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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (July 19, 2017)
Appeal Tribune Wednesday, July 19, 2017 3A Government must be more open to comply with new public records laws DIANE DIETZ STATESMAN JOURNAL Oregon’s top political leadership tripped all over themselves in recent months to make state and local govern- ments easier for citizens to scrutinize. The Legislature passed no fewer than four public records laws -- pushed by the governor and attorney general -- in the session that just ended. And the secre- tary of state weighed in unexpectedly with his own plan for improving govern- ment transparency. The bills, Gov. Kate Brown said, “are significant reforms to Oregon’s public records laws -- and probably the most significant reforms we’ve seen in multi- ple decades.” The bills amend Oregon’s 1973 public records law, which established a pre- sumption of openness. Citizens have the right to obtain government documents unless there’s a specific legal exemption that prohibits them from doing so. But over the 44 years since the law was passed, interest groups have per- suaded the Legislature to write 550-plus exemptions from disclosure into the law, and some governments drag their heels about providing documents or charge exorbitant fees to the requester. The enthusiasm for improving the records law this session was born of frustration about getting documents from the ill-fated administration of for- mer Gov. John Kitzhaber, who resigned in February 2015. “The strength of our government in- stitutions depend on the public trust, and public trust can be quickly eroded when people don’t feel they have access to the work their government is doing or when they can’t get answers to reasonable questions,” Oregon Attorney General El- len Rosenblum told lawmakers during the session. In October 2015, Rosenblum con- vened a broadly representative Public Records Law Reform Task Force. Rosen- blum, Brown, Rep. John Huffman, R- The Dalles, and Rep. Nancy Nathanson, D-Eugene, each shepherded ideas gener- ated by the task force into law. The bills -- SB 481, SB 106, HB 2101, HB 3361 -- establish three new commit- tees, a public records advocate and a chief data officer, all with responsibility for studying and reporting how to make Oregon government more open. Sepa- rately, Secretary of State Dennis Rich- ardson by administrative fiat made state archivist Mary Beth Herkert the public records advocate. Brown’s bill provides for the appoint- ment of a public records advocate, an at- torney who will mediate in public rec- ords disputes, train state agencies and district attorneys on public records laws and serve as chairperson of the Public Records Advisory Council. That 13- member body is tasked with studying is- sues that arise under public records law and to provide recommendations to the governor and the Legislature. Huffman’s bill creates a 15-member Sunshine Committee to systematically review the 550-plus exemptions to public records law over the next nine years and to recommend which can be abolished, modified or let alone. On July 1 in even- numbered years, the committee reports its findings to a four-member Public Records Subcommittee of the state’s Legislative Counsel Committee. The subcommittee would decide which of the Sunshine Committee’s recommenda- tions to pursue during the upcoming leg- islative session. Nathanson’s bill appoints a state chief data officer to maintain a web portal of government data to make it readily ac- cessible to the public. The bill would also prohibit software that would obstruct ac- cess to data that should be accessible to the public. “It’s underfunded, but many counties are doing this successfully and in the long run it saves money, so maybe it will grow legs at the state, too,” said public records advocate and University of Ore- gon Professor Bill Harbaugh. ‘The next year will tell as the newly appointed advocates and committees get to work whether they meet their intend- ed purpose of speeding public access to government records or mire even sim- ple requests in Byzantine process. “Our hope is that in most cases the records advocate will operate like some of the more informal omsbudspeople in other states that deal with records -- just use a quick phone call to try and get things moving,” said Nick Budnick, a volunteer with the Society of Profession- al Journalist who testified on the bills. When the records law was passed, it contained 55 exemptions for sensitive in- formation held by the state. That has since grown tenfold. “These exemptions are hidden and scattered all over Oregon Revised Stat- utes,” said Budnick, a reporter for the Portland Tribune. “It’s very hard for the average Jo or Josephine Citizen to figure out exactly what’s public and what’s not.” Rosenblum’s bill requires the Depart- ment of Justice to create an online cata- log of the exemptions that’s easy to search and user-friendly. The new database would represent an about face from the AG’s historical stance. Until 2009, the attorney general sold the information in a 326-page book for $25 each. The public would have to seek out the book to research the exemp- tions -- until Harbaugh, the UO profes- sor, scanned the entire document and posted it online. Later, the AG’s office it- self posted the manual online. Rosenblum’s bill also protects public bodies from lawsuits when they supply government information in good faith. The bill also sets a timeline and benchmarks for public agency response to a record request. Previous law was vague, saying only that the agencies had to respond in a reasonable time -- which some agencies saw as months. The new law requires agencies to ac- knowledge the request in five days and to supply the documents within 10 days of the acknowledgment in most cases. Although they aren’t hard and fast dead- lines, they do treat delay as a denial and give citizens or journalists seeking infor- mation a clearer path to appeal based on timeliness. Harbaugh is skeptical. The bill doesn’t halt the use of delays and fees to prevent the timely release of public rec- ords, he said. “It fails to even attempt to address the fee problem. Its main effect is to create a presumptive deadline of 10 business days for public bodies to pro- vide public records. However, this dead- line comes with a few truck-sized loop- holes.” Huffman’s bill also makes it less easy for new exemptions to slip into bills un- noticed. Each bill that moves forward in the Legislature gets a revenue or fiscal impact statement written by profession- al staff that lawmakers can review be- fore they vote. The new records law re- quires an “open government impact statement” to now be prepared for the bills. Open government advocates are opti- mistic the new laws will increase trans- parency. They’re “a significant step forward,” Budnick said. Becky Gladstone of the League of Women Voters, who testified on the bills, has “high hopes that it will be a huge im- provement.” Ex-governor, first lady face ethics investigation STATESMAN JOURNAL The Oregon Govern- ment Ethics Commission will launch a full investi- gation into whether for- mer Gov. John Kitzhaber and First Lady Cylvia Hayes used their posi- tions for financial gain. Commissioners took the action at their regular meeting Friday morning after a 45 minute long, closed-door session that included Kitzhaber’s law- yer, Janet Hoffman. According to a prelimi- nary review report, the in- vestigation will look at whether Kitzhaber or Hayes used their official positions for financial gain. It will include an ex- amination of Kitzhaber’s and Hayes’ use of fre- quent flyer programs while traveling repre- senting state govern- ment. That practice vio- lates state ethics rules. It will look at whether Kitzhaber and Hayes properly disposed of vari- ous conflicts of interest, which could include al- lowing Hayes to use state resources, and attend meetings in a dual capac- ity as an unofficial advi- sor and a paid consultant. And preliminary infor- mation suggests Hayes may have accepted one or more gifts in excess of the $50 limit, including a press spokesperson for Hayes funded by the Ore- gon Business Council, “an organization that likely had a legislative or admin- istrative interest in the decision-making of a poli- THOMAS PATTERSON / STATESMAN JOURNAL A state ethics panel is investigating whether former Gov. John Kitzhaber and First Lady Cylvia Hayes used their positions for financial gain. cy adviser in the Office of the Governor,” investiga- tors wrote. The commission launched the preliminary review in fall 2014 after then-state Rep. Vicki Berger, R-Salem, and the Oregon Republican Party filed complaints. In a preliminary re- view, the commission’s staffers have a set period of time to finish a report that goes to the full com- mission, which then de- cides whether to dismiss the complaint or move to a full-scale investigation. That time period changed from 135 days to 30 days in 2015. The commission sus- pended the preliminary review in February 2015 when state and federal criminal investigations into Kitzhaber and Hayes were launched. On June 16 federal prosecutors announced they would close their case without filing any charges. On June 20, the ethics commission an- nounced it had resumed its review. The criminal inquiry revolved around pay- ments made to Hayes’ consulting companies by groups seeking to influ- ence state environmental policy at the same time she served as an unpaid advisor to the governor. Oregon’s government ethics rules prohibit pub- lic officials from using their positions for finan- cial gain and require pub- lic officials to declare po- tential or actual conflicts of interest. The standard of proof for ethics violations is lower than for criminal charges. Your friendly local dentist . . . Michael Kim ,DDS Now taking New Patients! Cosmetic • Implant • Bridges/Partials Extractions • Crowns/Fillings • Root Canals Enter for our monthly Kindle drawing at each appointment We accept most insurance! Brittney , RDH Morgan , RDH Neither Hoffman nor Hayes’ attorney, Whitney Boise, returned calls seeking comment. In a July 12 letter to the commission, Hoffman said both the complaint and the commission’s pre- liminary report rely “al- most entirely on news sto- ries based on speculation and cherry-picked ex- cerpts from a handful of former Gov. Kitzhaber’s personal emails.” “This politically moti- vated complaint attack- ing former Gov. Kitzha- ber’s integrity should be dismissed,” Hoffman wrote. The commission dis- agreed, voting unani- mously, with two mem- bers absent, to proceed. Commission staffers now have six months to complete a full investiga- tion. Berger, who filed one of the complaints, said she is confident the ethics commission will thor- oughly investigate the case. “The issues which “We will convey that we are willing to take this all the way and have a strong case for prevail- ing,” Kitzhaber wrote in a Dec. 22, 2014 letter to his lawyer. “But the end game is not to actually have the complaints dismissed but rather to negotiate a stip- ulated settlement agree- ment in which we might acknowledge some minor mistakes we may have made and have the matter resolved at the March meeting.” tloew@statesmanjour- nal.com, 503-399-6779 or follow at Twitter.com/Tra- cy_Loew MORE HD CHANNELS FASTER INTERNET AND UNLIMITED PHONE. • Speeds up to 100Mbps • Unlimited data – no data caps CALL TODAY AND PAY LESS 800-718-0153 BEST INTERNET OFFER AS LOW AS 34 99 $ /per mo. for 12 mos FREE ACCESS TO WiFi HOTSPOTS * The MOST HD | SUPERFAST Internet | SUPERIOR Voice 125+ CHANNELS UP TO 100MBPS UNLIMITED CALLING 89 99 Triple Play Select $ TV, INTERNET AND PHONE OR-0000393106 from /mo each for 12 mos when bundled* 303 N. Church Street Silverton, OR 97381 Phone: (503) 873-8656 Pastor Leah Stolte-Doerfl er Sunday School 9:15 a.m. Service time 10:30 a.m. Nursery Available Trinity Lutheran Church, ELCA Free Saturday Lunches 500 N 2nd Street Silverton, OR 97381 (503) 873-2635 Sunday, Worship 11am www.trinitysilverton.org trinitysilverton@gmail.com ST. MARY’S CHURCH Pastor: Fr. Philip Waibel 575 E. College St. 503-845-2296 Weekday Mass 6:50 a.m. Saturday Vigil Mass 5:30 p.m. Sunday masses 7:30 a.m., 10 a.m., and 12:30 p.m. (Spanish Mass) at St. Mary Parish. Mass for Holy Rosary Mission at Crooked Finger is at 10:00 a.m. Confession: 3:30 - 5:00 p.m. on Saturday SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST COMMUNITY CHURCH Pastor Jose Galvez Saturday Services Sabbath School 9:30-10:30 am Worship Service 10:50 am 1159 Oak Street 873-8568 Inviting All to a Friendly Bible-Based Church Silverton Friends Church “loving God… loving others” Pastor Bob Henry Silverton Christian School 229 Eureka Ave. • 873-5131 silvertonfriends@frontier.com Adult Sunday School at 9:00 am Sunday Worship Service: 10:45 am Full Nursery Care • Youth Group meets Thursday 7:00 pm 503-873-3530 410 Oak St, Silverton, OR, 97381 | kimsilvertonordentist.com were the subject of my original complaint re- main viable,” she said. In a statement, Oregon Republican Party Chair- man Bill Currier said the action was welcome news. “Perhaps it is the be- ginning of the long over- due exposing and rooting out of corruption in our state government, and fi- nally holding accountable those who engage in it,” he said. Kitzhaber likely will try to settle the case, ac- cording to emails re- leased under a public rec- ords request made by The Oregonian. IMMANUEL LUTHERAN CHURCH Church Directory TRACY LOEW OR-0000392134
