Hartford (AP) - In the spectrum of Connecticut government, the Freedom of Information Commission is tiny, with fewer than two dozen employees and an annual budget that would barely cover the salary of a journeyman Major League Baseball utility player.

But in terms of impact and influence, it's a giant, with the power to rein in the most intractable public agency or official, whether it's the governor or a local planning and zoning commissioner.

Directing the efforts of the commission is Colleen Murphy, a soft-spoken Danbury native who's spent nearly two decades protecting the public's right to know what its government has done.

"She's sweet, but she has a backbone of steel," said Mitchell Pearlman, the commission's retired executive director, who recruited Murphy straight out of law school in 1990.

"When she first interviewed here, there were a number of things that I saw right away. She had an outstanding academic record, but she also had a strong public service commitment," he said. "I was convinced that government service would be her career."

As the executive director, Murphy's responsibilities range from making sure the bills are paid to heading off attempts by lawmakers and agency heads to chip away at the access to government information that the Freedom of Information law grants to citizens.

"Every year, there is some attack on FOI around the margins," said state Rep. Bob Godfrey, D-Danbury. "A lot of her work is defensive."

In recent years, Murphy and the commission have battled a variety of issues. They unsuccessfully opposed a legislative proposal that allowed municipalities to withhold the names and addresses of people who participate in programs at local senior centers.

They successfully headed off one that would have allowed police to withhold the names of people charged with domestic violence, a proposal Murphy called a "well-intentioned" but ill-conceived idea to protect the identities of the victims.

"People who know a little bit about FOI feel everything has to be out there," Murphy said, noting that the legislation that created the Freedom of Information Commission in 1975 included 23 exceptions to the disclosure requirements, in addition to others that have since been put in place.

Last year, the commission handled about 800 complaints from citizens and the news media regarding data that was being withheld by various public agencies.

Between 60 and 65 percent were handled through the mediation process and didn't require a full hearing, Murphy said.

"So many of the cases are about local issues, like education budgets or planning and zoning decisions," she said. "Those are the issues that are important to the regular person. It's what happens in their lives."

Murphy, a 1982 graduate of Danbury High School who graduated from Providence College, earned her law degree from Boston College in 1990. Seeking a career in public service, she interviewed with Pearlman, who headed the commission from its creation to his retirement in 2005.

"He had such passion for this line of work. He just sold me on FOI," she said.

Initially, she did legal work and was a hearing officer, listening to and issuing decisions on complaints. But Pearlman said Murphy quickly distinguished herself from her peers.

"She was about the hardest-working lawyer I've seen, and she spent a tremendous amount of time learning about the FOI. After her third or fourth year, I told the commission we should get her into a position of leadership," he said.

When Pearlman retired in 2005, the commission chose Murphy to succeed him.

Since its inception, Connecticut's Freedom of Information Commission has served as a model for similar organizations, both nationally and internationally.

"We've dealt with people who are involved in democratic movements in the former Soviet Union and other countries, which is very exciting, and Mexico's Access to Information Commission is modeled after ours," Murphy said.

"We're looked at across the world for what we do," she said. "It's something we're really proud of."