Fix FOIA This Year

Clemmons should shepherd bills through to passage

S.C. legislators obviously regard the bills to strengthen the S.C. Freedom of Information Act as only slightly more palatable than two-day-old fish. A House Judiciary subcommittee last week did pass a measure that reduces from 15 days to seven the amount of time that government agencies have to respond to citizens' requests for public records.

But Capitol observers regard that bill as a long shot for passage because the 2006 legislative session is running out of time. And three other bills to strengthen the FOIA have yet to receive subcommittee consideration. Those measures would:

Require the chairman or president of public governing bodies such as county councils or school boards to certify by signature that secret-session discussions were restricted to topics announced in public. Some local governing bodies are notorious for debating controversial proposals in secret. The signature requirement would induce the chairman or president to keep secret discussions on track;

Reduce the cost of copying public records to what private sector quick-print companies would charge. Some local governments charge outlandish fees for copying public documents, thereby chilling citizens from requesting desired documents;

Clarify that social gatherings of elected officials are, in fact, meetings to which the public must be invited. Some local governing body members prefer to discuss the public's business at restaurants and other social venues without notifying the public they're having the discussions.

A common misconception among South Carolinians is that only the press has an interest in such legislation. Not true. People who aren't journalists have occasion daily to request public documents. And many residents are as interested in public governing body discussions as journalists are.

Rather than drag their feet on the bills until the session expires, legislators should get over their reservations about a stronger FOIA and push them through to passage. Their constituents need and deserve fast, cheap access to public documents and a better sense of how public governing bodies decide issues and spend public money. S.C. Rep. Alan Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach, a Judiciary Committee member, would do his constituents a great favor if he shepherded the bills through the legislative process.