Proposed reforms in state sunshine laws, 2009 LA-ND
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For a complete list of states proposing reforms to their Sunshine Laws, see proposed reforms in state sunshine laws, 2009 AL-KY and proposed reforms in state sunshine laws, 2009 OH-WY.
[edit] Maine
LD 1353 [1] "An Act Regarding Salary Information for Public Employees" sponsored by Senator Lisa Marraché seeks to forbid the release of salary information by name, and allow it only by position. [2]
[edit] Maryland
Cheye Calvo, the mayor of Berwyn Heights, Maryland is lobbying for the Maryland legislature to pass a new bill that would require every SWAT team in the state to provide a monthly public report on its activities, including where and when it was deployed and whether an operation resulted in arrests, evidence seizures or injuries. In the summer of 2008, Calvo's home was the subject of a mistaken and violent drug raid during which his two black labs were shot and killed by members of a police SWAT team.[3],[4]
[edit] Michigan
House Bill 4043 [5] would create a searchable database of state expenditures. Referred to Committee on Oversight and Investigations on January 22, 2009 and reassigned to the Committee on Urban Policy on February 4, 2009.
House Bill 4121 [6] would require certain budget expenditures to be posted on the state website and provide a penalty for non-compliance. Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Investigations on January 27, 2009.
House Bill 4150 [7] would create a searchable database of state expenditures. Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Investigations on February 4, 2009.
[edit] Minnesota
Senate Bill 94 [8] (and companion House Bill 100 [9]) would make "certain records pertaining to the I-35W bridge collapse compensation program" exempt from public disclosure. Sen. Limmer (R-Maple Grove) questioned the proposed bill, saying that "the public has a right to know ... how the compensation board makes its decisions. That record should be as open to the public as possible." [10]
[edit] Mississippi
- House Bill 1048 [11] would restrict the fees charged for open records to actual costs. Unanimously passed the House February 10, 2009. [12]
- Senate Bill 2921 [13] would reduce the response time required by law for open records requests to seven days (rather than the current 14 days) and restrict fees charged for open records to actual costs. The Senate recommitted this bill to committee 26-23, which effectively killed it. [12] [14]
- Senate Bill 3109 [15] concerns the construction of artificial reefs in the Gulf and contains an exemption to FOIA. The House version of the bill does not contain the exemption. [12]
The Natchez Democrat [16], Clarion Ledger [17] and the Hattiesburg American [18] have editorialized in favor of both HB1048 and SB2921.
[edit] Missouri
House Bill 62 [19] "would let police departments close files in which an officer is found to have violated departmental policy but committed no criminal act, or when no violation is found. The proposal, by Rep. Scott Lipke, R-Jackson, specifies that a file showing that an officer committed a crime would remain open." [20] Debate on the bill centered around concerns that exempting accusations against police officers would simply protect those that abused their power. [21]
House Bill 316 [22] was sponsored by Tim Jones (R-Eureka) in early 2009. The bill seeks to narrow the definition of the times a public meeting may be moved into closed session, require five days notice of public meetings (rather than the current 24 hours required notice), provide public records in electronic format if they are stored that way, and to open up the proceedings of the Missouri Ethics Commission. [23] Citizens have been urging the legislature to pass this bill, while lobbying organizations representing local governmental officials object to it. Gary Markenson, a lobbyist for the Missouri Municipal League and Todd Smith, a lobbyist for the Missouri Association of Counties expressed concern that the bill "goes too far". [24] Governor Jay Nixon has stated that he "hope[s] it [the bill] crosses my desk so I'll be able to sign it". [25]
[edit] Montana
- See also: Montana Public Records Act
Senate Bill 241 [26] the "Taxpayer Right to Know Act". This bill seeks to create a searchable online database of all state incomes and expenditures.
The Montana Policy Institute issued a statement on SB 241:[27]
"SB241 was introduced early and would have provided a comprehensive web-based transparency site for state revenues and spending. The Governor opposed it from the beginning. Everyone else liked it. That bill passed the Senate and went to the House Taxation Committee, where it languished and eventually died because no Democrats on the committee would vote for it (a 10-10 vote effectively kills the bill). So the Governor successfully killed this bill, but the battle wasn't over.
About the time SB241 was dying, MPI ran a media campaign that contacted tens of thousands of Montanans, put the transparency issue in newspapers and TV and radio stations around the state, and otherwise made a fuss. Right about the time that media campaign culminated, Rep Brady Wiseman, a Bozeman Democrat, introduced a Joint Resolution (HJ43) that would have supported a transparency portal and called for the Legislative Finance Committee to come up with ideas and report back to the 2011 legislature. It appeared to be a face saving way for the Democrats to oppose an actual measure while voting for the idea of transparency. I'm sure it felt great.
HJ43 sailed through the House with bipartisan support, passed the Senate Taxation Committee with a unanimous vote and then died ignominiously on the Senate floor with a 25-25 vote, with nearly all Republicans opposing it and nearly all Democrats supporting it. Yes, that's right. The Republicans are now on record as opposing transparency and the Democrats are on record as supporting it, even though it's the Democrats who opposed it from the beginning and the Republicans who originally pushed it as a session priority."
Both SB241 and HJ43 failed in Montana's 2009 legislature.[28][29]
[edit] New Jersey
Sen. Loretta Weinberg is proposing to revamp the state's 1975 Open Public Meetings Act, which regulates how governments hold public meetings. "The advancement of new technologies has raised questions not envisioned when the Legislature adopted the measure three decades ago," said Weinberg during a Sunshine Week NJ FOG sponsored event.[30] The bill she is sponsoring is Senate Bill 1548[31] (Identical to Assembly Bill 2841[32]).
Assemblyman Joseph Cryan is sponsoring legislation to limit copying fees for public documents. "This bill represents a fair and equitable solution that would ensure all citizens have access to public records regardless of their financial ability to access them," said Cryan during a Sunshine Week NJ FOG sponsored event. [33] The bill he is sponsoring is Assembly Bill 1095. [34]
[edit] New Mexico
- Senate Memorial 45 (2008),[35] sponsored by Senator Mark Boitano (R), requests that the Legislative Council Service "ensure[s] that the proceedings of the senate will be streamed on the internet beginning in 2009." The Senate appropriated $75,000 in 2005 for the purchase of equipment that would enable this, $30,000 of which has already been spent (cameras were purchased), but live video feed of the Senate still wasn't aired during 2009's regular session. However, Representative Janice Arnold-Jones (R) used her own resources to broadcast video of the House Taxation and Revenue Committee and the House Voters and Election Committee. Audio feed was available from the Senate.[36]
- House Memorial 62,[37] sponsored by Representative Thomas A. Anderson (R), requests that the roll-call votes of the House of Representatives be made available on the House website immediately following the vote. This Memorial was postponed indefinitely in the House Judiciary Committee.[38]
- House Bill 103,[39] sponsored by Representative Bill O'Neill (D), would exempt personal identifying information (such as social security numbers), building plans, and security system specifications from public inspection. Concerns over the bill have been expressed by those who perform background checks, saying that the bill "would be an insurmountable set-back" for screening job applicants. [40] The bill was postponed indefinitely by the House Business and Industry Committee.[41]
- House Bill 200,[42] sponsored by Roberto J. Gonzalez (D), would exempt "proprietary technical or business information" obtained by the Spaceport Authority from public inspection. The bill was postponed indefinitely by the House Judiciary Committee.[43]
- House Bill 237,[44] sponsored by Representative Andrew Barreras (D), sought to change how public school accountability reports are generated and issued. The bill was passed by the House (67-0) and, on March 15, 2009, was also passed by the Senate (31-1). It was subsequently vetoed by Governor Bill Richardson[45] on March 25, 2009.[46]
- House Bill 393,[47] sponsored by Representative Joseph Cervantes (D), requires that all standing and conference committee meetings be open to the public, and that the public be given "reasonable notice" when any such meeting is scheduled. It allows members of the public to attend legislative meetings intended to channel proposed legislation to the chamber floors (standing committees), as well as meetings intended to relieve legislative discrepancies between the houses (conference committees). This bill was passed by the House (66-0) and by the Senate (33-8), and was signed into law by Governor Bill Richardson on April 6, 2009.[48][46]
- House Bill 546,[49] introduced by Representative Al Park (D), calls for the creation a searchable online database of all state contracts "beginning on or after January 1, 2010 and having a value of more than twenty thousand dollars." This bill was passed by the House (65-0) and by the Senate (39-0), and was subsequently signed into law by Governor Bill Richardson on April 6, 2009.[50][46] It will be effective January 1, 2010.[49]
- House Bill 598,[51] introduced by Representative Joseph Cervantes (D) on February 4, 2009, "allow[s] electronic requests pursuant to the Inspection of Public Records Act." The bill specifies that e-mail or facsimile requests will satisfy the "written request" required for the inspection of public records. It was passed by the House (64-0) and by the Senate (32-5), and was signed into law by Governor Bill Richardson on April 3, 2009.[52][46]
- House Bill 866,[53] introduced by Representative Antonio "Moe" Maestas (D) on February 19, 2009, seeks to remove public access to the criminal records of convicted felons after a certain amount of time has passed from the completion of their sentence. The bill was postponed indefinitely by the House Judiciary Committee.[54] A similar bill was vetoed by the Governor due to "technical flaws" in 2007.[55]
[edit] North Carolina
- In July 2009, the North Carolina House of Representatives Finance Committee approved a bill that would reduce a judge's discretion to deny attorney fees to people or media outlets when they win a lawsuit against a local or state government agency in North Carolina that has illegally refused to provide requested records. The proposed legislation would also create a unit in the state attorney's general office to deal with complaints about government agencies failing to provide documents.[56]
- An "Automatic Recovery Bill" that would make it mandatory for public agencies to pay the attorney fees of anyone who requests records, is denied, and then files a successful lawsuit to compel disclosure was passed unanimously in 2008 by the North Carolina state senate. The bill was then blocked by Joe Hackney, the Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, but is under re-consideration in 2009.[57]
[edit] North Dakota
House Bill 1220 [58] was endorsed by the House Judiciary Committee on January 20, 2009. The bill seeks to change North Dakota's open meetings law to permit local governing bodies to gather during times of emergency without prior issuance of notice. An amendment to the bill specifies that "public officials would be restricted to matters regarding the disaster, and could not conduct any official business without issuing a public notice". [59]
Senate Bill 2087, [60] introduced by the Education Committee (at the request of the State Board of Higher Education), seeks to exempt the names of applicants for university presidencies and the higher education system chancellor until a job search reaches the semifinalist phase. Sen. John Andrist (R-Crosby) amended the bill to make more names public sooner in the process, and to give applicants two weeks notice prior to the time when their names would become public, at which point applicants wishing to remain private could rescind their application. [61] SB2087 passed the Senate 30-15 and now moves to the House. The Bismarck Tribune is advocating for the House to quash the bill, saying it is "not good public policy. It is good-old-boy-network politics." [62]
SB2087 was defeated in the House 56-37. [63]
[edit] See also
- Proposed reforms in state sunshine laws, 2009 AL-KY
- Proposed reforms in state sunshine laws, 2009 OH-WY
[edit] References
- ↑ Text & Status of LD 1353
- ↑ Kennebec Journal, "Bill hides names from list of state worker salaries", April 10, 2009
- ↑ Reason's Hit-and-Run, "Maryland Bill Would Bring Transparency to Use of SWAT Teams", February 6, 2009
- ↑ Washington Post, "Bill Calls for More Scrutiny Of SWAT Teams by Police", February 5, 2009
- ↑ Text & Status of HB 4043
- ↑ Text & Status of HB4121
- ↑ Text & Status of HB4150
- ↑ Text of SF94
- ↑ Text of HF100
- ↑ Friday opinuendo: On scrutiny, apostrophes, Blagoheads and more, Twin Cities.com, February 6, 2009
- ↑ Text and Status of HB1048
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Two bills deal with public-records policy, Sun Herald, February 11, 2009
- ↑ Text and Status of SB2921
- ↑ Secrecy: Senate backslides on openness, Clarion Ledger, February 13, 2009
- ↑ Text and Status of SB3109
- ↑ Cheese holes best filled one at a time, Natchez Democrat, February 11, 2009
- ↑ Secrecy: Senate backslides on openness, Clarion Ledger, February 13, 2009
- ↑ Lawmakers must get serious about records, Hattiesburg American, February 12, 2009
- ↑ Text of HB 62
- ↑ Mo. lawmakers propose closing some police records, Associated Press, January 28, 2009
- ↑ Sealing of police records disputed, News Leader, January 29, 2009
- ↑ Text of HB316
- ↑ New legislation would expand Missouri open records law, Associated Press, January 21, 2009
- ↑ Citizens across Missouri call for stronger Sunshine Law, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 11, 2009
- ↑ Missouri officials back stronger Sunshine Law, Kansas City Star, February 19, 2009
- ↑ Text and Status of SB241
- ↑ The Montana Policy Institute, Politics Trumps People, April 30, 2009
- ↑ Montana Government, SB 241
- ↑ Montana Government, HJ 43 language
- ↑ NJ FOG
- ↑ Text of S1548
- ↑ Text of A2841
- ↑ NJ FOG
- ↑ Text of A1095
- ↑ Text of SM 45
- ↑ Roundhouse resists entering 21st century, New Mexico Independent, January 22, 2009
- ↑ Text of HM 62
- ↑ Status of HM 62
- ↑ Text of HB 103
- ↑ New Mexico House Bill 103 Threatens Employment Background Checks, Employee Screen IQ, February 9, 2009
- ↑ Status of HB 103
- ↑ Text of HB 200
- ↑ Status of HB 200
- ↑ Text of HB 237
- ↑ Status of HB 237
- ↑ 46.0 46.1 46.2 46.3 Governor Bill Richardson's final bill action, Las Cruces Sun-News, April 10, 2009
- ↑ Text of HB 393
- ↑ Status of HB 393
- ↑ 49.0 49.1 Text of HB 546
- ↑ Status of HB 546
- ↑ Text of HB 598
- ↑ Status of HB 598
- ↑ Text of HB 866
- ↑ Status of HB 866
- ↑ Bill limits access to criminal records, KRQE, February 25, 2009
- ↑ Salisbury Post, "Panel approves penalty for open records violation", July 8, 2009
- ↑ Blue Ridge Now, "Open records a free, easy fix", February 10, 2009
- ↑ Text of HB1220
- ↑ Open meeting law change endorsed, Bismarck Tribune, January 21, 2009
- ↑ Text and Status of SB 2087
- ↑ ND legislators vote for more openness in college president searches, The Forum, January 27, 2009
- ↑ Bill is about ‘good old boy’ politics, Bismarck Tribune, February 9, 2009
- ↑ ND House defeats bill to weaken open records law, Associated Press, April 9, 2009
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