reports from the Office of the State Elections Commissioner (the “SEC”), which directed Petitioner to a website for the information. Petitioner alleged that this constituted a denial of records because he has no access to a computer. The SEC, after learning the Petitioner had no access to a computer, offered Petitioner printed records for a fee. HELD: No FOIA violation is found. A public body is permitted to charge fees in advance for printing or copying records, and the fees the SEC proposes for printed copies of the requested documents appear to be consistent with the statute.
Read More16-IB21 10/19/2016 FOIA Opinion Letter to Mr. Kevin Ohlandt re: FOIA Complaint Concerning Gateway Lab Charter School
Petitioner requested a determination of whether Gateway Lab Charter School’s Board of Directors had violated FOIA by voting in executive session. HELD: Evidence demonstrated that there was an error in the minutes, which were subsequently revised, and that the vote took place during the public session. Thus, the Board did not violate FOIA by voting in executive session. However, the Board did violate FOIA by failing to maintain minutes that accurately reflected the votes taken and actions agreed upon at the April 4th meeting.
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