Public Records, FOIA & Court Record Access Watch

Why this is recommended

A state that just capped records fees, a PACER change that makes case documents free, a county portal that puts deeds online, an expungement rule that clears a record the member has been paying for, or a ruling that forces a city to release body camera video are each worth more than the membership.

What the Tab covers

Who it is for

The journalists, researchers, landlords, job seekers, genealogists, litigants and curious neighbors who need a record, and everyone who has been quoted $2,000 for a public document.

When it runs

Legislatures and courts change access rules on weekdays and requests get filed all week

Scope

State public records laws in all states with fees, deadlines, exemptions and enforcement; federal FOIA rules, fees, backlogs and agency portals; PACER and federal court access; state court portals, sealing, expungement and record clearing; county recorder, assessor, vital records and business filing portals; body camera and police record laws; records denial rulings and appeals; MuckRock, the Reporters Committee and free tools; data broker and records opt-out rules; open meeting and public notice laws

Suggested task

The objective your Tab starts with. You can edit every line of it once the Tab is yours.

State public records law changes including fees, response deadlines, exemptions and enforcement, federal FOIA rule, fee and backlog changes by agency, court record access changes including online portal launches, PACER fee changes and sealing and expungement rule changes, property, vital and business record portal changes by county, body camera and police record access rules, records request denial rulings and appeals, free records request tools and templates, data broker opt-out rules for records and public meeting and notice law changes, with the state, agency or court first and the fee or deadline in the title.

Track access to public records in the United States. Report only confirmed, source-backed items from the last 7 days: state public records law changes including fees, response deadlines, exemptions and enforcement with effective dates; federal FOIA rule, fee and backlog changes by agency; court record access changes including portal launches, PACER fee changes and sealing, expungement and record clearing rule changes; county recorder, assessor, vital records and business filing portal launches and changes in the 100 largest counties; body camera and police record access rule changes and rulings; records denial rulings and appeals that set precedent; free records request tool and template launches from MuckRock, the Reporters Committee and similar groups; data broker and records opt-out rule changes; and open meeting and public notice law changes. Prefer state legislatures and attorneys general, court systems, federal agencies, county offices, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and established government reporting; ignore commercial records services. Put the state, agency or court first in the title with the fee or deadline. Use high severity for a fee cap or elimination, an expungement rule expansion, a portal launch in a county over one million people, or a ruling affecting most requesters in a state. Return no more than 6 findings. Push each as a finding with a title, a two-sentence summary, sections for what changed, who it affects, how to use it, the date, and the source link. If nothing qualifies, push nothing and submit the run receipt.