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transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them . . ." -Patrick Henry |
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Op-Ed on Freedom
of Information Day March 12,
2003 By Randy
Brown You have to hope
that James Madison isn't spinning in his grave. But
if he's gazing down on Kansas, he probably
is. This nation's
fourth president was a hero of the Bill of Rights.
The 251st anniversary of his birth is March 16,
celebrated by those who cherish open government as
Freedom of Information Day. And open government is
under assault this session in the Kansas
Legislature. Let's go to the
dubious scoreboard: -- A bill (HB
2149) that would have made advisory boards and task
forces appointed by the incoming governor subject
to open meetings law has stalled in the Kansas
House. House Speaker Doug Mayes, R-Topeka,
reportedly doesn't think it would pass. You may
remember that the bill was prompted when
then-Gov.-elect Kathleen Sebelius appointed a set
of committees (using state tax money) to study the
state budget in secret. Its passage ought to be the
easiest of legislative decisions. -- A so-called
"utility security bill" (HB 2374) looks like it
will sail through the Legislature. The bill would
let utility companies charge customers for
"homeland-security" upgrades - without revealing
the amount of the charge. The idea is that public
knowledge of homeland security charges would
somehow endanger homeland security. That's an
amazing stretch of logic. -- A current law
requires Kansas school districts to publish the
names, positions and salaries of superintendents
and department heads every year. Now a bill (SB 82)
has been introduced to do away with that law. It
passed the Senate 39-0. It's worth noting that the
action was prompted by the Kansas Association of
Schools Boards, which apparently doesn't believe
taxpayers need to know much about how their tax
money is spent, though it wants a lot more tax
money spent on public schools. -- And then
there's HB 2420, an Internet filtering bill
motivated by concerns about child pornography,
which already is against the law. This bill is
especially dangerous to the state's libraries. It
mandates the use of costly filtering technologies
by institutions already under budgetary assault.
These technologies are far from foolproof. The bill
contains language that's already been overturned by
federal courts. And it ignores the most trenchant
fact: Library staff members already work hard to
make sure Internet access in their care isn't
abused. In short, HB 2420
is flawed and gratuitous. It is a solution in
search of a problem. Sure, politicians are right to
be for "homeland security" and against "child
pornography." But governing isn't that quick and
easy. And openness, an essential element of a
democratic society, must be weighed in the
bargain. To be fair, the
Legislature is considering two new laws that would
well serve the public's interests. One (SB 67)
would open records after a child's death because of
abuse and neglect. Another (HB 2413) would require
private agencies that contract with government to
open records of the portion of their business
funded by tax dollars. These bills
should become law. Open government
is not a cosmic phrase that's disconnected from
real life. It is the only independent way to find
out if government - police, courts and all other
public institutions - is working well and in the
public interest. Kansas lawmakers
should get past the knee-jerk, feel-good politics
and consider more carefully the rights of citizens
and taxpayers. Randy Brown,
Senior Fellow in the Elliott School of
Communication at Wichita State University, is
president of the Kansas Sunshine Coalition of Open
Government. He is also chair of the public affairs
committee of the city of Wichita's library
board. |
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