A legal dispute in Arizona over access to legislative records prompts grave concerns.

"If the courts agree, that would do more than leave American Oversight without a legal remedy. It also could set the stage for setting a new precedent which could leave all Arizonans powerless to use the Public Records Act to demand everything from legislative documents to letters sent to lawmakers and texts they send and receive."

In Kentucky, lawmakers disposed of this question quite handily in HB 312, giving grudging lip service to transparency but effectively insulating themselves entirely from public scrutiny.

Attorneys for Arizona lawmakers argue, "When adjudication of a claim will entail incursions into the internal domain of the legislature, respect for that coequal branch necessitates dismissal." If here are questions, they must be resolved within the legislature or by the people who elect them.

Here's hoping for the latter. Voters who oppose governmental secrecy should make their voices heard at the ballot box.