Bills filed to change law on government records

By Chet Brokaw, The Associated Press | Thursday, January 24, 2008

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PIERRE -- Several bills filed in the South Dakota Legislature seek to change state laws that determine which government documents are open to the public.

Senate Republican Leader Dave Knudson of Sioux Falls and House Republican Leader Larry Rhoden of Union Center filed identical versions of a proposal they have said will probably increase the number of records open to the public. SB186 and HB1280 also would set up a process for handling disputes over access to state and local government records.

Sen. Nancy Turbak Berry, D-Watertown, also filed a bill intended to open more records to public inspection. Her measure, SB189, includes provisions similar to the Republican bill, but it uses different language.

A task force headed by Attorney General Larry Long wrote proposals that would clarify which records are open and would set up a process to resolve disputes over records. Much of the language in the task force measures has been included in the Republican leaders' bills.

Current state law generally provides that government records are open if an agency is required by law to keep those records. Other parts of the law specifically designate some records as closed because they deal with criminal investigations, business secrets and personal information on health, finance and other subjects.

The GOP bill would provide that records required to be kept by or filed with government agencies under state or federal laws, rules, ordinances, permits or licenses must be open to the public unless otherwise specified as closed.

The measure would designate as confidential Social Security numbers and other identifying numbers, personnel records, proprietary business information or trade secrets, blueprints of government buildings, emergency and disaster response plans, records dealing with weapons or other law enforcement and military equipment, operating plans for law enforcement and military agencies, criminal investigation information, locations of archaeological sites, and library records.

The Republican proposal also deals with methods of providing information on paper or in electronic form.

In addition, it designates the state Office of Hearing Examiners to resolve disputes in some cases involving government records. That process would not apply to the court system or the Public Utilities Commission.

A person would first make an informal request for government documents or records. If the request is denied, the person could file a written request. If the agency denies a written request, an appeal could be filed with the Office of Hearing Examiners. A dispute could eventually be appealed to circuit court.

A government agency also could recover its costs of transmitting, copying or assembling records.

The bill also includes some proposed changes in South Dakota's open meetings law, which currently allows meetings to be closed to discuss personnel issues, student discipline or education, legal issues, labor negotiations and business strategies.

The measure would also allow closed meetings to discuss proprietary business information or trade secrets or to conduct interviews of potential employees or service providers. Boards and commissions also would not have to give notice before attending a meeting of another government panel.