Grego laying over Open Records bill for more input

Mar. 9—District 17 State Rep. Jim Grego decided to lay over his House Bill 3475 for now after concerns it could sharply hamper part of Oklahoma's Open Records Act.

The bill passed out of an Oklahoma House Committee on a 5-to-2 vote on March 2 — which could have placed it on the path to a vote by the full House. It's now been designated for a second reading, and referred to General Government.

Both the News-Capital and Mark Thomas of the Oklahoma Press Association previously spoke with Grego regarding the language in the bill and the effect it could have regarding access to public records, as well as some along public meetings, affecting the media and the general public.

Grego, who said he would address those concerns, met with Thomas, representatives of the Oklahoma Hospital Association and others on Tuesday. Following the meeting, Grego said more information needs to be gathered before the bill moves forward.

"I'm going to lay it over," Grego said Wednesday of HB 3475. "We're going to work on it this summer."

He said the intent of HB 3475 was not to hamper the media's access.

"I understand newspaper access," Grego said. "There never was an intention to restrict access. We wanted to address when somebody abuses it."

Grego said the plan calls for all of the parties involved to work together.

"This summer we're going to bring everybody in," he said. Grego said the meeting and work on the bill could go through the summer and expand into the fall if necessary.

During the meetings, bills by other lawmakers that include related subjects, will likely be addressed as well.

Thomas told the News-Capital he met with Grego and representatives from the Oklahoma Hospital Association for about an hour Tuesday, with the result that Grego agreed to lay over House Bill 3475 so those involved can get together to discuss issues in the bill. McAlester Mayor John Browne provided input over the phone.

Considering the bill during the current pressure-packed, deadline-driven voting environment in the House is not the best time to do it, Thomas said.

"We're all going to get together this fall and try to hammer out our differences," he said.

Thomas said he was told during the Tuesday meeting there were instances where public entities are sometimes abused by those making records requests. Thomas replied that the press and public are sometimes abused as well, when those keeping public records do not want to follow provisions in the state's Open Records Act.

"We get abused from the records requester's side from those who don't want to give them to us," said Thomas.

Section 24.A 5 of Oklahoma's Open Records Act currently states all records of public bodies and public officials shall be open to any person for inspection, copying, or mechanical reproduction during regular business hours, with a few exceptions. Exceptions include records specifically required by law to be kept confidential.

House Bill 3475 proposed new language be added to the bill that if passed, would give every keeper of public records the right to deny an open records request if they decided to do so.

The new language in Grego's bill regarding access to public records states "A request may be denied if a request places an excessive disruption in producing public records on the public body or if the custodian has reason to believe that repeated requests are intended to disrupt other essential functions of the public body."

That could give any keeper of public records in Oklahoma a way to deny a lawful request made under the Open Records Act by claiming the request was placing an "excessive disruption" on the public body or by claiming that "repeated requests" were made with the intention of disrupting the public body.

Both Thomas and the News-Capital were concerned that a records requests could be denied, without merit, by a custodian of records who claimed the request was causing an "excessive disruption" or that "repeated requests" were intended to cause a disruption.

Thomas noted that if a member of the press or public has to ask a public body a number of times to turn over the requested records, that does not constitute a "repeated request."

Rather, it's one request that has to be made several times when the records are not presented, he said.

Grego agreed Wednesday those issues need to be addressed.

"Some of the language is kind of vague," he said. "It's a very complicated bill. There's a lot of vague language that could be interpreted different ways."

"We're going to look at it this summer in-full," Grego said. He said the city of McAlester can have input.

Another portion of Grego's bill is headed under Section 2 as New Law. It states "In the event a public trust hospital enters into a joint venture or acquires an interest in a not-for-profit entity to effectuate the administration of the mission of the public trust, that entity shall not be subject to the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act or the Oklahoma Public Records Act."

Both Thomas and the News-Capital previously expressed their concerns with exempting such entities from the Oklahoma Open Records Act and the state's Open Meeting Act.

That portion of HB 3475 is also expected to be included in the meetings planned for this summer and fall to further address the issues.

"All the parties will be sitting at the table," Grego said. "Mark Thomas will be involved.

"It's an interesting process," said Grego. "There's a lot of different angles.

"I'm confident we can find some common ground."

Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com,