foia-requests

Name: foia-requests
Author: jamditis

153installs57forks

How to install foia-requests?

jamditis/claude-skills-journalism/foia-requests

$npx -y skills add jamditis/claude-skills-journalism --skill foia-requests

Installs into the current project.

Summary

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and public records request workflows. Use when drafting records requests, tracking submissions, understanding exemptions, appealing denials, or managing large document productions. Essential for investigative journalists, researchers, and transpa

Files · 1

View on GitHub

SKILL.md

1	# FOIA and public records requests
2
3	Workflows and templates for obtaining government records through freedom of information laws.
4
5	## Understanding FOIA landscape
6
7	### Jurisdiction overview
8
9	\| Level \| Law \| Scope \|
10	\|-------\|-----\|-------\|
11	\| Federal \| Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552) \| Federal executive branch agencies \|
12	\| State \| Varies by state (e.g., OPRA in NJ, FOIL in NY) \| State and local agencies \|
13	\| Local \| Often covered by state law \| Municipal, county, school boards \|
14
15	### Key federal exemptions (U.S. Federal FOIA)
16
17	```markdown
18	## The 9 federal FOIA exemptions
19
20	1. National security - Classified information
21	2. Internal personnel rules - Agency housekeeping matters
22	3. Statutory exemptions - Other laws prohibit disclosure
23	4. Trade secrets - Confidential business information
24	5. Inter/intra-agency memos - Deliberative process privilege
25	6. Personal privacy - Personnel, medical files
26	7. Law enforcement - Could interfere with proceedings
27	8. Financial institutions - Bank examination reports
28	9. Geological data - Oil and gas well information
29
30	Note: Agencies must segregate and release non-exempt portions
31	```
32
33	## State public records laws
34
35	All 50 states have enacted laws requiring certain government records to be open to the public.
36
37	### State-specific resources
38
39	```markdown
40	### State public records resources
41
42	#### Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
43	- Open Government Guide: rcfp.org/open-government-guide
44	- State-by-state analysis of public records laws
45	- Sample request letters by state
46
47	#### National Freedom of Information Coalition
48	- nfoic.org/state-freedom-of-information-laws
49	- State FOI organization contacts
50	- Training and resources
51
52	#### MuckRock
53	- muckrock.com
54	- File requests through platform
55	- Search previous requests/responses
56	- Agency response time data
57	```
58
59	### Common state exemptions
60	State legislatures may be subject to different rules than the rest of their governing bodies:
61
62	1. Exempt from public records statute (e.g., Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Oregon, Wyoming)
63	2. Excluded from definition of public body (e.g., Georgia, Minnesota)
64	3. Covered by separate statute (e.g., California)
65	4. Allowed to set own policies (e.g., Mississippi, New York)
66
67	Court decisions and attorneys general opinions in some states have held that the separation of powers doctrine prevents courts from enforcing public records statutes against the legislature.
68
69	### State-by-state reference
70
71	\| State \| Public Records Law \| Legislative Exemptions/Notes \|
72	\|-------\|-------------------\|------------------------------\|
73	\| Alabama \| AL Code § 36-12-40 et seq. \| AL Code § 29-6-7.1 Legislative confidential communication \|
74	\| Alaska \| AK Stat. § 40.25.110 \| AK Stat. § 24.20.100 Research and drafting services confidential \|
75	\| Arizona \| AZ Rev. Stat. § 39-121.01 \| AZ Rev. Stat. § 41-1279.05 Confidential records of auditor general \|
76	\| Arkansas \| AR Code Ann. § 25-19-101 et seq. \| AR Code Ann. § 10-2-129; § 10-4-422; § 25-19-105(b)(7) \|
77	\| California \| CA Govt. Code § 7920 et seq. \| CA Govt. Code § 9070 et seq. Legislative Open Records Act \|
78	\| Colorado \| CO Rev. Stat. Ann. § 24-72-200 et seq. \| CO Rev. Stat. Ann. § 24-72-202(6); § 2-3-505(2) \|
79	\| Connecticut \| CT Gen. Stat. § 1-200 et seq. \| CT Gen. Stat. § 1-210(b)(19); § 52-146r \|
80	\| Delaware \| 29 Del. Laws, c. 100 § 10001 et seq. \| § 10002(o)(16 & 19) Exempt records; GA emails \|
81	\| Florida \| FL Stat. § 119.01 et seq. \| FL Stat. § 11.0431(2); § 11.26; § 15.07 \|
82	\| Georgia \| O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq. \| General Assembly not included in definitions \|
83	\| Hawaii \| HI Rev. Stat. § 92F-1 et seq. \| HI Rev. Stat. § 84-12; § 92F-13(5); § 23G-4 \|
84	\| Idaho \| ID Stat. § 74-101 et seq. \| ID Stat. § 74-109 Draft legislation exempt \|
85	\| Illinois \| 5 ILCS 140/1 \| 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(f) Legislative documents exempt \|
86	\| Indiana \| IN Code § 5-14-3-1 et seq. \| IN Code § 5-14-3-4(b)(13) & (14) Staff work products exempt \|
87	\| Iowa \| IA Code § 22.1 et seq. \| IA Code § 2A.1(3); § 23.12 \|
88	\| Kansas \| K.S.A. § 45-215 et seq. \| K.S.A. § 45-217(l)(3)(B); § 45-221(a)(20)-(22) \|
89	\| Kentucky \| KRS § 61.870 et seq. \| KRS § 7.117; § 7.119; § 7.120 \|
90	\| Louisiana \| LA Rev. Stat. § 44:1 et seq. \| LA Rev. Stat. § 44:4(6); § 44:4.1; § 44:2 \|
91	\| Maine \| ME Rev. Stat. Tit. 1 § 400 et seq. \| ME Rev. Stat. Tit. 1 § 402(3)(C) Legislative exception \|
92	\| Maryland \| MD General Provisions Code § 4-101 et seq. \| MD State Govt. Code § 2–1226 \|
93	\| Massachusetts \| MA Gen. Laws Ch. 66 § 1 et seq. \| Ch. 66 § 18 General Court exempt \|
94	\| Michigan \| MI Comp. Laws § 15.231 \| MI Comp. Laws § 4.1109 LSB confidentiality \|
95	\| Minnesota \| MN Stat. § 13.03 \| MN Stat. § 3C.0

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Type

foia-requests

153installs57forks

View on GitHub

How to install foia-requests?

jamditis/claude-skills-journalism/foia-requests

$npx -y skills add jamditis/claude-skills-journalism --skill foia-requests

Installs into the current project.

Summary

Files · 1

View on GitHub

SKILL.md

1	# FOIA and public records requests
2
3	Workflows and templates for obtaining government records through freedom of information laws.
4
5	## Understanding FOIA landscape
6
7	### Jurisdiction overview
8
9	\| Level \| Law \| Scope \|
10	\|-------\|-----\|-------\|
11	\| Federal \| Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552) \| Federal executive branch agencies \|
12	\| State \| Varies by state (e.g., OPRA in NJ, FOIL in NY) \| State and local agencies \|
13	\| Local \| Often covered by state law \| Municipal, county, school boards \|
14
15	### Key federal exemptions (U.S. Federal FOIA)
16
17	```markdown
18	## The 9 federal FOIA exemptions
19
20	1. National security - Classified information
21	2. Internal personnel rules - Agency housekeeping matters
22	3. Statutory exemptions - Other laws prohibit disclosure
23	4. Trade secrets - Confidential business information
24	5. Inter/intra-agency memos - Deliberative process privilege
25	6. Personal privacy - Personnel, medical files
26	7. Law enforcement - Could interfere with proceedings
27	8. Financial institutions - Bank examination reports
28	9. Geological data - Oil and gas well information
29
30	Note: Agencies must segregate and release non-exempt portions
31	```
32
33	## State public records laws
34
35	All 50 states have enacted laws requiring certain government records to be open to the public.
36
37	### State-specific resources
38
39	```markdown
40	### State public records resources
41
42	#### Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
43	- Open Government Guide: rcfp.org/open-government-guide
44	- State-by-state analysis of public records laws
45	- Sample request letters by state
46
47	#### National Freedom of Information Coalition
48	- nfoic.org/state-freedom-of-information-laws
49	- State FOI organization contacts
50	- Training and resources
51
52	#### MuckRock
53	- muckrock.com
54	- File requests through platform
55	- Search previous requests/responses
56	- Agency response time data
57	```
58
59	### Common state exemptions
60	State legislatures may be subject to different rules than the rest of their governing bodies:
61
62	1. Exempt from public records statute (e.g., Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Oregon, Wyoming)
63	2. Excluded from definition of public body (e.g., Georgia, Minnesota)
64	3. Covered by separate statute (e.g., California)
65	4. Allowed to set own policies (e.g., Mississippi, New York)
66
67	Court decisions and attorneys general opinions in some states have held that the separation of powers doctrine prevents courts from enforcing public records statutes against the legislature.
68
69	### State-by-state reference
70
71	\| State \| Public Records Law \| Legislative Exemptions/Notes \|
72	\|-------\|-------------------\|------------------------------\|
73	\| Alabama \| AL Code § 36-12-40 et seq. \| AL Code § 29-6-7.1 Legislative confidential communication \|
74	\| Alaska \| AK Stat. § 40.25.110 \| AK Stat. § 24.20.100 Research and drafting services confidential \|
75	\| Arizona \| AZ Rev. Stat. § 39-121.01 \| AZ Rev. Stat. § 41-1279.05 Confidential records of auditor general \|
76	\| Arkansas \| AR Code Ann. § 25-19-101 et seq. \| AR Code Ann. § 10-2-129; § 10-4-422; § 25-19-105(b)(7) \|
77	\| California \| CA Govt. Code § 7920 et seq. \| CA Govt. Code § 9070 et seq. Legislative Open Records Act \|
78	\| Colorado \| CO Rev. Stat. Ann. § 24-72-200 et seq. \| CO Rev. Stat. Ann. § 24-72-202(6); § 2-3-505(2) \|
79	\| Connecticut \| CT Gen. Stat. § 1-200 et seq. \| CT Gen. Stat. § 1-210(b)(19); § 52-146r \|
80	\| Delaware \| 29 Del. Laws, c. 100 § 10001 et seq. \| § 10002(o)(16 & 19) Exempt records; GA emails \|
81	\| Florida \| FL Stat. § 119.01 et seq. \| FL Stat. § 11.0431(2); § 11.26; § 15.07 \|
82	\| Georgia \| O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq. \| General Assembly not included in definitions \|
83	\| Hawaii \| HI Rev. Stat. § 92F-1 et seq. \| HI Rev. Stat. § 84-12; § 92F-13(5); § 23G-4 \|
84	\| Idaho \| ID Stat. § 74-101 et seq. \| ID Stat. § 74-109 Draft legislation exempt \|
85	\| Illinois \| 5 ILCS 140/1 \| 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(f) Legislative documents exempt \|
86	\| Indiana \| IN Code § 5-14-3-1 et seq. \| IN Code § 5-14-3-4(b)(13) & (14) Staff work products exempt \|
87	\| Iowa \| IA Code § 22.1 et seq. \| IA Code § 2A.1(3); § 23.12 \|
88	\| Kansas \| K.S.A. § 45-215 et seq. \| K.S.A. § 45-217(l)(3)(B); § 45-221(a)(20)-(22) \|
89	\| Kentucky \| KRS § 61.870 et seq. \| KRS § 7.117; § 7.119; § 7.120 \|
90	\| Louisiana \| LA Rev. Stat. § 44:1 et seq. \| LA Rev. Stat. § 44:4(6); § 44:4.1; § 44:2 \|
91	\| Maine \| ME Rev. Stat. Tit. 1 § 400 et seq. \| ME Rev. Stat. Tit. 1 § 402(3)(C) Legislative exception \|
92	\| Maryland \| MD General Provisions Code § 4-101 et seq. \| MD State Govt. Code § 2–1226 \|
93	\| Massachusetts \| MA Gen. Laws Ch. 66 § 1 et seq. \| Ch. 66 § 18 General Court exempt \|
94	\| Michigan \| MI Comp. Laws § 15.231 \| MI Comp. Laws § 4.1109 LSB confidentiality \|
95	\| Minnesota \| MN Stat. § 13.03 \| MN Stat. § 3C.0

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