Dump Iowa records law loophole proposal

The Iowa Public Information Board is considering a rule change that would leave a gaping loophole in how Iowa enforces laws requiring government to fulfill requests for public records in a timely manner.

The change would add “unforeseen circumstances” to a list of justifiable reasons for delaying action on a public records request. The board is set to take up the rule change this month.

The consequences of such a change can be easily foreseen. “Unforeseen circumstances” would include countless excuses that could be used by government records gatekeepers to stall records requests and keep the public in the dark.

Some circumstances certainly would be justifiable, such as a natural disaster. But others could be far less so, and potentially fictitious. “The dog ate your records,” could be an unforeseen circumstance.

It’s already difficult to squeeze public records from government entities and agencies. Journalists, the ACLU of Iowa and the Iowa Freedom of Information Council have filed a lawsuit against Gov. Kim Reynolds because of her administration’s repeated failure to fulfill records requests.

Iowa has an open records statute for good reasons. Iowans deserve access to records that are informing and affecting the governmental policies that impact their lives and their tax dollars.

It seems to us that a change this significant should be considered by the Legislature, not tacked onto the law through an administrative rule. The Public Information Board should drop the idea.

The board already dropped another rule change, one that would have required governmental entities to notify Iowans requesting records within two days that their request had been received.

We understand opposition to the proposed rule by records gatekeepers, who, according to reporting by Iowa Capital Dispatch reporter Clark Kauffman, argued the change would be burdensome.

But more must be done to push agencies to more swiftly acknowledge requests. Too often, Iowans seeking records are met with weeks or months of silence as to the statues of their requests. There has to be a better way to keep people informed. It’s an issue the board should continue to consider.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com