PS 91(4)

Procedures in Handling Freedom of Information Act Requests

This publication has been superseded by IP 96(14)

The purpose of this Policy Statement is to establish and reduce to writing the procedures that will be followed by the Department in handling Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. These procedures are intended to ensure that a response to an FOIA request is made within four business days of the receipt of such a request, as required by law.

FOIA requests pertain to existing public records or files, as defined in Conn. Gen. Stat. §1-18a(d). Tax returns and tax return information are not public records or files, and the Freedom of Information Act does not compel the disclosure of tax returns and records otherwise exempted from disclosure by State law. Except as otherwise provided by Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-15(a), the disclosure of tax returns and tax return information is prohibited. With respect to those persons who are authorized by Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-15(a) to request the disclosure of tax returns and tax return information, the procedures that are followed by the Department in handling such requests are set out in Policy Statement No. 91-5.

Conn. Gen. Stat. §1-2li(a) requires that [a]ny denial of the right to inspect or copy [public] records ... be made to the person requesting such right by the public agency official who has custody or control of the public record, in writing, within four business days of such request. In the Department of Revenue Services, the public agency official who has custody or control of the public records is the Director of the Legal Division. In order to ensure that the Department has the four business days that it is entitled to by law to consider whether or not to deny FOIA requests, all such requests must be hand-delivered, or mailed in a plain cover, envelope or other appropriate wrapper, postage prepaid, to the following address:

Director, Legal Division
Dept. of Revenue Services
25 Sigourney Street
Hartford, CT 06104

Any other officer of the Department receiving an FOIA request, notwithstanding the foregoing, is instructed to hand-deliver or telecopy the request immediately to the Director, Legal Division. 

ISSUED: 4-91