Pro-journalism state senator defends Beacon Hill secrecy
State lawmakers who say they want to boost local journalism and their own accountability are ducking questions about the Legislature’s self-imposed exemption from the Public Records Law.
A bill before the Legislature calls for establishing a special legislative commission to study communities “underserved by local journalism.”
State Sen. Brendan Crighton, co-sponsor of the bill, said his goal is to hold elected officials to a higher standard.
“It’s critical to a healthy democracy to have all the information possible to hold us accountable,” the Lynn Democrat said.
But when asked if the Legislature’s exemption to the state’s public records laws should also be abolished to boost transparency, Crighton said firmly, “No.”
“There’s times when members need to communicate with each other in private,” Crighton told the Herald Tuesday.
“I applaud you for digging deeper,” he added, “but I’m going to end it there.”
The other co-sponsor of the local journalism bill, state Rep. Lori Ehrlich (D-Marblehead), did not respond to requests for comment. Another House member listed as also backing the bill, state Rep. James Hawkins (D-Attleboro), also did not return calls for comment.
The House, Senate, the judiciary and the governor’s office are all exempt from the state’s public records laws.
Attempts to dump the exemption have failed. After the Special Legislative Commission on Public Records reviewed the exemptions, Senate members issued a report in December, suggesting ways to improve access to legislative records, but they were largely ignored, Beacon Hill officials said.
Crighton said he isn’t interested in dropping the exemption.
“The system is working well,” he insisted.
Crighton’s Senate Bill 80 would establish a commission with 17 members appointed from the House, Senate, academia, professional journalism organizations and the Massachusetts Municipal Association.
The aim, the bill states, is to study the history of local journalism in Massachusetts and business models that might help news organizations thrive. Suggestions would be due back within a year.