What is the Freedom of Information Act?
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 came fully into force in January 2005 when full rights of access to information held by public authorities were provided. The Act is part of the Government’s commitment to greater openness and transparency in the public sector and aims to enable members of the public to question the actions and decisions of public authorities more closely. What this means in practice is that you can request information from any public authority and, in the majority of cases, they will have to give it to you.
The Michigan Freedom of Information Act as amended by 1996 PA 553 regulates and sets requirements for the disclosure of public records by all public bodies in the state including all state agencies, county and other local governments, school boards, other boards, departments, commissions, councils, and public colleges and universities.
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 creates new rights of public access to information held by public authorities, as defined under the Act. The Act specifically defines GPs as public authorities. The Scottish Information Commissioner, who regulates the Act, has ruled that GPs may act co-operatively within their practice structure to discharge their obligations under the Act.
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a federal law that gives people the right to request information kept by federal government agencies. The law also requires agencies to make certain information automatically available to the public in online “reading rooms.” This includes regulations, general policy statements, staff instructions, final opinions, and other records that affect members of the public. Furthermore, the FOIA says that information that is or is likely to be frequently requested should be automatically published on the Internet. You can check an office’s reading room, which should be accessible from the office’s website, to see if the records you are seeking are available online. The U.S. Department of Justice maintains a list of links to federal offices’ reading rooms. You can read the text of the FOIA here.
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a federal law that was created in 1966 to provide the public a right of access to government documents and records, the premise being that the public has a right to know what the government is doing. The Act applies to federal agencies within the executive branch of the government, which includes the Postal Service. It says that any person may ask an agency for a copy of its records, and that the agency must provide such records, unless an exemption exists that protects the records from disclosure.
