Bill would shield some holders of competitively procured contracts from open-records requests

A state House committee voted yesterday "to change the Kentucky Open Records Act to make private the records of some organizations doing business with government," John Cheves reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader. "Presently, any organization that gets at least 25 percent of its revenue from local or state government must share some records under the act, which is meant to bring transparency to public spending." House Bill 496 would exclude from the calculation money from contracts "obtained through a competitive public procurement process."

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Johnny Bell, D-Glasgow, said it was prompted by letters that Glasgow lawyer John Rogers has been sending highway contractors, who depend largely on state government. Rogers didn't return Cheves's call for comment, but "One of the companies that Rogers has asked for records, Hinkle Contracting Co. of Paris, has alleged in a letter to Attorney General Jack Conway that Rogers is working on behalf of a company called Utility Management Group," which runs Pike County's water and sewer systems. "Conway's office ruled in September that UMG is a public entity under the Open Records Act and must disclose spending information. UMG is appealing in Pike Circuit Court."

Buckner Hinkle Jr. of Hinkle Contracting told Cheves that Rogers is trying to "goad other contractors to support UMG" in the lawsuit. "Bell said he is not involved with UMG, and his bill is not intended to protect UMG from public disclosure," Cheves reports.

Kentucky Press Association Executive Director David Thompson said KPA does not oppose the bill because Bell changed it to say that the 25 percent rules applies to any fiscal year, not "the current fiscal year." Current law leaves that point unclear.

New secretary of state vows transparency

In a speech after being sworn in yesterday, new Secretary of State Elaine Walker pledged to maintain openness in the office that oversees Kentucky elections and certain business records.

Walker, mayor of Bowling Green for the past six years, said her broad goal will be to ensure that the integrity of the office continues, and "It's critical to be transparent."

Kentucky elections are largely run by county court clerks, and Walker said her top priority is working with the 120 clerks in an effort to see that those in smaller counties have the same resources as those in larger counties.

Gov. Steve Beshear, a fellow Democrat who appointed Walker, said in his speech before she took the oath that the secretary of state should see that elections are run fairly, smoothly and honestly. "Kentucky's history is rife with examples to the contrary from time to time," he said, so the secretary of state should have a reputation for honesty and integrity.

Walker was named to fill the 11 months remaining in the term of Republican Trey Grayson, who resigned to become director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University. She said Grayson has given the office a strong foundation in civic engagement, and "I plan to use my media background to take us to the next level." Walker and her husband are filmmakers who moved from Los Angeles to Bowling Green in 1993; her parents were Polish immigrants who lived in "a steel town in West Virginia" and taught her that "Leadership is not just an honor, but a responsibility," she told the crowd in the nearly full Supreme Court chamber after being sworn in by Chief Justice John Minton Jr.

Walker, 59, is running for a full four-year term and faces a primary challenge from Allison Lundergan Grimes, 33, daughter of longtime Beshear foe and former state Democratic chairman Jerry Lundergan, both of Lexington. Beshear made his choice clear yesterday, telling the crowd that he looks forward to working with Walker for the next year, and "I look forward to working with her for several years in the future." Beshear is running for a second term.

(Bowling Green Daily News photo by Joe Imel; for the paper's story by Andrew Robinson, click here.)