If the price of liberty is eternal vigilance, Louisiana citizens may soon have neither, thanks to our state lawmakers and Gov. Jeff Landry.
The annual legislative session now underway in Baton Rouge features a plethora of bills that collectively — and in one case all by itself — would obliterate the Louisiana Public Records Law.
That is a big deal, because without a strong public records law, there can be no vigilance. And without vigilance, well …
Several dozen bills mention “public records.” Not all are bad. But here’s a look at several that stand out for being particularly odious:
• Senate Bill 482 by Sen. Heather Cloud, R-Ville Platte, revives and injects with steroids former Gov. Bobby Jindal’s Orwellian “deliberative process” gubernatorial records exception, which Jindal relied on to keep his worst decisions under wraps. As originally drafted, Cloud’s bill would apply that exception to the formulation of ALL “governmental decisions and policies” — not just the governor’s. If SB 482 were already the law, Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s first-class flights at taxpayers’ expense and LSU’s cover-up of sexual abuse by athletes would not have come to light. Almost nothing that citizens really need to know about their government would be a public record. This is the worst bill of all.
• House Bill 768 by Rep. Les Farnum, R-Sulphur, is almost as bad. It would repeal the provision in present law that makes custodians of public records personally liable for paying damages (read: attorneys’ fees) for arbitrarily and capriciously withholding records or failing to respond to a request. Absent personal liability, there’s literally no reason for any public official to produce a public record. Worst of all, it would leave taxpayers on the hook for attorney fees when officials violate the law. That’s like making victims pay restitution for criminals’ misconduct.
• SB 423 by Sen. Jay Morris, R-Monroe, seems almost benign, but it has horrible unintended consequences. The bill would add a provision that anyone requesting a public record must be a “Louisiana citizen.” Seems simple enough — and Morris has been a champion of public records in the past. He may have filed SB 423 in hopes of thwarting the many bad faith records requests that officials and agencies receive from out-of-state political committees. Unfortunately, the requirement of Louisiana citizenship would also prevent national banks, oil companies, mortgage lenders and many other entities from getting ordinary but vital business records. Ouch.
The late, legendary federal Judge Damon J. Keith wrote in one of his landmark opinions, “Democracy dies in the dark.” He wrote those words in a 2002 case — in the wake of 9/11 — that courageously barred the federal government from closing deportation hearings to the press. Citing landmark First Amendment cases, Keith underscored the media’s role in representing and preserving citizens’ right to know what government is doing.
Love us or hate us, we’re here for you, dear readers.
If Louisianans don’t speak out loudly and often, our state could soon become shrouded in the very darkness Keith warned against.
The proposed eight-week convention leaves little time for public input or even serious debate.
