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03/11/07
Sunshine Week 2007
Violations
of open government laws uncommon, penalties are rare
By JOSH FUNK
Associated Press Writer
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Violations of open government laws are
uncommon in Nebraska, and punishments beyond a warning letter
are even more rare.
The state officials responsible for enforcing open meeting
and open records laws in Nebraska say most of the violations
that do happen are unintentional. So Nebraska Attorney General
Jon Bruning's office relies more on education and stern letters
encouraging compliance than criminal prosecutions and lawsuits.
"We think the carrot is preferable to the stick. We use
the carrot in almost every case," Bruning said. "Our
experience is that local officials want to abide by the law,
but they often don't know how."
That's why Bruning is backing a bill (LB622) this year that
would require all public officials in the state to take a
one-hour training course on open records and meetings laws.
"We're simply trying to educate those that hold the public
trust," he said.
Allen Beermann, executive director of the Nebraska Press Association
and a former Nebraska secretary of state, agrees with the
assessment that most violations of open government law are
inadvertent.
The state has good open meetings and records laws and support
for open government from the Legislature and attorney general,
Beermann said.
"By and large, Nebraska is in pretty good shape,"
Beermann said.
And Nebraska is one of the best states at keeping track of
open government complaints and violations party because the
attorney general's office handles all records complaints and
many of the meetings complaints. Citizens also can complain
to county attorneys about open meetings concerns.
An Associated Press survey of all 50 states found that fewer
than 10 states, including Nebraska, effectively track what
happens in open government complaints.
In Nebraska, Bruning's office received 106 complaints about
potential violations of open government laws between 2004
and 2006, and found eight violations.
Last year, 47 complaints were made about possible violations
of either open records or open meetings law, and Bruning's
office found four violations.
In 2005, 18 complaints were made and no violations were found.
In 2004, 41 complaints were made and four more violations
were found.
In all eight of those violations, Bruning's office sent letters
to the offending public entities explaining how the law was
violated and urging officials to change their practices.
State law provides that government officials could face misdemeanor
criminal prosecution for violating open government laws with
the maximum penalties being a fine up to $500 and up to three
months in jail.
The attorney general or county attorney can also file a lawsuit
to void any action that was taken while the board or official
was violating open government laws.
But the Attorney General's spokeswoman Holley Hatt said the
last time Bruning's office went to court on one of these cases
was in 1998.
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Associated Press Writer Robert Tanner in New York contributed
to this report.
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On the Net:
Nebraska Attorney General: http://www.ago.state.ne.us
Nebraska Press Association: http://www.nebpress.com
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