Legislative committee approves new Open Records and Meetings laws LARAMIE, WY (wpr) - The Legislature's Joint Judiciary Committee approved a pair of key good government bills. The committee approved an updated Open Meetings law and an Open Records law. The Records law was the more controversial of two. The committee removed some controversial language from the bill that would have kept such things as recommendations from department heads and other so called deliberative communications from public view. The language was supported by the Wyoming Association of Municipalities. Wyoming Press Association Executive Director Jim Angell was delighted with the committee's action.
"Our main concern was this blocked away a whole chunk of public information. It gets down to the basics of why officials make decisions. Not just that they made a decision, but what's the reasoning behind it? So we are pretty pleased about that."
But Angell was less pleased that the committee left in wording that in essence keeps one on one communication between members of the public and an elected official private. He says they will continue to work to get that language removed. WAM's Mark Harris says that provision has mixed support throughout the state. The bills will be considered by the full legislature in February.
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