Published: October 27, 2009 02:55 pm      

Public record

Move will improve access to government

If there was one main idea public information officers in the area took away from last week’s discussion of the Maryland Public Information Act, we hope it is the fact that the state law is meant to help, not hinder, the public’s access to documents.

Too often, in our view, local governments have used the law as a tool to deny or delay release of information to the public. In some cases, requests for even the most benign information, such as public employees’ salaries, have only been given out after a Public Information Act request was filed by the media or a constituent.

Last Friday, William Varga, assistant state’s attorney general, held a two-hour training session to review the fundamentals of the state law with two dozen public information officers from Allegany, Garrett and Frederick counties.

Maryland legislators enacted the information act 40 years ago, a move Varga called “a radical change.” Until then there was no clearcut policy on determining what is a public record and what procedure the public could use to gain access.

Under state law, a government body now has up to 30 days to fulfill a request for information. It is the 30-day window that often causes friction between those in charge of public records and those in the public trying to see what the records show. Time and again, some local governments take the entire 30 days to respond, even though many of the requests could be filled within just a few days.

“If it’s a simple request that can be provided immediately ... why put somebody through the headaches,” Varga said. “Just give them the document.” That is the entire point. A governmental body either follows the spirit of the open records law or it does not. Taking 30 days to answer a Public Information Act request from the media or a constituent should be the exception, not the norm.

Rather than throwing up roadblocks to public access, local officials should work to make the governmental process as transparent and open as possible. Following Varga’s suggestions will go a long way to making that happen.