Legal Q&A: Written FOIA requests (Feb. 2018)

Q: Is a written FOIA request necessary to see records that were distributed to or reviewed by an elected official during a public meeting?

Taylor Smith
By SCPA Attorney Taylor Smith

A: No. All such records that were provided to the elected official during a meeting in the last six months may be requested in person without making a written FOIA request.

Taylor M. Smith IV is a media lawyer who represents the S.C. Press Association and its newspapers. As one of our FOI/Legal Hotline attorneys, he is available to answer your open government, legal and libel questions. Call (803) 750-9561.

Other recent columns