Documents recently released from the Ronald Reagan library reveal that, while acting as White House associate counsel during the Reagan administration, John Roberts supported government secrecy and strenuously avoided any implication that the White House had an obligation to provide information to anyone, including Congress. On occasion, Roberts made small efforts to assist those seeking information. These, however, tended to be minor issues; and, even in these efforts, Roberts typically included disclaimers to prevent any assumption that the administration was required to respond.

New Jersey's Office of the Attorney General has announced the state will abandon plans to establish controversial restrictions to its Open Public Records Act (OPRA). The restrictions, proposed in a state rule change, would have required requesters to prove a "need-to-know" before the state would release information about chemical hazards. The added burden on the public could have severely limited access to toxic-chemical inventories and other records widely used to monitor public health and safety, workplace conditions, and environmental quality.