A bipartisan team of senior U.S. Senators has introduced legislation to clarify important sections of the Freedom of Information Act and codify a presumption of disclosure for commercial records.

Last Monday, the Supreme Court prevented release of government spending data to a South Dakota newspaper, handing down a ruling that is expected to limit the public’s understanding of how tax dollars are spent in the private sector.

Earlier this year, we reported on an upcoming Supreme Court case, Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, which some in the FOIA community feared might severely restrict the public’s ability to track the flow of tax dollars into private companies.

Today, SCOTUS passed down its ruling, and it appears those fears were justified.

In this week’s FOIA roundup, a records request reveals what then-President-elect Donald Trump was briefed on by military officials in 2016, a South Dakota newspaper battles supermarket industry lobbyists at the Supreme Court over federal food stamps data, and new documents expose Baltimore County Police Department underreported the number of rape kits they destroyed by hundreds.

The U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Food Marketing Institute (FMI) v. Argus Leader today, a case which examines where the line between confidential business data and the public’s right to know is drawn.