While a state House committee recently approved a bill to allow the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to keep certain of its files “confidential” and exempt from the state’s Open Records Act, another effort in the legislature is going the opposite direction.
Sen. Mark Mann, D-Oklahoma City, has won the approval of the Senate Judiciary Committee for legislation to ensure public voices can be heard before public bodies vote on agenda items. Senate Bill 1420 was approved on Tuesday.
“Many public bodies allow folks to come and comment on issues on the agenda. The problem is, some bodies don’t allow comment until after they’ve voted,” Mann said. “Under my legislation, those public bodies would have to make sure people can express their views before a vote is taken, when it can still have an impact.”
Under SB 1420, those bodies that choose to allow public comment would have to adopt rules about the time, manner, and order of public comment, and it would have to come before agenda items are voted on. Those rules could include time limits and prior registration.
“People are rightfully frustrated if they’re only allowed to comment on an issue after the public body has already voted,” Mann said. “This increases transparency and gives folks a chance to share their views in a timely way. I want to thank the chair for hearing this bill, and I look forward to bringing it to the full Senate.”
The bill focusing on restrictions of the release of litigation records at the Corporation Commission won approval in the House Civil Judiciary Committee on an 8-0 vote. It was then reviewed by the House Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight Committee where it was approved on a 12-0 vote.
The bill proposes “the Corporation Commission, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control, the Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement 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.”
The bill was requested by the Corporation Commission.
In an open records ruling this week by the Oklahoma Supreme Court, it reversed a Comanche County District Judge’s ruling against an open records request made of the Comanche County
Detention Center by Lawton-based KSWO-TV and Seth Marsicano. The lower court ruled video did not have to be released by the detention center because it was considered a “law enforcement agency” and therefore exempt from producing documents.
The Supreme Court ruled otherwise, “we held as a matter of law that a public trust operating a county detention center did not satisfy the ORA’s definition of “law enforcement agency.”
Our holding in Lawson resolves this case. The trial court’s order is
reversed and remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”