A compromise for enforcing openness

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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After years of wrangling and much frustration, a mechanism to better ensure compliance with state open records/open meetings law appears closer than ever to becoming a reality.

That's good news. Most of Iowa's laws on government transparency are sound and fair but enforcement power too often has been missing.

The down side is that final approval by the Legislature and Gov. Branstad, who supports the enforcement board concept, will likely sacrifice some important conditions.

Senate File 430, passed by the Senate, is in the process of being amended in the House. It would create the Iowa Public Information Board, which would handle complaints, issue decisions and penalties for violations and educate government officials and the public.

There is substantial support for the information board from both Democrats and Republicans. Also, there are caveats, as of Friday:

l The governor proposes housing it within the Campaign Ethics and Financial Disclosure Board, which oversees political campaign financing and violations of campaign laws. An odd choice, but alternative proposals for the state auditor's and the attorney general's offices didn't fly with one side or the other.

l Housing it within another agency, instead of a preferred free-standing board, may compromise independence. However, it does avoid creating a new department and staff, making it less costly and more attractive to budget watchdogs.

l The governor and others propose an amendment that would put off limits most “preliminary/deliberative drafts” of government policies or proposals, until such materials and information are actually used in the final documents submitted for action.

That last item is especially troubling. It blocks the public and media from the early stages of the public's business. It denies a full review of how those we elect and hire to serve us go about their sausage-making - what was sacrificed or traded off, and why.

Still, establishment of the public information board is a major step that is worth some compromise, for now. It would include the state's citizen aide ombudsman, plus one representative each from the Iowa broadcasters and newspaper associations, Iowa Freedom of Information Council, Iowa League of Cities, Iowa State Association of Counties and Iowa Association of School Boards. A legal expert on open records/meeting would be hired.

It's disappointing that so much compromise is needed to help ensure Iowans' access to government, which exists for the people and is paid for by us all. Nonetheless, we urge legislators to approve the public information board. Its flaws can be corrected after lessons are learned from the first year of operation.

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