Transparency: It's about holding government accountable, not fishing expeditions to harass private businesses
We have written previously about House Bill 496, which would protect companies who do business with the government from being subject to Open Records rules.
The bill filed by Rep. Johnny Bell, D-Glasgow, is a response to an attorney in his district who apparently is using an earlier attorney general's ruling to harass private companies.
After all, the goal of transparency is about holding government accountable, not fishing expeditions to harass private businesses.
That attorney, John Rogers, apparently was upset by a ruling in September by Attorney General Jack Conway, who ruled that Utility Management Group, which is paid more than $11.6 million a year to manage Pike County's water and sewer systems, is a public entity under the Open Records Act and must disclose spending information. UMG is appealing the decision in Pike Circuit Court.
The Lexington Herald-Leader's John Cheves reports that one of the companies that received a "shotgun letter" from Rogers is Hinkle Contracting Co. of Paris, which alleged in a letter to Conway "that Rogers is on behalf of" UMG.
Cheves reports that Buckner Hinkle Jr., who represents Hinkle Contracting, alleged in a recent interview that: "Rogers' open records requests 'are intended to goad other contractors to support UMG in the Pike circuit litigation.'
"There are myriad issues here, not the least of which are problems with these agencies that want all of the benefits of public dollars but all of the protection from scrutiny enjoyed by private companies.
UMG is not an entity that sells a few lawnmowers to the local fiscal court. It is a public entity.
When it comes to government doing business with private firms, Cheves reports that Bell noted that "as a rule, open records requests are submitted to the government that gives money to private companies, not to the companies."
If the House passes the legislation, the Senate needs to be very careful in ensuring that private businesses are protected from harassment by disgruntled lawyers who don't like the fact that quasi-government entities that employ their services and spend gobs of taxpayer dollars must be held accountable for how that money is spend.
On the other hand, the Senate also needs to ensure that groups like the Kentucky League of Cities and the Kentucky Association of Counties -- which are so tightly attached to the government dole that they get taxpayer-funded pensions and health care -- absolutely are subject to how, where and why they spend taxpayers' dollars.