A move to post details of open records requests made to the governor’s office on a state Website is an act of transparency that will likely help quash criticism that the governor has attempted to shield himself from public scrutiny, a records advocate said Monday.
“If the goal is for as much transparency as possible in government, it’s hard to argue that this is a bad thing,” said Kathleen Richardson of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council.
Branstad on Monday launched a Web page that outlines records requested from the public. The monthly reports include the day the requests were made, how the office ultimately resolved them and what the public was charged to obtain the requested records.
Public transparency has been an ongoing theme of Branstad’s administration, using it in the 2010 campaign against then-Gov. Chet Culver when he promised he wouldn’t impose fees for legal reviews of public documents requested under the state’s open-records law.
But as governor, Branstad has imposed the fees and in some cases in a way that’s even more costly, The Des Moines Register reported in July.
Iowa law outlines public records and general guidelines to assist elected officials in fulfilling the public’s requests. Reasonable delays to determine whether or not a record is confidential should not exceed 20 days and ordinarily should not exceed 10 days, the law says.
The governor’s office reported Monday that 90 percent of requests were completed without charges for staff review time and the average time for completion was 17 days.
“We want to make sure people get accurate, timely information,” the governor said during his weekly news conference, where he was joined by former Iowa Newspaper Association head Bill Monroe.
Both Branstad and Monroe said the governor’s office also will push for new enforcement authority in the state’s open records laws during the next legislative session. Lawmakers considered a similar measure last session but it wasn’t approved.
Monroe, who is now an unpaid adviser to the governor on transparency issues, noted the new enforcement authority was opposed by some local government officials but he said he’s confident it will be approved if it lands on Branstad’s desk.
“I’m sure once it gets there he will sign it,” Monroe said.
The publication of requests could give pause to people who don’t want their names or requests made public but the overall move is good for transparency, Richardson said. The publication also gives more reason for the governor’s office to move quickly and fairly when dealing with records requests since those details will be made public, she said.
Chris Mudge, executive director of the Iowa Newspaper Association, agreed with Richardson that the move is an overall good step for the Branstad administration.
“I don’t know of any other office that goes this far,” Mudge said.
— The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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