CT HB05175

Establishes 30-day appeal deadline to the Freedom of Information Commission for denied record requests or meeting access, with expedited 72-hour preliminary hearings for executive session disputes

Authorizes the commission to impose civil penalties of $20-$1,000 against requesters who take frivolous appeals solely to harass agencies, and against agency officials who deny access without reasonable grounds

Adds criteria for identifying abusive appeals, including whether requests are repetitious/cumulative, requesters' history of nonappearance at hearings, and refusal to participate in settlement conferences

Allows public agencies to petition the commission for relief from "vexatious requesters" with documented patterns of abusive requests, subject to commission hearing within one year

Enables the commission to grant agencies relief from vexatious requesters by ordering the agency need not comply with future requests for up to one year, with judicial appeal available to requesters within 15 days