A new law taking effect July 1 represents a step forward -albeit a relatively small one – in bringing about more openness instate and local government.

Gov. Haley Barbour this past week signed a bill to cut in half theamount of time government agencies have for responding to publicrecords requests. The measure passed by lawmakers during 2010session gives agencies seven working days to respond, although morecomplex requests could still be allowed a 14-working-day responseperiod.

Under the 14-day response period, citizens could conceivably haveto wait almost three weeks to get records they are seeking. In thatamount of time, the data sought may no longer be timely or could berendered moot by a government agency action during the allowedresponse time.

Of course, agencies did not have to take the full 14 days torespond and nor will they have to take the full seven days allowedwhen the new law takes effect.

Response to public records requests really represents an agency’sattitude toward openness and the citizens it serves.

Government officials who value openness and their constituents’input on matters of public interest strive to make recordsavailable as quickly as possible, either immediately or within justa few days. For the most part, Brookhaven and Lincoln Countyagencies and officials fall into this category.

However, agencies that feel they have something to hide will takethe full amount of time allowed and even then could conjure up morereasons for delay. They also may look to extract from constituentsthe highest-possible fee for providing requested records.

And therein lies a reason why the new records response law is onlya small step toward openness.

Stripped from the bill during deliberations was a provision tospecify that costs of copying public records would be no more thanthe lowest-paid staff person who’s qualified to fill a request. Inother words, an agency could not charge what it would cost anattorney to fill a request when, say, a deputy clerk was equallyqualified to retrieve and copy requested documents.

The measure could have saved citizens considerable money in theirpursuit of public records. Supporters said they will try again nextsession to get it included in the records law.

When it comes to public records, the door to government openness inMississippi is slowing opening wider. But, unfortunately, it couldstill be costly for citizens to see what’s beyond the doorway.