New England First Amendment Coalition
May 2020
SPRING FUNDRAISER
Learn how we're helping during the COVID-19 pandemic at nefac.org/covid-19 . Your support is critical to our defense of First Amendment freedoms and the public's right to know about government.

From Marty Baron of The Washington Post:

When I was at The Boston Globe the New England First Amendment Coalition was founded. Never has its work been more important.

The president seeks to delegitimize and even dehumanize the press. State and local governments block access to information the public deserves to know. Meantime the press is being harassed with lawsuits as a form of intimidation.

The New England First Amendment Coalition offers vital support for our work as journalists and I hope you will support it with your donation.

From NEFAC President Karen Bordeleau:

Access to public records and the data that is within those records is critically important to all of you.

Today public documents are necessary to help us piece together the COVID-19 puzzle, giving us insight as to where the virus is emerging, who it's affecting and how we can keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.

In addition to making sure that government records are accessible, NEFAC also offers face-to-face and virtual civics presentations for high school and college students and for the public at large. It also offers data journalism training for reporters and editors.

I hope you can find a way to support NEFAC's work in the six New England states and to help us defend the First Amendment.

After all, the First Amendment is the only defense between a thriving democracy and tyranny.
Calling Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo’s two-and-a-half-month old executive order giving public bodies extra time to respond to open records requests “unwarranted and extremely damaging to the public interest,” NEFAC and other media and open government organizations called on her to immediately rescind the order.

The Access to Public Records Act gives public bodies 10 business days to respond to a request for records, and an additional 20 business days if it would constitute an “undue burden” to reply in that initial timeframe. However, the governor’s executive order has given agencies 20 more business days to respond, which, the letter notes, means that important records can be withheld from the public for almost two-and-a-half months. [...]

Additional Coverage

The New England First Amendment Coalition and a group of news organizations in Maine are continuing to demand the release of localized COVID-19 case data, information now provided by every other state in the region.

NEFAC and newsrooms throughout the state last week further increased pressure on government officials to release the data by submitting identical public records requests. The coordinated effort intends to demonstrate the right of citizens to know how many cases of the novel coronavirus have been identified in their communities. [...]

Additional Coverage

The New England First Amendment Coalition applauds a pair of recent positive decisions issued by the Supreme Court of New Hampshire that will make it easier for the public to oversee its law enforcement agencies and hold police officers accountable for their actions.

“These decisions are major wins for transparency and the public’s right to know about government,” said Justin Silverman, NEFAC’s executive director. “They will fundamentally change the way many law enforcement records are considered under the Right-to-Know Law and will make it easier for citizens to get the information they need.” [...]

Additional Coverage

MORE FOI & FIRST AMENDMENT NEWS

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New Hampshire

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