Post by Logan on Jan 28, 2016 1:17:25 GMT -6
AG: Legislature could address state delays in responding to records requests
Attorney General Brad Schimel said Wednesday state lawmakers are the ones to address how quickly a government agency must respond to open records requests.
Schimel's comments come after a lawsuit was filed earlier this week by a public-interest law firm against the Department of Natural Resources for taking months to respond to three records requests, and after an open government advocate suggested on Tuesday that records custodians have been emboldened to take a long time to respond because attorneys general have declined to tackle the issue of delayed responses.
"The law does not establish a bright-line rule on how quickly an agency must respond to a public records request. The Attorney General’s role is advisory in nature, however, this is an area where the legislature could clarify the public record law," Attorney General Brad Schimel said in a statement.
Department of Justice spokeswoman Anne Schwartz didn't say whether Schimel believes a time frame should be defined in state law within which government agencies must respond to requests.
Read more: host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/ag-legislature-could-address-state-delays-in-responding-to-records/article_24040fa9-aad8-5a25-b1e3-712102ecd6bf.html
Attorney General Brad Schimel said Wednesday state lawmakers are the ones to address how quickly a government agency must respond to open records requests.
Schimel's comments come after a lawsuit was filed earlier this week by a public-interest law firm against the Department of Natural Resources for taking months to respond to three records requests, and after an open government advocate suggested on Tuesday that records custodians have been emboldened to take a long time to respond because attorneys general have declined to tackle the issue of delayed responses.
"The law does not establish a bright-line rule on how quickly an agency must respond to a public records request. The Attorney General’s role is advisory in nature, however, this is an area where the legislature could clarify the public record law," Attorney General Brad Schimel said in a statement.
Department of Justice spokeswoman Anne Schwartz didn't say whether Schimel believes a time frame should be defined in state law within which government agencies must respond to requests.
Read more: host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/ag-legislature-could-address-state-delays-in-responding-to-records/article_24040fa9-aad8-5a25-b1e3-712102ecd6bf.html