EDITORIAL: Bills promoting transparency deserve to move forward

If Democrats in Carson City hope to walk the walk on government accountability, they’ll resist the temptation to kill two GOP-sponsored bills as a legislative deadline approaches. Both deserve debate and passage.

With some exceptions, proposals that have been introduced at the Legislature must pass out of committee by Friday if they are to have any chance of enactment. With Democrats in firm control, a slew of bills proposed by minority Republicans will meet their demise.

But Assembly Bill 183 and Assembly Bill 276 — both in front of the Assembly Government Affairs Committee — merit survival in the name of good government,

AB276, sponsored by eight Republicans, would strengthen the state’s open record statutes by stiffening penalties for agencies that stonewall public records requests. Currently, those who feel they’ve been denied access to public documents, or overcharged for such access, may seek relief in District Court and are eligible to be awarded attorney fees and other costs if they prevail. AB276 “provides that the requester may recover an amount that is double the cost of the suit, in addition to … costs and attorney’s fees.”

Lawmakers passed worthwhile reforms last session to put teeth into Nevada’s open record statutes. But some agencies continue to act as if they are exempt from scrutiny. Consider that the Clark County spent years fighting a Review-Journal request for certain autopsy reports, losing in court multiple times and eventually costing local taxpayers $167,000 in legal fees.

Stricter penalties for defying the law — as contained in AB276 — will better promote transparency by serving as a stronger deterrent to such willful intransigence, saving Nevada taxpayers money.

Meanwhile, AB183 would provide Nevadans with access to contract negotiations between state and local governments and public employee unions. Currently, such talks are exempt from the state’s open meeting laws. The bill is sponsored by 15 GOP Assembly members and would give Nevada taxpayers a seat at the table when it comes to determining their financial obligations to those who work for them.

According to a poll by the Nevada Policy Research Institute, a free-market Las Vegas think tank, nearly three out of four respondents favor bringing these negotiations out of the shadows. Because the taxpayers bear the ultimate responsibility for covering the costs of these negotiations, there’s absolutely no reason that they should essentially be shut out of the process.

Assemblyman Edgar Flores, D-Las Vegas, chairs the Government Affairs Committee. AB276 is eligible for exemption from Friday’s deadline. AB183 had no such luck. But if Mr. Flores is committed to open government, he’ll put aside partisan interests and allow votes on these important bills.