Beth Fouhy writes for AP that Openness in state gov’t? AP survey shows obstacles

More openness in government. Lawmakers across the country, including the Republicans who took control in many states this year, say they want it. But a survey of all 50 states by The Associated Press has found that efforts to boost openness often are being thwarted by old patterns of secrecy.

The survey did find signs of progress in a number of states, especially in technological efforts to make much more information available online. But there also are restrictions being put in place for recent electronic trends, such as limits on access to officials’ text messages.

The story lists some good progress in some states, including Alabama. Then it goes into some backsliding:

While political watchdogs in Utah have praised some of the state’s transparency efforts, a purely political problem remains: Republicans, who have more than a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate, negotiate the budget in private with almost no input from Democrats. The same goes for meetings between the governor and GOP leaders, which usually are unannounced and not open to the public.

In New York’s state capital, Albany, critics have compared the budget process to the old Soviet Politburo – but, some suggest, even more secretive and more in the red. Despite a reform bill that passed two years ago, legislative leaders still craft budget bills behind closed doors and send them out for quick votes. Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who rode to office vowing to reform state government, has focused more on ethics and lobbying reform than on transparency.

Even when there seems to be progress in some states, governors and legislators routinely exempt themselves from open records laws or defy them altogether.

We’ll see.

-jsq

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