{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"The News Journal","provider_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net","title":"Bill would \u2018eviscerate\u2019 Kentucky\u2019s government transparency law, advocates warn &ndash; The News Journal","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"DnSCxBPlS1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/bill-eviscerate-kentuckys-government-transparency-law-advocates-warn\/\">Bill would \u2018eviscerate\u2019 Kentucky\u2019s government transparency law, advocates warn<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/bill-eviscerate-kentuckys-government-transparency-law-advocates-warn\/embed\/#?secret=DnSCxBPlS1\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Bill would \u2018eviscerate\u2019 Kentucky\u2019s government transparency law, advocates warn&#8221; &#8212; The News Journal\" data-secret=\"DnSCxBPlS1\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Public-records-1.jpg","thumbnail_width":400,"thumbnail_height":200,"description":"By Jack Brammer Lexington Herald-Leader FRANKFORT: Any government official in Kentucky would be able to use a personal device, such as a cell phone or laptop, to conduct government business and keep the records private under legislation being pushed by Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer. \u201cThis is a major, major reversal on Kentucky\u2019s existing open records law,\u201d said Jon Fleischaker, a Louisville attorney who was the primary author of Kentucky\u2019s Open Records Act and Open Meetings Act. The change would \u201ceviscerate\u201d Kentucky\u2019s open records law and \u201cmake Kentucky the only state that would let government officials use personal devices for government business with no records of what they were doing,\u201d said Amye Bensenhaver, an expert on Kentucky\u2019s transparency laws. Bensenhaver spent 25 years as an assistant attorney general, during which she wrote nearly 2,000 legal opinions on open records and meetings issues. She joined the Bluegrass Institute last year as director of the free-market think tank\u2019s Center for Open Government. \u201cIf this bill is enacted into law, it will \u2014without question \u2014 represent the single most devastating blow to transparency in government in my 27 years of involvement with the Kentucky open records and meetings law,\u201d she said. Earlier this week in the Senate State and Local Government Committee, Thayer, R-Georgetown, amended House Bill 302, a measure dealing with reorganization of the Public Protection Cabinet, to say that emails, texts or calls on devices paid for with private funds and which do not involve government email accounts are not \u201cpublic records\u201d as defined in the Open Records Act. It was sent to the full Senate and placed on its consent calendar, meaning it can be among a group of bills that are voted on without debate. If the Senate approves the bill, the House would then have to accept or reject the changes made by the Senate. In presenting the legislation, Thayer noted that then-Attorney General Jack Conway in 2015 issued an opinion on his last day in office saying personal devices could be used for government business and not be subjected to the open records law. Such decisions carry the weight of law unless challenged in court. \u201cThe amendment merely codified an Attorney General Opinion issued by Jack Conway in December of 2015 that has been unchallenged in courts,\u201d Thayer said Thursday in response to a question from the Herald-Leader. \u201cBy putting it in statute, this gives additional clarity to the law. The amendment only applies to private devices that do not use government e-mails.\u201d Bensenhaver said Conway\u2019s decision was deeply controversial at the time and not supported by his staff that routinely wrote open records decisions. \u201cNo open records merit staffer would sign the open records decision,\u201d Bensenhaver wrote in an article for Bluegrass Institute. \u201cWe knew what a devastating blow to open government this decision represented; we knew that the overwhelming weight of legal authority did not support his position; we knew that nearly every state had taken an opposing position in case law or in statute; and we knew that, quite frankly, the decision opened the door to abuse of both the Open Records and Open Meetings Law,\u201d she wrote. Fleischaker said the Conway opinion has not been tested or reviewed in court. \u201cThis was not the first time Jack Conway has been wrong on an opinion,\u201d he said. Fleischaker noted that the Louisville Metro Council has a policy that every council member must conduct government business on government accounts. David Thompson, executive director of the Kentucky Press Association, said he could not say at this time if Thayer\u2019s legislation would be challenged in court should it become law. \u201cIt does turn our open records law on its head and is not good for open and accountable government,\u201d he said. Jack Brammer: (502) 227-1198, @BGPolitics Read more here: http:\/\/www.kentucky.com\/news\/politics-government\/article206372469.html#storylink=cpy"}