An attempt is underway in the Oklahoma legislature to allow the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to keep certain of its files “confidential” and exempt from the state’s Open Records Act.
The measure, HB3471, originally filed by Rep. Brad Boles (R-Marlow but later transferred to Rep. Rande Worthen (R-Lawton) and Sen. Todd Gollihare (R-Kellyville) would allow exemptions for “litigation” files.
” Except as otherwise provided by state or local law, the Attorney General of the State of Oklahoma and agency attorneys authorized by law, the Corporation Commission, the
Workers’ Compensation Commission, the office of the district
attorney of any county of the state, and the office of the municipal
attorney of any municipality may keep its litigation files and
investigatory reports confidential,” as stated.
However, the bill does not definite “litigation” or “investigatory reports” and as one critic suggested, it could involve any request before the Corporation Commission, including routine drilling requests which involve filings made by attorneys. Further, any rate hike request by a utility involves the employment of attorneys who represent the firm before the commission. They file numerous requests involving testimony from witnesses and explanations of what the utility or company is seeking.
Members of the House Civil Judiciary Committee voted last week 8-0 in support of a Do Pass for the measure. The action took less than 5 minutes as Worthen explained the bill.
“This bill simply grants the same protection of information provided to OSBI, to OBN, ABLE, and the Corporation Commission for ongoing investigations. Happy to answer any questions.
Only one question was raised by a committee member, Rep. Jared Deck, R-Norman. He suggested the OBN would already have such exemptions and “protections” through its investigative authority.
“Would you mind clarifying what they have, don’t have, and what’s needed?
“Yeah, I reached out to, after I received the bill, I reached out to OSBI, and both of them indicated they didn’t believe they had this, so I included them to provide that just for the purposes of ongoing investigations,” answered Rep Worthen.
“Any further questions? I will entertain a motion. We have a do pass and a second,” declared the committee chairman.
Those who gave unanimous support to Do Pass the bill were:
Rep. Bob Culver, R-Tahlequah; Rep. Jared Deck, D-Norman; rep. Collin Duel, R-Guthrie; Rep. Mike Osburn, R-Edmond; Rep. Suzanne Schreiber, D-Tulsa; Rep. Chris Sneed, R-Fort Gibson; Rep. Preston Stinson, R-Edmond; and Rep. Tammy West, R-OKC.
Mark Thomas, Executive Vice President of the Oklahoma Press Association said he was not contacted by legislators prior to the vote.
But Open Records supporters already have criticized the bill, contending it was simply transferring law enforcement exemptions to the corporation commission, an agency that handles regulatory and administrative issues.
They also pointed out the corporation commission already has the power to hold closed door or non-public meetings after passage in 2024 of House Bill 2367.
It allows the commissioners to meet privately to discuss specific administrative, operational and procedural matters without violating the Open Meeting Act. The law is supposed to sunset on July 1 of this year, but another bill has been filed to extend the law.
Requests for explanations and comments were sent by OK Energy Today to Reps. Worth and Boles but responses were not received prior to the publication of this article. A similar request was made of Dr. Jerry Goodwin, President of the Oklahoma Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and he also did not respond in time.