Oregon Attorney General John Kroger unveiled details last week of a legislative proposal aiming to increase access and accountability under the state’s Public Records Law by enacting stricter deadlines, capping fees and eliminating exemptions.
Prior to Kroger’s election three years ago, Oregon received an “F” in a 2007 government transparency study conducted by the government watchdog non-profits Better Government Association and National Freedom of Information Coalition. The study, called “Graded State Responsiveness to FOI Requests,” gave Oregon 47 points out of a possible 100, and a ranking of 28th of 50 states.
With mounting calls for accountability reform, Kroger took office and embarked on a “Government Transparency Initiative,”sponsoring six public meetings across Oregon last year to gather suggestions for improving transparency between government officials, members of the media and the general public. Kroger’s efforts concluded that Oregon’s records law contained many confusing exemptions, and that requestors were frequently met with high fee requirements and excessive delays.
“Nearly 40 years after it was first adopted, Oregon’s Public Records Law is badly in need of reform,”Kroger said in a Department of Justice news release announcing the proposed changes. “There are far too many exemptions and there is vast uncertainty about how long it will take the public to get records and how much it will cost.”
The Department of Justice’s proposed bills will enact stricter deadlines for government agencies to respond to requests, capping the fees that can be charged to the public at roughly three times the minimum wage. According to the department, dozens of exemptions will be eliminated and those remaining must subsequently fall into 10 clear categories.
University Public Records Officer Elizabeth Denecke believes Kroger’s legislative efforts are in line with the commitment to government transparency he professed upon taking office.
“I think it’s consistent with his view of the role that public records play in open government,” Denecke said. “I am not going to argue against it (because) I don’t disagree with the intent of making government more open.”
However, if the legal changes are implemented, her office will only be able to charge requestors a maximum of roughly $25 per hour for clerical work. Since salaries paid to records keepers are not likely to change, the full cost of redacting and other clerical work will have to be come from other resources.
“If there is a cap on the salaries that can be charged, then the money will have to come from somewhere,” Denecke said. “Shorter deadlines mean longer hours. (They) will make us busier.”
Economics professor Bill Harbaugh, a frequent critic of Denecke’s office, said the records office already receives a substantial budget and implied that fee caps would do little to hamper its efforts.
“Students are paying more than $1,000 per working day for Ms. Denecke’s office, which President Lariviere has set up in an effort maintain the illusion that UO is being transparent,” Harbaugh said.
Under the new laws, records offices would also have to acknowledge the receipt of a request in two days, and then fulfill it or claim an exemption within 10 working days.
Specific exemptions poised to be abolished include records from the governor’s disability panel, secretary of state reports regarding waste, fraud and abuse, and documents regarding personnel disciplinary issues, among several others categories. Unaltered categories include criminal and non-criminal investigatory materials, business and personal privacy records, and security and emergency plans, in addition to records prohibited from release by federal law.
The legislation, Senate Bills 41 and 47, was submitted directly to legislators at the request of Kroger, and will proceed through the state Senate and House of Representatives during the pending 2011 legislative session.
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