Gov. Hobbs Vetoes Bill to Nix Onerous Public Records Fees

If you request public records from the state or your local government, and those records exist in an easy-to-find-and-produce electronic form that could simply be emailed to you, should the government charge you for paper copies anyway? Even when you have requested electronic versions?

Absolutely not. In fact, the practice of charging for electronic copies of public records, sometimes as much as $1 per page, is the government’s way of discouraging you from asking for these records in the first place—records that you are entitled to, and that shine a light on government actions done in your name.

HB2927, sponsored by Representative Michael Carbone, would have stopped this practice. But today, Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed the bill, despite the significant bipartisan support it garnered during the legislative process.

Charging for electronic copies requested for non-commercial purposes is already likely unlawful. Both statute, court precedent, and the Attorney General’s Agency Handbook support that position. HB2927, however, would have made it that much clearer and gotten the attention of those public entities that are violating the law now.

The bill also contained other important government transparency reforms such as:

• Clarifying that subcommittees formed at the direction of the public body must follow the state’s open meeting law;
• Ensuring that meeting minutes and video/audio recordings are kept online, where the public can see them;
• Requiring that a physical meeting space for the public to view the meeting be provided if the public body meets online;
• Requiring timely responses from the Attorney General when the public makes a complaint that a public body has violated the open meeting law;
• Stipulating that a court can review the government’s decision to redact public records without deference to the government’s redaction decisions.

It’s unfortunate that Governor Hobbs is opposed to these commonsense, bipartisan reforms that open up government to greater public transparency.

The Goldwater Institute will continue to fight for greater government transparency so that citizens can hold their government accountable and protect their legal rights.

Christopher Thomas is Director of Legal Strategy for Education Policy at the Goldwater Institute.