Bill would cut access to lawmaker communications
By MAUREEN DOLAN
Hagadone News Network
COEUR d’ALENE — Rep. Vito Barbieri wants changes made to the Idaho Public Records Act that would hide communications between legislators from public view.
Barbieri, a Dalton Gardens Republican, proposed the legislation Wednesday to the Idaho Legislature’s House State Affairs Committee.
“What we’re doing here is, we’re trying to exclude from public disclosure certain communications,” Barbieri told the panel. “Those that we’re trying to protect ... are basically communications between ourselves — text messages and these kinds of things that we may be doing — and communications between our constituents and ourselves wherein that communication may be something the constituent does not want divulged.”
The proposed legislation would exempt from public disclosure research requests made by lawmakers and identifying information of private citizens who correspond with members of the Legislature. Communications between registered lobbyists and lawmakers would not be exempt.
Barbieri told the committee a goal of his proposed bill is to protect lawmakers’ “work product” before potential legislation is introduced.
The House State Affairs Committee agreed to advance the legislation with no discussion. It must now clear a full legislative hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.
The proposal comes at a time when multiple state public policy- and budget-making bodies have already excluded themselves from their states’ public records laws, reported the Associated Press.
While practices vary state to state, Associated Press requests made in 2016 for emails and daily schedules of legislative leaders throughout the U.S. were met with more denials than approvals.
Currently, Idaho lawmakers’ email messages and personal calendars are available to the public upon request.
Democrats in the Idaho House issued a joint statement Wednesday afternoon opposing Barbieri’s proposal.
“House Democrats feel that this is a blow to transparency, accountability, and freedom of the press. This legislation is not ‘fake news,’ but rather another attack on our democracy,” said the Democratic lawmakers. “This legislation would do a great disservice to the citizens of Idaho who have the right to know what their elected officials are doing with their time and taxpayer money.”
The Democrats said they would fight to stop attacks against government transparency.
Rep. Paulette Jordan, D-Plummer, who sits on the House State Affairs Committee, told The Press Monday she finds the proposed legislation to be overly broad and unnecessary.
“I’m hoping public pressure will kill this bill or keep it from going forward,” Jordan said. “There is no need for this.”
The Idaho Press Club also criticized Barbieri’s measure.
“We are group of working journalists. We rely on openness in government and public records to do our job of keeping people informed about their government, a fundamental mission of our free press,” Betsy Russell, the group’s president, said in a statement. “The making of laws to govern Idaho is the public’s business, and we believe it should remain so.”
House Minority Leader, Rep. Mat Erpelding, a Democrat, said in a statement, “This is the latest attempt by Republicans nationwide to call into question the importance of a free press and the role they play in holding our elected officials accountable. I am embarrassed I have to even address an issue so detrimental to our democracy.”
The Press made multiple attempts to contact Barbieri in Boise Wednesday so he could provide additional explanation about the need for the proposed changes to the state’s public records law. Barbieri did not respond to phone or email messages.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.