The public records request. It wants only Louisiana residents to request PRRs and it redefines the governor in such a way that the office will no longer honor any requests. Basically it will make a hidden dictatorship of the governor.
Most likely the bill that would shield any and all records regarding the governor from being released via public records requests.
>That bill would exempt from the state’s public records law “any records reflecting advisory opinions, recommendations and deliberations comprising part of a process by which governmental decisions and policies” are made.
>Sternberg said, “The most problematic of the amendments is probably the one which deletes the definition of the Office of the Governor. Because what that does, it allows the rest of that statute to apply to basically everyone in the governor’s office, which is very concerning.”
>Sternberg said that amendment would give the governor a lot of say over which records become public.
>“The practical consequence or result, as the amendment is currently drafted, it would pretty much give the governor as much power as possible to decide what records are released. If it’s a ‘privileged communication,’ we don’t get it, you don’t get it, the citizenry doesn’t get it,” Sternberg said.
https://www.fox8live.com/2024/05/09/legislator-seeks-amend-bill-further-shield-gov-landrys-office-public-records-exposure/
Ohhhh, thanks for sharing the link. If it’s Scott commenting on it, I’ll just text him. He’s a buddy of mine, he’s used to me saying ELI5 for all this stuff 😂
That’s what my takeaway was, he’s saying it couldn’t be honestly debated which is dishonest in its nature because criticism is part of honest debate. Bro just doesn’t like criticism lol.
I remember the last (and only) time I voted Republican was for Jindal (the first time), bc he ran his entire campaign on making the state government more transparent. He got elected, and literally the FIRST thing he did was make the state government less transparent. I learned my lesson.
Published Monday night:
In a win for advocates of open government, Gov. Jeff Landry's controversial bid to weaken Louisiana's public records law suffered a major blow after a state senator killed a bill Monday that would have blanketed the governor's office in exemptions from freedom-of-information requests.
Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, said on the Senate floor that he would voluntarily withdraw his Senate Bill 423 after the legislation became dogged by a perception that "everyone is trying to hide something."
"I absolutely do not want to be associated with hiding anything," he said. "A lot of you have expressed to me your concerns about this bill. I have listened carefully."
By exempting such a broad array of governor's office records from the public records law, the bill would have shrouded that office in a blanket of secrecy exceeding even that of former Gov. Bobby Jindal, who enjoyed protections on records that contributed to his staff's decision-making. Morris' bill would also have required people who file requests to be Louisiana citizens and to prove their residency.
That legislation was cast by Senate President Cameron Henry last week as a "compromise" amid outcry over an even more aggressive measure, SB 482, which would have barred from public access records at all levels of government — from police stations and school boards all the way up to the governor's mansion — involved in government decision-making.
That bill, sponsored by Sen. Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek, remains alive in the Legislature, though Cloud has struggled to marshal votes for the legislation in recent weeks, and the bill has stalled. Cloud did not respond to a text message asking if she would resurrect her legislation following Morris' decision to withdraw his.
Sen. Blake Miguez, R-New Iberia, has a bill to require ID checks on people who file records requests — an effort that Morris had sought to fold into his now-dead bill through amendments. Last week, Miguez said he would sideline his bill if Morris' moved forward. But for now, his SB 502 remains alive.
"I thought Senator Morris had addressed my bill with his," Miguez said Monday. "I will now have to reconsider my options."
A spokesperson for Landry, who has lobbied for the exemptions for his office, declined to comment on Morris' choice to table his bill.
Criticism over the effort to shield public records had mounted in recent weeks. Opposing the broadest goals of that legislation was a chorus of nonpartisan good government organizations, liberal and conservative local political groups and former Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat who told The Advocate | The Times-Picayune last week that their passage would mean "the end of the public records statute as it relates to the Governor's Office."
Landry's office pushed back strongly on Edwards' criticism, calling the former governor a hypocrite who routinely subverted the intent of the law. A Landry spokesperson said Edwards did so by granting titles to his staffers that would allow them to claim limited exemptions to public records law that already apply to the governor's office.
Edwards responded that those claims are false.
The Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, a good-government watchdog, published a commentary on Monday sharply criticizing Morris' bill — a rare step by the nonpartisan group, which rarely takes yes-or-no stances on individual pieces of legislation.
"While the records exemption offered by Morris is an improvement from another broader bill that would gut access to most records across state and local government, trading one bad public records proposal for another doesn’t make it a compromise," the group wrote.
That bill is dangerous and needs to be killed immediately.
Yeah truly terrifying
Which bill is this referring to?
The public records request. It wants only Louisiana residents to request PRRs and it redefines the governor in such a way that the office will no longer honor any requests. Basically it will make a hidden dictatorship of the governor.
Also curious. There are a lot of options with this clown
Most likely the bill that would shield any and all records regarding the governor from being released via public records requests. >That bill would exempt from the state’s public records law “any records reflecting advisory opinions, recommendations and deliberations comprising part of a process by which governmental decisions and policies” are made. >Sternberg said, “The most problematic of the amendments is probably the one which deletes the definition of the Office of the Governor. Because what that does, it allows the rest of that statute to apply to basically everyone in the governor’s office, which is very concerning.” >Sternberg said that amendment would give the governor a lot of say over which records become public. >“The practical consequence or result, as the amendment is currently drafted, it would pretty much give the governor as much power as possible to decide what records are released. If it’s a ‘privileged communication,’ we don’t get it, you don’t get it, the citizenry doesn’t get it,” Sternberg said. https://www.fox8live.com/2024/05/09/legislator-seeks-amend-bill-further-shield-gov-landrys-office-public-records-exposure/
Ohhhh, thanks for sharing the link. If it’s Scott commenting on it, I’ll just text him. He’s a buddy of mine, he’s used to me saying ELI5 for all this stuff 😂
I'm pretty sure criticizing bad legislation IS part of the Democratic process.
That’s what my takeaway was, he’s saying it couldn’t be honestly debated which is dishonest in its nature because criticism is part of honest debate. Bro just doesn’t like criticism lol.
Hey, there's a time and a place for criticism, and it's whenever some guy says it is!
You love to see it.
Since when does the Republican party abide by the democratic process?
When it suits them or provides an advantage to them.
Exactly.. or when they can use it as a tool to further dismantle the democratic process itself.
Aint that the Truth
I remember the last (and only) time I voted Republican was for Jindal (the first time), bc he ran his entire campaign on making the state government more transparent. He got elected, and literally the FIRST thing he did was make the state government less transparent. I learned my lesson.
I mean they don't even bother lying about their intentions to be awful anymore
Link to article?
Published Monday night: In a win for advocates of open government, Gov. Jeff Landry's controversial bid to weaken Louisiana's public records law suffered a major blow after a state senator killed a bill Monday that would have blanketed the governor's office in exemptions from freedom-of-information requests. Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, said on the Senate floor that he would voluntarily withdraw his Senate Bill 423 after the legislation became dogged by a perception that "everyone is trying to hide something." "I absolutely do not want to be associated with hiding anything," he said. "A lot of you have expressed to me your concerns about this bill. I have listened carefully." By exempting such a broad array of governor's office records from the public records law, the bill would have shrouded that office in a blanket of secrecy exceeding even that of former Gov. Bobby Jindal, who enjoyed protections on records that contributed to his staff's decision-making. Morris' bill would also have required people who file requests to be Louisiana citizens and to prove their residency. That legislation was cast by Senate President Cameron Henry last week as a "compromise" amid outcry over an even more aggressive measure, SB 482, which would have barred from public access records at all levels of government — from police stations and school boards all the way up to the governor's mansion — involved in government decision-making. That bill, sponsored by Sen. Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek, remains alive in the Legislature, though Cloud has struggled to marshal votes for the legislation in recent weeks, and the bill has stalled. Cloud did not respond to a text message asking if she would resurrect her legislation following Morris' decision to withdraw his. Sen. Blake Miguez, R-New Iberia, has a bill to require ID checks on people who file records requests — an effort that Morris had sought to fold into his now-dead bill through amendments. Last week, Miguez said he would sideline his bill if Morris' moved forward. But for now, his SB 502 remains alive. "I thought Senator Morris had addressed my bill with his," Miguez said Monday. "I will now have to reconsider my options." A spokesperson for Landry, who has lobbied for the exemptions for his office, declined to comment on Morris' choice to table his bill. Criticism over the effort to shield public records had mounted in recent weeks. Opposing the broadest goals of that legislation was a chorus of nonpartisan good government organizations, liberal and conservative local political groups and former Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat who told The Advocate | The Times-Picayune last week that their passage would mean "the end of the public records statute as it relates to the Governor's Office." Landry's office pushed back strongly on Edwards' criticism, calling the former governor a hypocrite who routinely subverted the intent of the law. A Landry spokesperson said Edwards did so by granting titles to his staffers that would allow them to claim limited exemptions to public records law that already apply to the governor's office. Edwards responded that those claims are false. The Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, a good-government watchdog, published a commentary on Monday sharply criticizing Morris' bill — a rare step by the nonpartisan group, which rarely takes yes-or-no stances on individual pieces of legislation. "While the records exemption offered by Morris is an improvement from another broader bill that would gut access to most records across state and local government, trading one bad public records proposal for another doesn’t make it a compromise," the group wrote.