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03/11/07
Sunshine Week 2007
La.
open records disputes go to court or sometimes go nowhere
By DOUG SIMPSON
Associated Press Writer
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- For those who get stonewalled seeking
access to a government document in Louisiana, filing a lawsuit
is the only recourse.
The majority of states, like Louisiana, do not have an agency
charged with handling complaints about governments' failure
to follow open records laws and produce such documents upon
request. Louisiana's open-records advocates say the system
generally works well, and the threat of litigation usually
is enough to prod a government agency to provide the document
in question.
One gray area, however, is governments' reluctance to release
information about offers and negotiations with private companies
in efforts aimed at economic development. Gov. Kathleen Blanco,
for instance, has kept many details secret about negotiations
with a German steel maker that is deciding whether to build
a new plant -- a $2.9 billion investment with 2,700 new jobs
-- in Louisiana or Alabama.
Even open-access advocates acknowledge luring employers and
jobs doesn't always mix well with total transparency. As Louisiana
and Alabama compete for the plant and its jobs, both governors
have kept their offers under wraps, to keep their competitor
in the dark.
"Economic developers have a good point, that some of
those negotiations do have to be done in private," said
Kathy Spurlock, executive editor of The (Monroe) News-Star
and head of the Louisiana Press Association's Freedom of Information
Committee.
One government watchdog group has pushed for a new law creating
a process to handle public document complaints, so the public
does not have to resort to litigation. The Public Affairs
Research Council argues that, without such a system, a citizen
stymied by government inaction typically drops the matter,
instead of paying hefty legal fees that a lawsuit often requires.
"What happens is that citizens simply back down,"
said Jennifer Pike, the group's research director.
Under current law, agencies found liable for resisting public
records requests can be fined up to $100 per day and ordered
to pay the complainant's legal fees.
State Rep. Emile "Peppi Bruneau, an architect of Louisiana's
public records law, said litigation gets results quicker than
a government agency would.
"I think the threat of a lawsuit produces a document
faster than a bureaucracy," Bruneau said.
A national survey by The Associated Press found that, in the
states that have oversight agencies and attorneys general
getting involved, those agencies are more likely to rule in
favor of government offices. When they find that the law was
broken, there is rarely a penalty.
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On the Net:
Brechner Citizen Access Project: www.citizenaccess.org
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