Jackson Jambalaya

Doesn't seem out of line to me for one of the largest state agencies that receives over $300 million a year of taxpayer dollars.

Mr. Kingfish, I rarely comment here but am a regular reader. Your exposing the FOIA requests is some of the best work you do. You let the information do the talking, if you will.

I'm a firm proponent of government transparency but after reading through all those requests believe something has to be done to provide some sort of relief to offset the sheer volume and information gathering complexity of requests being received.

I'm not suggesting restrictions on information being requested but there has to be some sort of prioritization scheme versus the date constrained FIFO sort of approach in place today and a cost recovery mandate that recoups all expenses associated with each request.

When considering open records law there can be no way that our legislators could have fully anticipated the volume and complexity of requests that would inevitably be received by, for example, this one or any other agency. This one entry in your publication should be required reading for all incoming legislators before the next full session in 2020. If all our state agencies are receiving requests even approaching that volume being experienced by MDOC then, as taxpayers, we have a major cost and staff time expense issue that needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

The Legislature needs to define a prioritization scheme, needs to provide delivery date flexibility, needs to create a uniform hourly research rate to cover costs across all agencies, needs to define specifically when costs waivers will and will not be extended, needs to define a uniform file format, etc..

IMO asking an agency to go back 10 years, as I saw in one of the requests, and provide deep research is an abuse of the process and the costs to deliver responses to such requests should not be on the backs of Mississippi taxpayers. The FOIA process needs to be totally reformed.

Thank you Mr. Kingfish for this illuminating reporting. Your is the most unique publication, online or other, in all of Mississippi. Thank you.

Some requests would be time consuming if the department is not using a central automated database designed to capture the related information. Real hard if the questions such as medical procedures for the entire system are not logged in some detailed searchable format, my gut says they are not, or are logged without much detail.
Some others would be a rather quick look up. Copy of a procedure or contract a statement we do not have a procedure.
Interesting list, thanks for sharing.

The would-be muckrakers at the Democratic Party's "Mississippi Today" want all their stuff free. Screw them.

There's a really easy solution to this problem: don't hide the records in the first place.

If your agency can't or doesn't want to respond to "voluminous" and "complex" requests, then make all your public records available online without requiring a FOIA request. It's not like we use paper anymore. The records are all there, in electronic form. Let those who are interested have free access to all of it online.

Was told that there is a long story to the penitentiary scandal and that Gov Phil knew about illegal activity at the prisons and did not act. Told more will be known soon and the paper trail will tell the story.

These are not Commissioner Hall's records or MDOC's records. They are the taxpayers' records. They are yours and mine. Screw anyone who tries to take away my information.

How about this? Everything that is not subject to confidentiality, post it on the internet. Make it easy to search and index. Film every meeting and post video and then the online sleuths can see it all. That would be a 90% time saver for both sides compared to what we are doing now.

@1:29

You will then ruin all the fun, graft, and corruption being had by those participating in those activities if you do that.

Isn’t it nice that the Legislature exempted themselves from having to comply with Information requests?
We all know how important the work is that they do and certainly know that us deplorables would not be able to comprehend their complex documentation anyway.
Or I could just help them with their daily schedule.
Breakfast- Free from state agencies on the first floor of the capital.
Lunch-Free lunch from lobbyists.
Dinner-Free drinks and dinner from lobbyists.
I just did the hard work for them.

Let the inmates gather the information, some are real smart and computer savy. Who can yo trust, if you can’t trust the inmates.

Proper conduct fears no exposure. Do what's right...especially when no one is looking. These are the hallmarks of integrity, and good government.

Sadly, they will not be found in a single agency in the State of Mississippi. Over 50% of their energy is spent figuring out how to not be exposed.....the other half is how to get re-elected. Mississippi is a cesspool of bad actors who have no idea how to run a public administration.....but the good ole' boys/girls cover for their own.....thick as the thieves they all are. See you in church!

If you got the dime, feel free to waste your time.

Blogs, newspapers etc. Should have to pay for public records request, they use them for a profit as soon as they publish the 1st bit of info from the request. Why should I as a tax payer subsidy a private business.

@10:59 Dude, it's called Constitutional freedom of expression. Blogs are nothing more than "conversation".

Now, perhaps advertising should be banned, but not the free-flow of public dialogue....and since "taxes" are forced from us at the tip of a gun, any product of that process should be freely accessible to the public, because that's who owns it, all of us. It wouldn't exist if not for our taxes.