This article appeared in the e-edition of the Lexington Herald-Leader on August 19.
I'm not exactly sure why a training session on West Virginia's open meetings and ethics laws — scheduled for August 27 at the Pocahontas Courthouse in Marlington as part of a months long initiative across the state by the West Virginia Department of Administration — is newsworthy to Herald-Leader e-subscribers.
Perhaps it is intended as a not so subtle reminder that neighboring states continue to outpace us in offering open government training opportunities to public officials and citizens.
Kentucky's law does not require training sessions such as the one described in the attached.
The only attempt to address open records and meetings training requirements occurred in 2005. After several failed attempts, Representative Derek Graham (D-Frankfort) succeeded in securing passage of a bill mandating distribution of written materials about open records and meetings to named city, county, school, and university officials upon election or appointment. In addition, the law required distribution of written materials any time there is a change in either law.
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=915
The law was silent on open records and meetings training for state officials and citizens.
It was a well-intentioned effort that reflected both Representative Graham's concern that Kentucky's officials were not equipped to implement their open records and meetings duties when they took office and the legislature's reluctance to impose meaningful training requirements.
The law requires that officials provide signed proof of receipt of the written materials. It does not mandate that they attest that they have read the materials. There are no penalties for noncompliance.
Kentucky's laws are silent on live training sessions such as those offered in other states. Given the limited resources available — and the skewed prioritization of non-statutory duties over statutory duties — this is unlikely to change.
And while the level of misunderstanding of the basic requirements of the open records and open meetings laws has never been greater, so too is the opportunity for a compromise solution in the form of mandatory online training for public officials and available online training for the public.
One such example is the now dated training DVD released in 2012 by the University of Kentucky Scripps Howard First Amendment Center.
It's a matter of priorities. And perhaps it takes an article in the Herald-Leader to remind us that the time has come to re-evaluate our existing priorities.
