SALEM, Ore. — It’s Sunshine Week but we aren’t talking about the weather. Sunshine Week refers to access to public records laws. They're called Sunshine Laws.
Sunshine Laws are important to journalists but they're important to you, too. Sunshine Laws dictate how transparent government is, how easily the public can access all kinds of records, and make sure we all can see how the government is being run.
Oregon's public records law says that every person has a right to access public records. However, there are some exemptions, like trade secrets and ongoing criminal cases.
The state has 15 days to respond to your request, but they can get an extension. And they're allowed to charge a fee for the time it takes to prepare the records. A lot of legal battles have been fought over how much that fee should be and how long the office can take to get your records.
Oregon actually has an appointed public records advocate but the position has an interesting history.
The office was created in the wake of former Governor John Kitzhaber's resignation. But the first public records advocate, Ginger McCall, quit after 18 months. She said she was getting too much pressure from the governor's office to take the governor's side in disputes over public records.
And then the next public records advocate quit because journalists thought she wasn't independent enough.
Now, the office is led by Todd Albert. He spoke with KGW about how independent he thinks the office should be.
“I think the office does need strong legs to stand on its own,” Albert said. “All government offices exist within a political framework, that's just the nature of things, and even if the legislation that is pending right now, Senate Bill 500 passes, that would make the office independent. Myself, as the public records advocate, is still accountable to our advisory council, which many of whom are actually appointed by the governor, so it's not as if the office would be free to go do whatever it wants.”
“It still exists within this necessary framework of checks and balances. But I think it is necessary for anyone doing this role of advocate, either myself or those who come after me, to understand that they can give the best advice that they think necessary when it comes to dealing with public records issues whether it's resolving disputes, writing policies, or suggesting changes to the law without looking back over their shoulder and wondering what anyone elected official will think about what they're saying.”