danny carroll

Ky. State Senator Says He Didn’t Write The Bill He Filed Restricting Records Access

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A state senator who pre-filed a bill that would broadly restrict access to public records said the bill was authored by someone else, and he’s open to making changes based on transparency concerns. State Sen. Danny Carroll, R-Paducah, said in an interview with the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting on Monday evening that he’s listening to criticism about his proposed legislation. As written, it would exempt several state agencies and local officials from having to release personnel records, disciplinary records, financial information and other information to the public. If this bill were to become law, records custodians could be held personally liable and fined for releasing private information — and requesters seeking records for an “improper” purpose could be ordered to pay attorney’s fees in a subsequent lawsuit. The bill defines “improper” as a request that’s frivolous, or intended to cause someone to violate the provision.

Transparency

Kentucky Gets ‘B’ Grade In Government Transparency

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The national leader just five years ago, Kentucky is starting to fall behind other states in disclosing how state government spends the public’s money. In the first four years of its Following the Money report, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group gave Kentucky an “A” grade for its so-called “transparency” of governance. Through the state’s OpenDoor website created by Gov. Steve Beshear in 2009, you could look up state employees’ salaries, state agency purchases, campaign contributions, corporate tax breaks, the names of contract recipients and much more. Kentucky, though, received only a “B” grade this time around. Not because it was less transparent, but because other states became more so, said Phineas Baxandall, a U.S. PIRG senior policy analyst and co-author of the 2014 report, which was released today.