Legislature and governor would be subject to added scrutiny

State Rep. Aaron Miller last week joined his colleagues in support of bipartisan legislation that gives people access to public records and makes state government more accountable to the public.
Miller took part in a Capitol news conference as an 11-bill package was unveiled. The package will subject the governor and lieutenant governor to provisions of the Freedom of Information Act and create the Legislative Open Records Act, which will open access to the Legislature.
Miller said taxpayers have a right to see how the money they entrust to the House, Senate and executive branch is used. The information has been withheld because neither branch previously fell under open-records provisions.
The bills are similar to a legislative effort put forth by the House last session that Miller supported, but did not reach the governor’s desk for approval.
The bill exempts some records, among them letters to and from people in the district, human resources files, and ongoing legislative investigations or lawsuits. Only one other state exempts its legislature and governor from FOIA-like scrutiny, Miller said.