HB 520 — which would regulate not just access to, but use of, the "personally identifiable information" of judges, prosecutors, and police — was assigned to the House Judiciary Committee today.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. John Blanton (R-Salyersville), appeared to be stalled. But it is moving again.

We wrote about the bill earlier today, referencing the fact that the bill was reputed to have considerable momentum.

Additionally, we wrote that although the personally identifiable information to which HB 520 restricts access is already largely exempt under the privacy exception to the open records law, the bill represents a dramatic shift in how open government is legislated.

With limited exceptions dating back to 1994 (relating to commercial use of all public records), and perhaps 2017 (relating to the use of mugshots), there has never been another attempt to broadly regulate how public records are used.

To this extent, HB 520 represents a significant departure.