Tax payments plans deemed open records

The Attorney General's Office ruled on Oct. 31 against the Marshall County Attorney’s failure to disclose records relating to delinquent property tax payment agreement plans.

Marshall County Attorney Jeffrey G. Edwards denied a citizen’s request to view the records based on the fact that these tax payment plans contain confidential information about the taxpayer and the agreements were not fully discharged and therefore preliminary.

The county attorney said he relied upon exemptions in the Open Records that protect preliminary drafts and public records made confidential by the General Assembly, citing the privacy of tax returns.

The attorney general's office disagreed with Mr. Edward’s application of the law to tax payment agreement plans. The opinion, which has the force of law unless appealed to circuit court, explained that “these prohibitions do not extend to any matter properly entered upon any assessment record, or in any way made a matter of public record .... and therefore, the payment plans do not afford protection under these statues nor can they be considered preliminary drafts.

Given that delinquent property taxes become a public record when the county clerk records a lien for the amount owed and publishes a notice of all delinquencies in the newspaper, the attorney general's opinion explained that delinquent taxpayers therefore do not have a reasonable expectation of confidentiality in the information contained in the payment agreement.

Additionally, the county attorney’s authority to make these payment agreements is a matter of public interest; the public has a right to monitor the operation of the government, which clearly encompasses the county attorney’s collection duties.

News outlets are less inclined to take legal action for open government, but citizens are becoming more active, national survey finds

"While a lack of resources has made news organizations increasingly less inclined to file freedom-of-information lawsuits, citizens have a growing interest in government transparency and are becoming more active in asserting their right to government information," the Media Law Resource Center and the National Freedom of Information Coalition report after an informal, online survey conducted Aug. 9-15. It confirmed continuation of a trend first noticed in 2009.

"If ordinary citizens are becoming more aware of their access rights, and more assertive regarding them, it is indeed a reason to be gratified," said Ken Bunting, executive director of NFOIC. "However, if news organizations are trending toward being less gung-ho in an area once regarded as a matter of responsibility and stewardship, there is the frightening potential that journalism could suffer, as could the health of our democracy." For the NFOIC release and links to the study documents, click here.

After the 2009 survey, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation created the Knight FOI Fund to pay initial expenses and fees for open-government lawsuits that the fund considers worthwhile.

Budget deal hits federal transparency websites

"Government transparency websites likely will be scaled back or even eliminated as a result of a 75 percent budget cut that congressional leaders and the White House agreed to last week," William Matthews of GovExec.com writes for National Journal.

The $34 million Electronic Government Fund, being cut to $8 million, "supports websites such as http://www.usaspending.gov/ and the IT Dashboard, which provide public access to vast amounts of information on how the government spends money," Matthews writes. "Another transparency site, http://www.data.gov/, also is endangered, transparency advocates said. The site offers access to 380,000 government agency data sets as diverse as climate change statistics and export licensing records." (Read more)

Minton orders accounting of sealed cases

Chief Justice John Minton Jr. has ordered all circuit court clerks and judges in Kentucky to make public at least the case numbers and names of parties in thousands of sealed court cases, according to The Courier-Journal.

The Louisville newspaper said the action came after it asked for an accounting of 3,600 cases sealed from public view over the past decade. Minton sent an email to clerks and judges reminding them that sealing court cases should be done rarely and "only for compelling reasons," and that the existence of such cases should never be hidden from the public.

Minton told the newspaper that in recent years, after Kentucky adopted new computer technology, cases that were sealed were moved to the "confidential division," and even the case numbers and participants were hidden. That was a mistake, he said, and the Kentucky Department of Technology would begin immediately change the programming involved. Clerks will also be asked to "make adjustments to previously sealed cases," the paper quoted Minton as saying.

The change will not open the sealed cases, but will reveal docket numbers and parties involved. Jon Fleischaker, who represents the Kentucky Press Association, The Courier-Journal and some other news outlets, said Minton's order was a step toward more transparency.

Kentucky ranked most transparent state for online government spending records

A new report, rating each state's use of online databases to give the public information about government spending, lists Kentucky as the only state getting an "A" grade. The report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a long-established government watchdog, "evaluates states’ progress toward 'Transparency 2.0' – a new standard of comprehensive, one-stop, one-click budget accountability and accessibility," it says in a news release. The report reveals at least 32 states "currently mandate that residents be able to access an online database of government expenditures with 'checkbook-level' detail."

Kentucky led all states with a grade of 97 percent. The next closest was Ohio at 84. Kentucky's Web site only lost points for not linking funding related to the federal stimulus act and for not including financial information for local and county budgets. "Openness in government has been a top priority of this administration, and it is gratifying that our extensive efforts have not only received notice, but have been ranked the best in the nation," Gov. Steve Beshear said in a statement. "As we face an unprecedented $1.5 billion shortfall over the next biennium, it is more important than ever for government to be transparent and accountable, and for citizens to feel confident that their tax dollars are being used efficiently and responsibly. I’m proud of the efforts we have made, along with the bipartisan support of all of the state’s executive-branch constitutional officers and Kentucky’s judicial branch, to put our checkbooks online for public view in a comprehensive and user-friendly manner." The legislature, also divided between the parties, is likewise moving to put its records in the system. (Read more)

Senate commttee requires transparency in use of Governor's mansion, aircraft

A state senate committee has moved to transform into law an executive order issued by Gov. Steve Beshear two years ago requiring more transparency in the use of state aircraft and the executive mansion for non-official purposes.

The State and Local Government Committee approved Senate Bill 82, sponsored by Sen. Damon Thayer of Georgetown. It would require the governor to disclose use of the aircraft and the mansion for such things as political fundraisers to the Executive Branch Ethics Commission. The bill also requires disclosure of the governor's legal defense fund and would prohibit businesses bidding for state contracts from making "substantial" campaign contrtibutions to a statewide candidate within 18 months of applying for a contract. The bill does not apply to legislative candidates.

Committee OKs bill for openness in family courts

UPDATE, March 1: The full House passed the bill but its prospects in the Senate are unclear.

A Kentucky House committee has passed a bill that would open some family court proceedings to the public in a pilot project.

The House Judiciary Committee voted 9-1 to approved the bill, House Bill 407, sponsored by Rep. Susan Westrom of Lexington. The measure allows the Kentucky Supreme Court to open to public scrutiny seven family courts and monitor the results for four years. However, while the public would be allowed to attend court proceedings, records would remain secret and no audio or video recordings would be permitted. Judges would be allowed to decide whether to participate in the pilot project.

State Supreme Court Chief Justice John Minton has favored more transparency in family and juvenile courts, but the legislature and court system have been slow to act, despite a series of reports detailing problems in the state system.

"It does lift the veil of secrecy," Westrom told the Louisville Courier-Journal. "It does increase the public's confidence in our justice system."

Increasing transparency in family courts is a trend across the nation, according to Patricia Walker FitzGerald, chief family court judge of Jefferson County, who testified before the committee. FitzGerald said about 30 states allow some public scrutiny of family courts.


The bill now awaits action by the entire House.

Bill to open child-abuse death records turned into one for a study that wouldn't be done until 2012

The sponsor of a state House bill that would have required the release of records on children who die from abuse or neglect has amended his proposal to call for more study on the issue instead.

After Rep. Tom Burch of Luisville altered the bill, it passed the House Health and Welfare Committee 13-0. Burch said he was taking into consideration concerns about the bill from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, but that he still supported opening up the records. He told the Lexington Herald-Leader he believes his bill will ultimately lead to more public scrutiny of child-abuse deaths. Kentucky had the highest rate of child death from abuse and neglect in the United States in 2007, according to a study by the advocacy group Every Child Matters Education Fund.

The new version of the bill calls for a panel that would make recommendations by Sept. 30, 2012.