We shouldn’t have to remind Oklahoma’s public officials about transparency in government.
But every year, we have to.
Every year, despite the pledges of transparency from many of those seeking office, our state takes another step backward when it comes to open records and public meetings. Today, instead of working to ensure the public has access to the information about their government, citizens and members of the media are forced to turn to court – to seek the judiciary’s help in ensuring that records of public business remain accessible to the public.
This is wrong.
One only has to look at the actions of the Francis Tuttle Career Tech Center or the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority to see how this lack of transparency continues to grow.
Oklahoma’s new attorney general, Gentner Drummond, has pledged to be a champion of open meetings and open records. Drummond is scheduled to meet next week with media representatives and the organization Freedom of Information Oklahoma about transparency.
This is a major step in the right direction.
We also support those groups and organizations such as the Oklahoma Press Association and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, who have invested time and money in the ongoing fight to keep records open and officials accountable.
But more work remains.
For decades, one part of Oklahoma government continues to remain opaque. Both the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the Oklahoma Senate remain exempt from open records and open meetings laws.
It’s time to end this exemption.
The records of every level of government – from the smallest municipal office to the largest state agency – should be accountable to and open to the public. This includes the House, the Senate and agencies such as the Legislative Service Bureau and the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency.
Times have changed. Oklahomans no longer live in the days of card catalogs and piles of documents. Technology and the internet have simplified access to records.
Yet many public officials act otherwise. This must change.
The time has come for all of Oklahoma government’s records to be accessible through one easy-to-use portal. Local, county and state agencies should be required to push their records to one central clearinghouse that is easily accessible by the public.
Creating a central point of access for all records, making those records searchable and eliminating the waiting time required to obtain records would strengthen state government, improve accountability and take major steps to ensure that members of the public have a deeper understanding and awareness about what their government is doing.
Making our government – at every level – more transparent eliminates fear and conspiracy theories. Transparency strengthens public support and encourages residents to participate in government.
It’s past time for our public leaders to step into the future and fully embrace open records and open meetings. We should not have to continually remind public officials about the need for openness in government.
But here in Oklahoma, our officials just don’t seem to be getting the message.