Time to End Legislative Exemptions from Public Records & Open Meeting Laws

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on

LinkedIn

Under Massachusetts law, the state Legislature is not considered a “public body” in the traditional sense, and therefore enjoys exemptions from open meeting and public records laws. Pioneer Institute believes this is unconstitutional. The state constitution says the Legislature should be accountable to citizens “at all times.”

The laws that apply to municipalities and the rest of state government should also apply to the Legislature. The 2016 public records reform law failed to adequately address this exemption but did establish a special legislative commission to look into the issue further. The commission’s report was supposed to be submitted to the House and Senate Clerks’ Offices by December 30, 2017. Unfortunately, the deadline was quietly extended to December 1, 2018. In February of 2018, the commission began its work on the matter.

Through PioneerLegal, Pioneer Institute’s public-interest law initiative, we reviewed the state’s constitution and existing statutes and concluded that the legislative exemptions from public records law and open meeting laws are unconstitutional. To give input on this issue, we have sent an open letter to the chairs of the legislative commission detailing the argument. Please read our letter here.

Letter to Public Records Commission 4-3-18 by Pioneer Institute on Scribd

(function() { var scribd = document.createElement(“script”); scribd.type = “text/javascript”; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = “https://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js”; var s = document.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })();
Related Posts:

Sunshine Week 2020 – When Government Transparency Is More Important Than Ever

0 Comments

March 20, 2020

COVID-19 has overshadowed what was supposed to be Sunshine Week, but vigilance on behalf of open government is even more crucial during times like these, when the public has limited access. But government transparency is important at all times. Each year during Sunshine Week, Pioneer reviews some of its recent work to increase public accountability in Massachusetts government.

New Video Highlights Need for Greater Access to Public Officials’ Financial Ties

March 11, 2020

With as new animated video, Pioneer Institute aims to inform the public about barriers to accessing Massachusetts elected officials’ financial information.

In the past few years, the tobacco industry has thrived in Massachusetts. Here’s why.

0 Comments

February 11, 2020

Despite recent good news about declines in alcohol, traditional…

Pioneer Institute’s Government Transparency Resolutions 2020

January 30, 2020

As we do each January, Pioneer shares the resolutions it hopes state leaders will adopt to bring government actions into better focus and invigorate our democracy with heightened public engagement.

Survey: MA Least Transparent State at Making State Official Financial Disclosures Public

December 18, 2019

New rankings from Pioneer Institute show that among the states that require financial disclosures of elected officials and other significant policy makers, Massachusetts is the least transparent.

Pioneer Institute Announces New Economics Data Tool: MassEconomix

December 12, 2019

A new addition to Pioneer Institute’s Mass Watch data tool suite, MassEconomix, provides time-series data on job and business growth for all of Massachusetts. Pioneer has partnered with the Business Dynamics Research Consortium (BDRC), which is housed at the University of Wisconsin’s Institute for Business and Entrepreneurship, to acquire an employment database known as “Your-economy Time Series”, or YTS. This database provides a year-by-year look at companies and jobs that have existed in the Commonwealth since 1997.

Study Finds Revived Merit Rating Board Taking Steps to Carry Out Statutorily Mandated Duties

October 10, 2019

The Merit Rating Board’s recent adoption of a regular meeting schedule, and related resolutions, are important steps in light of that Board’s 1976 governing statute.