Brechner FOI Project Launches National Secrecy Tracker to Monitor Transparency Legislation
The Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) has launched a national Secrecy Tracker to help identify legislation that threatens the public’s access to government records and meetings.
The tool allows free access to proposed bills in any state, Congress and Washington, D.C., that are related to public records and open meeting laws. The Secrecy Tracker employs machine learning to help sift out false positives and capture bills that may not include relevant keywords but still relate to transparency.
“This allows anyone to find out what bills could hamper the flow of civic information before they are passed into laws,” said David Cuillier, director of the Brechner FOI Project. “It also allows researchers and advocates to identify national trends over time and across states.”
“The launch of Secrecy Tracker is a tremendous step forward in giving people the opportunity to see and understand possible threats to their access to public information,” said UFCJC Dean Hub Brown. “That’s the first step toward protecting that access. I’m excited about this latest step in the Brechner FOI Project’s mission to give people the information they need to hold their government accountable.”
The bill search is updated daily and users can retrieve relevant legislation across the country proposed since 2011. Civil society organizations can embed their state’s list of bills on their websites as a widget. The tool was created by web developer Billy O’Keefe in coordination with BillTrack50 and Brechner FOI Project researcher Katherine Marin. Brechner will maintain the secrecytracker.org website.
Posted: January 30, 2025
Category: Brechner Center, College News
Tagged as: Brechner Freedom of Information Project, David Cuillier, Hub Brown, Katherine Marin, Secrecy Tracker. Public Records
