12/16/2015: While Governor Kate Brown has proposed significant reforms to the law for the upcoming 2016 legislative session, such as a public advocate (see below), AG Ellen Rosenblum’s task force is planning a revision of the public records law for the 2017 session. The link to the task force is here.
I’ve been sitting through their 3rd meeting for 2 hours now, and I’d say the jury is still out as to whether the AG’s rewrite of the law will improve Oregon public records transparency, or make it worse.
The editorial pages of Oregon’s newspapers, having been burned by a similar effort from John Kroger, are very skeptical.
12/14/2015:
Governor Kate Brown wants an Oregon public records advocate:
I nominate Steve Duin for the job. The full text of her speech to the Oregon Leadership Summit, in the Oregonian here:
The second step in my plan for getting Oregon back on track is fixing state government.
Since I took office in February, I have been working to rebuild public trust by improving transparency and demonstrating accountability. Transparency is not only about facilitating greater access to public records. It is also about making sure Oregon state government is a government of the people, by the people and for the people.
We need a public records advocate, an independent and objective entity that can facilitate the release of records in ways that are consistent, timely and fair to all parties.
Building on the legislation I signed into law last session, we are crafting more policy proposals for the 2016 session focused on government ethics and transparency, including creation of a public records advocate.
Currently the Oregon DOJ is the main enforcement mechanism for the public records law. They did a pretty good job when Dave Frohnmayer was AG, but its been downhill ever since. The main problem is that the DOJ also serves as the law firm for state agencies, creating an obvious conflict of interest when someone requests records that will create legal problems for an agency. You can read the DOJ’s opinions on public record petitions here – at least the ones they are willing to post. The site hasn’t been updated in years. They rule in favor of their client state agencies, and against the public interest, time after time.
In contrast Oregon’s public meetings law is enforced by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission. They’ve got an “independent” board, and considerable staff, as listed here. And while they’re willing to come down on local agencies if there are flagrant violations, they’ve also been generally ineffective with politically charged cases – e.g. the Lariviere firing.
That said Governor Brown seems serious, so maybe she’ll find a way to make this work, and get it through the legislature during this short session.
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