Senators’ public records move delivers setback to openness

Published 6:00 am Wednesday, February 18, 2009

While Mississippi could be moving forward in election lawreform, some state senators seem less than willing to do the samein the area of openness in government.

Last week, 26 senators voted to send back to committee a billthat would have reduced the public records request response periodfrom 14 days to seven days. The bill also would have limited whatfees government agencies could charge for providing theinformation.

The procedural move effectively killed the measure in theSenate.

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The action is a disappointing setback following previous sessionsuccesses that increased government openness. Legislation to makelaw enforcement incident reports public record, which passed lastyear, is a positive move that comes to mind.

In today’s technological world of up-to-the-minute news andalmost instant everything, the chance of a citizen’s having to wait14 days to see a public record is ludicrous. In many cases, thedelay could render the public record information useless orobsolete.

One idea behind public records is that those who pay the bills,the taxpayers, deserve to know how their money is being spent. Theyshould not have to wait up to two weeks to find out.

The House has passed a bill addressing records search feecharges. It is awaiting Senate consideration.

With an amendment to the House bill a possibility, senators havebeen given another chance to promote government openness. It is anopportunity they should accept.