From the Montrose Daily Press (3/16/11): During the last couple of days, members of the National Conference of Editorial Writers have engaged in a kind of morbid contest of one-upmanship to see whose public officials had performed the most flagrant violations of open government laws.
The kind of activity spotlighted in the exchanges casts a black cloud over the media’s annual celebration of Sunshine Week, the week that we in this business dedicate to promoting transparency in government.
• In Utah, for example, the Gov. Gary Herbert chose Sunshine Week to gut the state’s existing open government laws, signing a bill that declares that voice mails, instant messages, video chats and text messages are no longer public records, with rare exceptions. There’s more. The bill makes it more expensive for citizens to obtain records by allowing the cost of “overhead” to be included in fees. And if the government agency “anticipates the possibility of litigation,” any records associated with the possibility of litigation can be withheld from the public. H.B. 477 was introduced, heard in committee, passed out of committee, passed on the House Floor, passed out of Senate committee and passed on the Senate floor in 48 hours.
• In Ohio, the new governor, John Kasich, announced that no video or audio coverage would be allowed at his announcement of his budget message, and that the message would be broadcast only on “government television” at an “invitation-only town hall meeting” later in the day. After all, what government leader in his right mind would want pesky reporters there spoiling his big moment by asking annoying questions about spending cuts and taxes? Why not call it TASS? (The official Russian news agency.)