Why SB 101 and HB 93 are bad ideas

SB 101 and HB 93 State Ethics Commission

These two bills would create a State Ethics Commission. Its documents would be “protected” and exempt from the Open Meetings Act.

Rather than exempting and protecting everything the committee does, why not consider how the committee might protect information and hold executive sessions within the existing framework of GRAMA and the Open Meetings Act? It sets a bad precedent for such a key watchdog group to be exempt from our key state transparency laws. It undermines an overall state policy to better understand and embrace our open government laws. As Mayor Ralph Becker is doing, we need to encourage a culture of transparency in our state. This sends the wrong message.