E-Transparency Bill Passes Council
April 9, 2009: "The Louisville Metro Council has approved an e-transparency ordinance.
The measure calls for the creation of a website to provide public access to Metro Government financial information." Read the full article here.
Press group opposes closing records of legislative probes
February 24, 2009: The Kentucky Press Association is opposing provisions in legislation that would exempt records of a proposed investigative arm of the General Assembly from the state open-records law.
"Records addressed in this legislation, in our opinion, should be open to the public," said Ashley Pack, general counsel for the Kentucky Press Association. "In fact, the very nature of this new division highlights the reason why the public should be involved." Read the full article here.
Call ‘911’ — lawmaker stealing access to progress
February 20, 2009: State Sen. John Schickel, R-Union, claims he would never restrict the public’s access to records. Yet that’s exactly what he wants to do with his bill to ban the broadcast of “911” calls on TV, radio or the Internet.
Some “911” chatter can embarrass callers and capture highly emotional moments, Schickel said. His pandering to “privacy” advocates also includes a totally unfounded charge that broadcast outlets use replays of these calls to boost ratings. Show me the evidence, Mr. Schickel.
His bill represents nothing more than an end-run around the Kentucky Open Records Act — something a lot of politicians love to do and often justify by playing the “privacy” card. Too many lawmakers are willing to close public business faster than big bank CEOs can cash a bonus check. Read the full column here.
Keep public records open
February 18, 2009: The legislature should avoid whittling away at the public's access to government records without a very compelling reason.
Senate Bill 30, which would limit public access to 911 emergency tapes, fails that test.
Though well intended, SB 30 is a poorly thought out solution to a mostly non-existent problem. Read the full article here.
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