On notice: Legislature’s surprise move would darken government transparency in KY

On Monday, at a news conference in Frankfort about coronavirus cases in Kentucky, the judge-executive of Harrison County held up a special copy of The Cynthiana Democrat that was being distributed to all residents of the county.

As of Sunday, Harrison County had 2 of the state’s 4 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and The Democrat’s special edition was aimed at informing the county’s residents about the unfolding health implications. It was noted that in a rural community, not everyone has access to the internet or uses social media.

They are fortunate to have a service-minded community newspaper like The Democrat.

Contrast that with the unexpected move by the legislature last week that would both hurt Kentucky’s vital local community newspapers while doing grave damage to government transparency throughout the state —a state that has seen time and again how badly things can go when public business is done in darkness.

There are always plenty of nefarious tricks hidden away in the General Assembly’s budget bills, but this time around, House Republicans lobbed a stealth bomb that would destroy an important public compact between the government and the people who elect them — the public’s right to know.

On Friday, Rep. Steve Rudy inserted language into the House revenue bill that would end a requirement that governments and public agencies place public notices into local newspapers to tell citizens about proposed action on all manner of public business, from tax rates to building projects and much more. Instead, under this language, these public agencies could stick such important public notices anywhere on their own web sites. The public could easily be kept out of the loop.

This move would destroy both governmental transparency and further erode the already fragile public trust in our institutions. The implications are especially troubling for vast parts of rural Kentucky, with limited internet access, who rely on their local newspapers for important information about their local governments.

Lawmakers know it’s the wrong thing to do; that’s why they tried to hide it within the pages of a voluminous revenue bill. Several Democratic lawmakers tried to get it removed without success.

Rep. Angie Hatton, D-Whitesburg, said the bill will harm local and community papers that already face declining revenue as the newspaper industry has been upended by the internet and social media. “It’s not the way this process is supposed to work,” Hatton said.

We agree. Adding a provision that would move Kentucky further away from open government in such an opaque way is a transparently bad idea for local communities and the state.

It will now be up to the Senate to remove this language from the budget. Let’s hope they will put action behind frequent claims that they honor open, transparent government.

Here’s what other newspapers are saying about this issue:

Louisville Courier-Journal: Kentucky lawmakers have no right to take away the public’s right to know

Kentucky New Era: Revenue bill will dim the light of transparency

Richmond Register: Keep public notices in newspapers

Frankfort State Journal: Lawmaker deals blow to government transparency

This story was originally published March 9, 2020 at 3:17 PM.