The AG's Bid to Shield Legislative Records From FOIA, and Why It Matters

CT CannaTimes Special Report - 12.4.2025

A First-in-the-Nation Push for Secrecy

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong is asking a court to rule that nearly all records created by the General Assembly — emails, drafts, communications, internal discussions — should be exempt from public disclosure, as long as they relate to “legitimate legislative activity.”

If approved, Connecticut would become the first state in the entire nation to use the courts to shut down public access to nearly all legislative records.

No other state has ever gone this far through judicial action. What makes this even more troubling is that the Attorney General’s office has offered no clear explanation for why such a dramatic shift is necessary, leaving transparency officials, lawmakers, and the public confused — and suspicious.

When government pushes for secrecy without a clear public benefit, the question becomes unavoidable: What exactly do they not want people to see?

This has never happened in the 50-year history of our state’s Freedom of Information Act.

And the reaction from FOI officials and even lawmakers themselves has been shock, disbelief, and concern.

The Freedom of Information Commission warned that this argument would “turn everything upside down.” Legislators from both parties said they were never consulted. And transparency experts statewide say this move would set a dangerous new standard.

WHAT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IS REALLY ASKING FOR

The AG’s office is arguing that the state constitution’s “speech or debate” clause allows lawmakers and their staff to keep almost anything secret — even though this has never been used to block FOIA requests before.

Their position is simple and drastic:

If lawmakers say a record relates to their work, the public never gets to see it. Period.

FOI hearing officers reviewed thousands of the documents at issue and found that most were not exempt and should be released. The AG’s office disagreed and appealed to block disclosure entirely.

The FOI Commission pushed back, saying that Connecticut’s transparency rules have existed for half a century and lawmakers knowingly chose to include themselves when FOIA was created.

This appeal tries to undo all of that.

WHY THIS IS BAD FOR EVERYONE — NOT JUST JOURNALISTS

1. It is bad for CT citizens.

If the public cannot see how laws are drafted, discussed, and influenced:

• you cannot know if special interests shaped your laws

• you cannot know why certain decisions were made

• you cannot hold your elected officials accountable

• you cannot challenge wrongdoing or backroom deals

Government power without visibility is unhealthy and undemocratic.

2. It is bad for legislators themselves.

Most lawmakers did NOT ask for this. Many said they were not consulted at all.

If the AG creates this secrecy by court ruling, legislators lose:

• the ability to show they acted ethically

• the ability to respond to bad-faith accusations

• credibility with the public

It helps no one inside the building, either.

3. It is bad for government watchdogs.

FOI is how reporters uncover:

• corruption

• misuse of taxpayer money

• unethical behavior

• failed programs

• secret deals

A government you cannot check is a government you cannot trust.

4. And if there is nothing wrong to see… why hide it?

The public deserves an answer to this question.

WHY THIS IS ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS FOR CANNABIS POLICY

Connecticut’s cannabis system already struggles with:

• accusations of favoritism

• missing documents

• FOIA delays

• questionable licensing practices

• secrecy around testing labs

• inconsistent Social Equity Council decisions

• lobbying influence that is not transparent

Now the Attorney General wants to allow lawmakers to make all cannabis-related internal documents completely secret.

If this happens:

• no journalist could investigate cannabis licensing

• no advocate could see how cannabis bills are drafted

• no one could find out who influenced cannabis rules

• no public records could expose wrongdoing

• no transparency would exist around why certain cannabis businesses win or lose

Cannabis in Connecticut already operates in a shadowy gray zone. This would turn the lights off completely.

EVEN THE FOI COMMISSION SAYS THIS MAKES NO SENSE

FOI officials warn that this claim:

• has never been used this way

• is not supported by case law

• would eliminate public access to nearly all legislative records

• would reverse decades of open government

• is unnecessary and harmful

One FOI commissioner openly asked the AG’s attorney who decided to assert this extreme privilege and whether there is a hidden motive. No answer was given.

The public still does not know who ordered this or why.

CONNECTICUT HAS A LONG HISTORY OF CORRUPTION. SECRECY MAKES IT WORSE.

CT has dealt with:

• imprisoned local officials

• misuse of grant money

• agency failures

• scandals in quasi-public agencies

• corruption in the cannabis licensing landscape

• a history of backroom deals in Hartford

In a state where trust is already fragile, choosing secrecy is the opposite of what the public needs.

We should be increasing transparency — not killing it.

THIS WOULD MAKE FOIA IN CT ALMOST USELESS

If this appeal succeeds:

• FOIA can no longer access most legislative emails

• Journalists lose the ability to fact-check lawmakers

• Citizens cannot investigate how bills are made

• Public oversight collapses

• The legislature becomes the most secretive branch of CT government

And it would set a legal precedent that could shield other agencies from accountability too.

This is a point of no return.

FINAL WORD: CONNECTICUT CANNOT AFFORD TO BECOME A SECRECY STATE

This appeal is not a “routine interpretation.”

It is not “business as usual.”

It is not “a small question for the courts.”

This is a historic attempt to shut the public out of the legislative process — and it would hit cannabis transparency the hardest, where corruption has already been whispered about for years.

FOIA is the only reason the public can see anything. If this privilege claim succeeds, FOIA becomes a locked door.

And Connecticut becomes the first state in America to choose secrecy over accountability.

CT CannaTimes will keep tracking this fight — because without transparency, there is no cannabis justice, no government accountability, and no real democracy in Connecticut.