The U.S. Freedom of Information Act is more cumbersome than state law. You must make the requests in writing. Officials have twenty days to acknowledge your request. And the law allows officials to withhold or redact much more information than the state law. Still, FOIA can be a very powerful tool for reporters and citizens.
An excellent searchable web-based guide to using FOIA: http://www.rcfp.org/fogg/index.php?i=intro
