Groups and media organizations across the political spectrum were alarmed when, as the Bluegrass Institute Center for Open Government reported, House Bill 302 was changed to reclassify government business done on private devices and accounts as outside the reach of the open records law.
As a result, the independent nonpartisan Bluegrass Institute has joined with Forward Kentucky publisher Bruce Maples and other co-sponsoring groups on the right and left to issue the following joint statement.
Statement regarding House Bill 302
The following organizations oppose a proposed amendment to House Bill 302 redefining “public record” in Kentucky’s Open Records Act in a manner which gravely threatens open and accountable government.
The proposed amendment excludes from the current definition of what constitutes a public record “any electronic communications, including without limitation, calls, text messages, or electronic mail contained in, sent, or received using a private cell phone or other private electronic device that is paid for with private funds or contained in, sent, or received using a nongovernment electronic mail account.” Read more…