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Throughout my time serving District 17, I’ve found that our state government is among the weakest in the nation when responding to Open Record Act requests. Oklahomans deserve better, and I firmly believe our state can do better.
That’s why I’ve filed Senate Bills 1154 and 1137, which aim to provide transparency and accountability to Oklahomans by placing a response time limit for open records requests and attorney general opinions.
Signed into law in 1966 by President Lyndon Johnson, the Freedom of Information Act grants the public access to documents held by the executive branch, unless the release of the documents creates a national threat to security or could be used for personal, competitive or economic interest or gain.
Oklahoma’s Open Records Act, which was signed into law in 1985, mirrors FOIA requests and exempts the legislative branch from document requests. Anyone can request documents under the Open Records Act. Violation of the Open Records Act is a misdemeanor and is punishable by up to a $500 fine and up to one year in jail.
Although it is easy to request documents, under current Oklahoma law, there is no timeline agencies must adhere to when responding to open records requests. Each agency is required to have a dedicated staffer to provide documents under the Open Records Act, so it should be simple to fulfill requests. SB 1154 would require any request under the Open Records Act to be fulfilled within 30 days. If it is unable to be fulfilled in that time period, the record provider could receive an additional 30 days to prepare the requested documents upon written notice to the requestor.
SB 1137 would establish a timely response by the attorney general’s office when issuing an opinion. When an interpretation of Oklahoma statute is in question, a legislator, agency director, board member or commissioner can request an interpretation from the attorney general. Much like the Open Records Act, there is no time limit on when the attorney general must respond with an opinion. SB 1137 would require the attorney general to respond to a request within 90 days. An unlimited response time can be extremely costly for taxpayers. Ninety days should be sufficient time to conduct research and issue an opinion.
If passed, these bills would simply add the response time accountability measure. These bills are just two examples of ways I’m working to restore trust in our government agencies and officials.
Ron Sharp is a state senator serving District 17.
