Open government laws need enforcement
The penalties for violating Connecticut’s Freedom of Information laws are far too lenient. They hardly amount to a disincentive, and are in no way a cure for those who flout the statutes.
The General Assembly may be looking to change that.
“Ultimately, every public agency and municipality needs to understand that complying with our Freedom of Information laws is an obligation,” state Rep. Matt Blumenthal said. As such, a legislative committee is proposing to increase the penalties government agencies face for violations of public records regulations. At the same time, new laws would require municipal and state agencies to post information online about their track record of releasing public records.
The impetus for the proposed change is a series in Hearst Connecticut Media on the state’s largest city, which has lagged in responding to information requests. Bridgeport is not supposed to provide this information just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s the law. A law without teeth, however, can only be so effective.
Leaders of the Government Administration and Elections Committee of the General Assembly are looking to increase fines for noncompliance up to $10,000, from its current level at $1,000. That number has only been revised once since it was put into place in the post-Watergate era of government reforms, and advocates say it’s far too low to prod action from reluctant governments.
Another proposed reform could increase the fines even further. Under the proposal, the Freedom of Information Commissions could apply for court intervention, which could result in a judge ordering additional fines and attorney fees. It’s a way to take on habitual offenders that has not been available to watchdog agencies in the past.
Other changes would include increased funding for the watchdog agencies, which would also aid enforcement.
Taken together, advocates say the sweeping changes could serve as a national model. Under any circumstances, they would help ensure that government agencies abide by the laws as written. It’s a reform that is long overdue.
Many open government laws date to an era when trust in the public sector was at a low point, and reformers instituted changes to help rebuild people’s faith in what government was doing. That means everyone has a right to know what is happening with public funds and that actions of public employees are not hidden behind a veil of secrecy.
Those laws have led to an important shift. Even if trust in government is not the same as it was in the pre-Watergate era, there’s an understanding that public records laws are in place to keep people honest. Agencies can stall and they can fight, but eventually the records will come out.
For that to happen, there need to be real consequences for noncompliance. Today, Connecticut doesn’t have that.
These aren’t abstract issues. The information that people in Bridgeport had trouble obtaining includes details on the deaths of loved ones and other important questions. Hearst Connecticut Media’s investigation revealed a backlog of almost 2,000 unanswered requests, some of them many years old.
That has to change. Tougher enforcement is the way to do it.