3 more gubernatorial candidates sign Open Government Pledge

Three gubernatorial candidates on Saturday promised that if elected, each would ensure that the governor's office and state agencies would "comply with not only the letter but also the spirit of Oklahoma's Open Meeting and Open Records laws.”

Each also promised “to support at every opportunity the public policy of the State of Oklahoma that the people are vested with the inherent right to know and be fully informed about their government so that they can efficiently and intelligently exercise their inherent political power.”

Signing FOI Oklahoma Inc.'s Open Government Pledge were Lt. Gov. Jari Askins, a Democrat, and Republican candidates Congresswoman Mary Fallin and Roger L. Jackson, a retired Oklahoma City businessman.

State Attorney General Drew Edmondson had signed the pledge in January as a Democratic candidate for governor.

Askins, Fallin and Jackson signed the pledge at Oklahoma Sunshine '10: Privacy, Politicians and the Public's Need to Know, a conference to kick off national Sunshine Week in the state.

Freedom of Information Oklahoma Inc. invites other candidates for statewide offices and those running for legislative seats, municipal offices and school board seats to sign the pledge.

Instructions and a list of signers for the 2010 elections can be found on FOI Oklahoma’s Web site.

FOI Oklahoma began the Open Government Pledge in spring 2008 as part of the national Sunshine Week effort to spur public commitments to government transparency from candidates for president down to city council contests.


Joey Senat, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
OSU School of Journalism

Tulsa County assessor balks at making written request for recording of public meeting

Tulsa County's assessor says he shouldn't be required to fill out a form to obtain the audio tape of a meeting of a public body to which he belongs, the Tulsa World reported Monday.

Ken Yazel said that as a member of the Tulsa County Budget Board, "I ought to be able to get an audio unless there is something else going on I don't know about.

"In the past, we have gotten things verbally, we've done it with an e-mail, now all of a sudden they've taken it one degree more," he told the Tulsa World.

The newspaper found that none of the other members of the board, all of whom are elected county officials, have been asked to fill out the county's request form to receive documents from the County Clerk's Office.

Yazel's complaint raises the larger question of whether government agencies in Oklahoma may require such forms to be filled out to request records.

The answer is yes, according to state Attorney General Drew Edmondson.

In 1999, Drew Edmondson noted that the Open Records Act "sets forth no specific provisions on the mechanisms that a public body must use in the implementation of the Act." (1999 OK AG 55, ¶ 12)

Public bodies may establish procedures for access to public records but “such rules must be consistent with the letter and spirit of the Open Records Act,” Edmondson said. (Id. ¶ 25)

“The standard for such rules is that the rules be necessary to ‘protect the integrity and organization of its records’ or ‘to prevent excessive disruption of the essential functions of the agency,’” Edmondson said. (Id. ¶ 13 (quoting OKLA. STAT. tit. 51, § 24A.5(5))

"[A] public body could require a request for access to records to be put into writing. This would help the public body ensure the request is responded to fully and competently," Edmondson said. (Id. ¶18)

But the information the government can require from the requester is limited.

The requester can be asked for enough information to determine if a search fee should be charged because the records request is for a commercial purpose, Edmondson said. (Id.)

The official could request a name and mailing address if the requester asked that the records be delivered via mail. (Id. ¶ 20)

“It may also be reasonable to request the name and telephone number of a requestor … where it will take … until at least the next day to respond to a request," Edmondson said. "This would allow the public body or official to contact the requestor if a problem developed or, for example, if the requestor had asked for an estimate as to the fee once the public body or official determined such fees.” (Id. ¶ 20 n.3)

His emphasis on “request” indicates that, absent statutory authority to do so, the official may not require the requester to provide a name and telephone number.

Otherwise, he emphasized, “In no event could a public body or public official ever require a requestor to provide the reason for a request for access to records besides that ... concerning the authority of the public body or public official to charge a search fee if the request for records is for a commercial purpose.” (Id. ¶ 19)

Edmondson emphasized that under the Open Records Act, "a search fee cannot be charged when release of public records is in the public interest, such as release to the news media, scholars, authors or taxpayers seeking to determine if government affairs are being properly performed." (Id. ¶ 15, citing OKLA. STAT. tit. 51, § 24A.5(3))

Tulsa County's request form does not indicate that a search fee may not be charged in such instances.

Instead, the form states, "This request is made for business or personal need. ( Circle one ). I have been advised that a charge for copying public records is authorized by state law."

In a section for "internal use," the form indicates whether a search fee was charged and for how much time.

Perhaps "personal need" is meant to indicate that the requester is seeking the records in the public interest" and is, for example, a taxpayer "seeking to determine whether those entrusted with the affairs of the government are honestly, faithfully, and competently performing their duties as public servants.” (OKLA. STAT. tit. 51, § 24A.5(3))

The public would be better served if "personal" was replaced with "public interest" and the form explained when search fees could be charged.


Joey Senat, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
OSU School of Journalism

State employees lobby legislators to exempt birth dates; OKC school district releases workers' DOBs

State employees will be at the Capitol on Tuesday lobbying legislators to close off public access to government workers' birth dates and protesting The Oklahoman's attempt to keep the information public, the Oklahoma Public Employees Association said Monday.

"We cannot let The Oklahoman win," OPEA Executive Director Sterling Zearley told members. "If they do, your birth date will be made public and your safety will be at risk."

On Saturday, OPEA's communications director likewise said public employees would be put at risk if the information is available to the public.

"It’s not just about identity theft," said Mark Beutler. "It’s about protecting our DHS case workers, our corrections officers, the Highway Patrol, employees of the OSBI and the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, and every other state employee. Just because a person chooses to work for the state doesn't mean they must give up their right to safety."

State law, however, already already exempts public employees' Social Security numbers, home addresses and telephone numbers.

Last week, Oklahoma City Public Schools released birth dates for more than 5,000 district employees in response to The Oklahoman's open records request, the newspaper reported

Has the school district put those employees at more risk of having their identities stolen?

No, says Richard J.H. Varn, a data privacy expert and former Iowa legislator who will deliver the keynote at an open government conference in Oklahoma City on Saturday.

"Birth date alone is not going to get you an identity theft,” Varn told The Oklahoman.

Varn also reiterated that public records are not a source of information for identity thieves. Varn is executive director of the Coalition for Sensible Public Records Access and chief information officer for the city of San Antonio.

On Saturday, Varn will explain what sources we should be worried about and which solutions would be more effective than redacting information such as birth dates from public records.

FOI Oklahoma Inc. invites state legislators and OPEA members to attend the conference to hear Varn for themselves and to discuss the issue with him.

Details on the conference are available online: Oklahoma Sunshine ’10: Privacy, Politicians & the Public’s Need to Know


Joey Senat, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
OSU School of Journalism

All 5 gubernatorial candidates to participate in Sunshine Conference

Congresswoman Mary Fallin will join the four other gubernatorial candidates in an open government forum Saturday during the third-annual Sunshine Week conference.

Oklahoma Sunshine ’10: Privacy, Politicians & the Public’s Need to Know will be held at The Oklahoman, 9000 N. Broadway, Oklahoma City.

The conference's afternoon session will feature a question-and-answer session with candidates for governor and attorney general. All the announced candidates were invited to participate.

Fallin will join fellow Republican gubernatorial candidates state Sen. Randy Brogdon and Robert Hubbard, and Democratic candidates Lt. Gov. Jari Askins and Attorney General Drew Edmondson.

Jim Priest, a Democratic candidate for attorney general, also will participate.

Each candidate will be afforded three minutes to initially state his or her position on open government and any proposals regarding government transparency and the state’s open meeting and records laws.

The conference's morning sessions will focus on the issue of birth dates, public records and identity theft. Data privacy expert and former Iowa legislator Richard J.H. Varn will explain how improved identity management technology and practices, along with public education on self-protection measures, would be more effective defenses against identity theft than redacting information from public records.

Dallas Morning News attorney Paul C. Watler and computer‐assisted reporting editor Ryan McNeill will explain the newspaper’s lawsuit over government employee birth dates in Texas and the legislative debate in that state over public access to the information.

Mark Thomas of the Oklahoma Press Association will analyze current bills in the Legislature to limit or expand the public’s right to know in Oklahoma.

A luncheon panel will look back at 20 years of FOI Oklahoma Inc. Recipients of FOI Oklahoma's three annual FOI awards also will be announced.

Wednesday is the deadline for early registrations.


Joey Senat, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
OSU School of Journalism

Askins to participate in open government forum at Sunshine Conference

Lt. Gov. Jari Askins will join other gubernatorial candidates in an open government forum during the third-annual Sunshine Week conference.

Oklahoma Sunshine ’10: Privacy, Politicians & the Public’s Need to Know will be held March 13 at The Oklahoman, 9000 N. Broadway, Oklahoma City.

The conference's afternoon session will feature a question-and-answer session with candidates for governor and attorney general. All the announced candidates have been invited to participate.

Askins will join fellow Democratic candidate Attorney General Drew Edmondson and Republican gubernatorial candidates state Sen. Randy Brogdon and Robert Hubbard.

Jim Priest, a Democratic candidate for attorney general, also will participate.

Each candidate will be afforded three minutes to initially state his or her position on open government and any proposals regarding government transparency and the state’s open meeting and records laws.

The conference's morning sessions will focus on the issue of birth dates, public records and identity theft. Data privacy expert and former Iowa legislator Richard J.H. Varn will explain how improved identity management technology and practices, along with public education on self-protection measures, would be more effective defenses against identity theft than redacting information from public records.

Dallas Morning News attorney Paul C. Watler and computer‐assisted reporting editor Ryan McNeill will explain the newspaper’s lawsuit over government employee birth dates in Texas and the legislative debate in that state over public access to the information.

Mark Thomas of the Oklahoma Press Association will analyze current bills in the Legislature to limit or expand the public’s right to know in Oklahoma.

A luncheon panel will look back at 20 years of FOI Oklahoma Inc. Recipients of FOI Oklahoma's three annual FOI awards also will be announced.

March 10 is the deadline for early registrations.


Joey Senat, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
OSU School of Journalism

Incumbents promising open government win re-election in Norman

Norman Mayor Cindy Rosenthal and Ward 4 Councilor Carol Dillingham were re-elected Tuesday night, the Norman Transcript reported.

Each has pledged, "I and the public bodies that I am elected to govern will comply with not only the letter but also the spirit of Oklahoma's Open Meeting and Open Records laws."

By signing FOI Oklahoma Inc.'s Open Government Pledge, Rosenthal and Dillingham also promised “to support at every opportunity the public policy of the State of Oklahoma that the people are vested with the inherent right to know and be fully informed about their government so that they can efficiently and intelligently exercise their inherent political power.”

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is looking into a Norman city councilman's complaint that the council violated the Open Meeting Act during an executive session on June 9.

Councilman Tom Kovach, who also has signed the Open Government Pledge, had contacted FOI Oklahoma on June 18 about the meeting. He believes that the council's discussion about financing the Rock Creek Road overpass at Interstate 35 violated the law because the agenda item for the executive session listed only the acquisition of right-of-way for the construction.

Perhaps because of the OSBI investigation, open government seemed to be a campaign issue in Norman.

Rosenthal's opponent, Ward 3 Councilor Hal Ezzell, signed the pledge in December.

Rosenthal received 54 percent of the vote.

In the Ward 4 race, one of Dillingham's three opponents, Austin Dyches, had also signed the pledge.

Dillingham received 72 percent of the vote.

Let's hope open government remains a priority for the mayor and council and that they live up to their promises.


Joey Senat, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
OSU School of Journalism

Open Government Pledge signer wins seat on McAlester City Council

Steve Harrison won a seat on the McAlester City Council, the McAlester News-Capital reported Tuesday night.

A former acting city treasurer, Harrison had signed FOI Oklahoma Inc.'s Open Government Pledge that McAlester city government would "comply with not only the letter but also the spirit of Oklahoma's Open Meeting and Open Records laws” if he were elected.

He also promised “to support at every opportunity the public policy of the State of Oklahoma that the people are vested with the inherent right to know and be fully informed about their government so that they can efficiently and intelligently exercise their inherent political power.”

In December, the McAlester City Council was criticized for apparently violating the state Open Meeting Act.

The council had met behind closed doors to discuss unpaid furloughs for all 235 city employees and apparently other budget woes – all under the guise of discussing negotiations with employee labor unions.

Not all McAlester city employees are represented by labor unions. As the McAlester News-Capital pointed out, the furloughs covered city department heads, upper management and other employees who don’t belong to the police or fire unions. The furloughs were among several actions approved by the council following a nearly two-hour executive session on Dec. 1, the newspaper reported.

None of the actions was listed on the agenda for the special meeting – even though the newspaper had reported days earlier that the council was expected to discuss possible furloughs during the closed session.

In the election Tuesday, Harrison received 400 votes, or 59 percent of the votes cast, to replace incumbent Ward 2 Councilor Donnie Condit, who did not seek re-election.

Harrison was one of those who had criticized the council for its secrecy during the Dec. 1 meeting. In a column for the McAlester News-Capital, Harrison wrote:

Trust in government has been and continues to be a huge issue in McAlester. Misdeeds by past councils color the public’s perception of today’s council, like it or not.

My hope is that in the future the council will look for reasons to hold discussions “in full view of the governed” rather than looking for reasons to hide them. Perhaps then we can start to believe in transparency in government.

Here's to Harrison persuading his fellow councilors that an open government is always the best government.


Joey Senat, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
OSU School of Journalism