We've heard a lot in recent days about Rep. John Blanton's bungled attempt to "shield public officials from the remote possibility of harm by making their first and last names exempt from the open records law.
https://www.facebook.com/kyopengovernment/posts/826829887863735
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/ky-general-assembly…
https://forwardky.com/new-bill-would-obliterate-open-records-laws-creat…
It is critical that Kentuckians know when their elected representatives act — intentionally or unintentionally — in a manner that is fundamentally at odds with the interests of the constituents they serve.
The more extensive the coverage, the better.
But before we descend into the hell that is the Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly, here's a word about those unsung lawmakers who champion expansion of the public's rights under the Kentucky open records and open meetings law.
Chances are, you didn't hear much about their past efforts. Chances are, you won't hear much about their efforts in the upcoming session. The GOP majority will set the agenda, and that agenda does not include "making transparent the operations of the state's agencies."
But Rep. Maria Sorolis (D-Louisville) and Rep. Rob Wiederstein (D-Henderson) have quietly, albeit unsuccessfully, carried the torch for open government in recent sessions against a swelling anti-transparency tide.
In the 2020 Regular Session, Rep. Sorolis sponsored amendments to the permissive cost and attorney fee shifting provisions in the open records and meetings laws. She proposed a mandatory costs/attorney fee shifting provision in cases in which the court finds there was no good faith basis for agency denial of a records request or meetings complaint.
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/20rs/HB232.html
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/20rs/HB309.html
Her goal was to ensure that the open records requester or open meetings complainant was not forced to bear the costs of litigation incurred in defending the public's right of access and to deter public agencies from pursuing vexatious litigation.
Sorolis's bills were assigned to the Judiciary Committee in early January, 2020, and went no further.
In September 2020, Sorolis pre-filed the same bills for consideration in the 2021 session. Sadly, she was defeated in the November 2020 election.
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/21rs/prefiled/BR196.html
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/21rs/prefiled/BR198.html
Also in the 2020 Regular Session, Wiederstein proposed an open data portal making "agency public data sets promptly available online using open standards." His goal was to "make the operation of state government more transparent, effective, and
accountable to the public, streamline governmental communication and operability, permit the public to assist in identifying efficient solutions for government, promote innovative strategies for social progress, and create economic opportunities."
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/20rs/HB88.html
Wiederstein's bill was assigned to the Small Business and Information Technology Committee and posted in early January. There, it too stalled.
In November, Wiederstein pre-filed a bill for consideration in the 2021 session — a less ambitious proposal that requires special districts to post their meeting minutes on district websites.
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/21rs/prefiled/BR377.html
(If only all public agencies were statutorily mandated to do so — as they are in many states!)
Much to our dismay, he, too, lost his re-election bid.
Unlike Blanton, Sorolis and Wiederstein actually read their pre-filed bills and were intimately familiar with the details. Each asked that a representative of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition review the bills and share any concerns. Each asked us pointed questions about the content of the bills and responded to our suggestions for possible changes. Each should be applauded for knowing the content of the bills they sponsor and for their efforts on behalf of the public's right to know.
As we approach the long, dark days of the legislative session that lie ahead, lawmakers who support transparency in word *and* deed can demonstrate their support — short of sponsoring bills of their own — by asking bill sponsors like Rep. Blanton the hard questions about his bill. Having apparently not read it, he will be hard pressed to answer those questions. Press for plausible answers. Don't back down. Expose the bill's numerous flaws, and we stand a better chance of defeating it.
And citizen advocates for open government can make their voices heard by contacting their elected representatives to express support for bills — like Sorolis's and Wiederstein's — that expand the public's right to know and opposition to bills — like Blanton's — that pose a dire threat to the public's right to know.
