Public is better off knowing the facts

President Abraham Lincoln had it right when he said in 1861 -- "Let the people know the facts, and the country will be safe."

The public is much better off knowing all the facts, and the discussion that leads up to all of the decisions that affect our schools, our cities, our towns, and our county.

The public needs to be informed, and today (Tuesday) and Wednesday two important legislative bills directly linked to making access to decisions that affect every taxpayer in the state better informed, will be conducted in the Indiana Statehouse.

H.B. 1093, authored by Rep. Kevin Mahan, R-Hartford City, will be heard in the House Government and Regulatory Reform Committee today (Tuesday).

S.B. 92, authored by Sen. Beverly Gard, R-Greenfield, co-authored by Kathy Richardson, R-Noblesville, will be heard Wednesday in the Senate Local Government Committee.

H.B. 1093 and S.B. 92 will do four things:

* Allow a judge to levy a civil fine for an intentional and knowing violation of either the Open Door Law or Access to Public Records Act. A first-time violation fine would be up to $100; a repeat offender could be ordered to pay as much as $500.

* Allow a citizen to receive, via email, advance notice of local government meetings that the citizen wants to monitor unless the government agency chooses to post notice of meetings on its website as an alternative.

* Establish that the Public Access Counselor or a judge should examine redacted documents, when asked, to determine whether the material held back should be made available for inspection and copying.

* Establish that records should be made available for inspection or copying within a reasonable  amount of time after the request was made unless they are statutorily subject to confidentiality.

Currently there is no disincentive for an official in state or local government contemplating a deliberate violation of the public access laws.

Even if a citizen is forced to file a successful lawsuit to obtain a record that rightfully should have been released, the court remedy is for the citizen to obtain the record and reasonable attorney fees and court costs, which are paid for by the public agency involved, which is taxpayer money. The individual who refused to comply with the law and forced the citizen to go to court has no consequences for a deliberate act, according to Steve Key, who serves as executive director of the Hoosier Press Association (HSPA).

Passage of S.B. 92 or H.B. 1093 would make officials stop and consider the personal consequences before making a decision to ignore the law.

The proposal is not radical, 31 states have stronger enforcement remedies than Indiana for Open Door Law violations, and 38 states have stronger remedies for Access to Public Records Act violations, according to Key.

Currently, media outlets that request notice from government units through letters written before Jan. 1, receive notice of meetings -- be it regular or special meetings or executive sessions -- with at least 48 hours advance notice.

A citizen, business owner, neighborhood organization or local Chamber of Commerce doesn't have the same option.

The bills also address protection of children involved in university-sponsored activities.

Purdue University requested to have the ability to protect identifying information of children involved in 4-H or other university-sponsored activities. There is concern for the potential of child molesters to obtain the information. An amendment includes language to accomplish this goal.

The bill also expands a list of those protected from records requests made by inmates to included law enforcement officers, judges and their families to provision currently protecting correction officers.

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller supports the legislation, as does the state Chamber of Commerce, but it has been opposed in the past by the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns and the Association of Indiana Counties.

Passage of both of these bills will be a good thing for the public.

As a whole, I believe our Greene County officials do a creditable job of following the Open Door Law, as written.

There is, however, at least one school district that is teetering on the edge when it comes to scheduling an excessive number of executive sessions, which are conducted behind closed doors.

Last year when the board announced its scheduled meetings for 2012, the district stated that it plans to conduct an executive session prior to every meeting in the calendar year.

We were told that "personnel matters" would be discussed.

This newspaper checked with legal counsel with the HSPA, and scheduling a closed-door meeting before every single meeting is suspect, at best.

This same school board routinely has monthly public meetings that last about 30 minutes, or less.

What does that tell you about what is being conducted behind closed doors?

Nick is the assistant editor for the Greene County Daily World. He can be contacted by telephone at 847-4487 or by email at schneider.nick@gmail.com .