More Reminders of the Shortcomings of Maine’s Freedom of Access Law

Bangor Daily News
March 24, 2022

As part of an editorial marking Sunshine Week, the annual celebration started by the American Society of News Editors to recognize the importance of open government, Preti Flaherty attorney Sig Schutz is quoted by the Bangor Daily News Editorial Board regarding the limits to Maine’s Freedom of Access Act (FOAA). Ostensibly established to provide public access to public proceedings and information, Schutz observes that a long list of exceptions has only served to weaken the law and undermine the intent under which the law was created. 

An Excerpt

“Now, the right-to-know law is sort of Swiss Cheese, with many dozens of individual exceptions protecting certain discrete types of records, or discrete meeting subjects, from the public’s right to know,” Schutz said.