Which Public Records Bill Would Be For Benefit Of Louisiana Citizens?

17 June, Wednesday, the Senate of the state of Louisiana started hearing amendments to the current Louisiana public records law. Two bills introduced from behalf of the opposition that failed to gather enough votes, could have made the majority of current records held by Governor Jindal’s Administration open for public inspection. Instead the senators voted for a different bill, backed by the governor’s supporters in the Legislature, called SB 278. Even if the governor’s side claims its provisions are intended to increase the extent of transparency of his office decision making, in fact new amendments are on a way to kill open government, should they become a law.

The public records law that is currently in effect in Louisiana restricts public access to great deal of records held by the Governor’s Office. If passed, the new amendments would restrict the public’s right to view the records even further, even if at the first glance they seemingly remove a number of the restrictive provisions. What is important, is that it leaves intact the records within the governor’s office that deal with such matters as governor’s security and schedule, records that contain the information disclosing the content of the service communication of the gubernatorial administration key officers as well as any record that relates to the decision making process. Also it’s not clear which specific kinds of documents and for how much time would be exempt from public scrutiny under the new public record provisions.

What they wish to pass unnoticed is that their bill allows withholding a whole vast number of important records that so far can freely be requested by the general public by adding a 6-month term for keeping sealed the records that disclose contents of recommendations the governor requests and receives while forming budget. Isn’t it an attempt to hide from the taxpayers how their dollars are being spent? At a closer glance you could see that on the stake are the most important records that so far enjoy the status of totally unrestricted public records and that have to do with reports and analytical reviews that could help understand the motives standing behind choosing in the favor of this or that public spending program. You will not know how they evaluated the effectiveness of funding until it is too late to argue their background check.