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Fayette’s GOP reps vote for more secrecy

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

State Representative Dan Lakly has voted three times in favor of bills that would restrict the public’s access to information by weakening the state’s current open records laws.

Representatives Lakly and John Yates both voted for a bill that would hide the identity of an industry or business that economic development officials are trying to lure to Georgia. Disclosure could occur only after the deal was final or dead.

Lakly and Yates also voted for a bill that would hide the personal information of donors to the University System of Georgia.

Additionally, Lakly voted for another bill that would hide the phone number and addresses of all public employees; Yates did not record a vote. Both bills are now under consideration in the Senate, the former is in the Senate’s Higher Education committee and the latter is in the Senate’s State and Local Governmental Operations Committee, which includes Tyrone Republican Senator Ronnie Chance.

The Citizen sought comment from Lakly and Yates, but several phone calls to their respective offices were not returned by press time Tuesday afternoon.

Following is a description of each bill with an explanation of where they are in the legislative process and how they would interfere with the openness of records currently deemed to be available to the public.

HB 218

House Bill 218 would keep secret any documents of “an agency engaged in a program of economic development” that might reveal the identity of a firm or individual negotiating for concessions to relocate, expand or keep a current business in Georgia.

Were the bill to become law, those documents could only be revealed after an announcement is made by the agency or the business/industry benefitting from the deal. Basically, those people would call the shots and could keep the whole arrangement secret as long as they wanted.

The bill is currently dead, so to speak, tabled by the Senate after public outcry with little hopes of being revived.

It is common for companies, particularly large firms bringing manufacturing jobs, to negotiate for deals that can include tax breaks in addition to other lucrative benefits. Lids must be kept on those deals until they are inked, proponents of the bill said, arguing that other states are doing the same thing and failing to do so would put Georgia at an economic disadvantage.

Opponents contend the secret could be kept long enough to stifle any chance of opposition mounting against the proposed industry, particularly any industry that might produce hazardous wastes or smells, thereby reducing the property values of nearby homeowners and endangering the safety of all, even to a miniscule degree.

In theory, the bill would keep secret all failed negotiations undertaken by an economic development agency, thereby preventing citizens from having the chance to judge whether officials are trying to attract the right kind of industry to Georgia. According to the bill, the only way that information would be made public is if an announcement is made by the agency that the negotiations have been terminated or abandoned.

Lakly and Yates, both Republicans, voted in favor of HB 218, while representatives Roberta Abdul-Salaam, Virgil Fludd and Darryl Jordan, all Democrats, voted against the bill.

HB 684

House Bill 684 would require anyone filing an open records request to do so in writing except for a few simple documents such as the agenda, action list, or minutes of a public agency’s most recent meeting. An agency or public officer would be allowed to waive the written request is supported by ordinance, resolution or other official act of the agency, the bill states.

HB 684 is likely a moot point for this legislative session as it was not voted on by the House of Representatives in time to be considered for this legislative session. Specifically, HB 684 wasn’t passed by the “crossover day” deadline: the day by which all legislation must be passed along from the House to the Senate and vice versa for a formal vote during this legislative session.

The bill would have required any agency or public officer to “assist a person making a request for records, as needed.”

According to the bill, the requests may be delivered via e-mail, regular mail, fax or courier, and although each agency must provide a form for citizens to make open records requests, there would be no requirement to use that form.

HB 437

House Bill 437 would hide the home address, home telephone number and the social security number and medical information of all public employees. It has passed the House with a 158-0 vote and is currently in the Senate’s State and Local Governmental Operations committee.

Critics say the bill would make it more difficult for citizens to contact an employee who might later become a whistle-blower on corruption or malfeasance in a particular government agency. Such employees might be far less likely to be forthcoming with information if they have to do so on government-owned property, critics argue.

This privacy privilege is granted to teachers and law enforcement officials only, under current Georgia law.

Three of Fayette’s House of Representatives delegation voted for the bill: Lakly, Jordan and Fludd. Representatives Yates and Roberta Abdul-Salaam declined to vote on the measure.

HB 340

House Bill 340 would keep secret any records of “personal information,” of donors to the state’s University System and any related university or college foundation. Opponents allege this would allow donors and potential donors to go unidentified, leaving the public unable to check whether those donors do a large amount of business with the state and/or the university system itself.

The bill was approved 129-30 by the House March 3. Lakly, Yates and Jordan voted in favor; Abdul-Salaam voted against the secrecy bill and Fludd was excused from voting that day.

HB 340 is currently assigned to the Senate’s Higher Education Committee where local legislator Ronnie Chance will have an opportunity to shape its final form or get it canned entirely.