SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 1ST, IS THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF NEW YORK'S FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAW

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Sunday, September 1, is the 50th anniversary of New York's Freedom of Information Law (FOIL.) Let's celebrate the role that open and transparent government plays in safeguarding democracy.

Obtaining government records, with certain exceptions, is your right as a citizen.

Michael Balter
Aug 30, 2024

Editor’s note: The Chronicle thanks Paul Wolf, President of the New York Coalition For Open Government (NYCOG), for supplying much of the historical information on which this article is based. The Chronicle, represented by its editor, is affiliated with NYCOG.

These days, we take it for granted that citizens have a right to know what their government is doing, even if the fight for that right seems never ending. But it was not always so, at least not in our laws. The U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) did not come into existence until 1966, when President Lyndon Johnson signed it with great reluctance on July 4 of that year, in time for the nation’s birthday.

And LBJ only did so after a 12 year long campaign by California Congressman John Moss and other legislators to make it happen.

As Bill Moyers, LBJ’s press secretary, later recalled:

“LBJ had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to the signing ceremony. He hated the very idea of open government, hated the thought of journalists rummaging in government closets, hated them challenging the official view of reality.” READ MORE AT Sunday, September 1, is the 50th anniversary of New York's Freedom of Information Law (FOIL.) Let's celebrate the role that open and transparent government plays in safeguarding democracy. (substack.com)