Openness is essential to government at all levels. During each session of the state legislature, some groups convince lawmakers to file bills attacking open records, attempting to impede and restrict the ability of a citizen to obtain what should be public information.
Senate Bill 1753 is one of the more contentious measures lawmakers and special interest groups have sparred over during the current session. The “date of birth” bill, as it has been described, was not brought up on the House floor late last week. According to Mark Thomas, executive vice president of the Oklahoma Press Association, that means the this bill should be dead for the year.
However, he also warns the session still has a ways to go before final adjournment on the last Friday in May. This bill could be attached to other legislation in the waning hours. There have been stranger turns of events in previous years.
He indicates legislators are beginning to see how cumbersome this newly announced process of requesting verification of public employee dates of birth was going to be. And they are beginning to understand the courts have closed all state employee DOB until they can study the issue and make a judicial determination.
He further mentions the court has closed all DOB through a restraining order so there is no crisis or reason for the Legislature to act right now.
Interestingly enough, information has surfaced shedding light that the state is making millions annually by selling personal information on private citizens and that of public employees.
According to an article by The Associated Press, the state sells DOB and other data on private citizens. The article points out the state of Oklahoma has collected at least $65 million in the past five years by selling personal information from motor vehicle records. At least two employee groups are protesting the release of this information.
The article quotes Wellon Poe, the chief legal counsel for the Department of Public Safety, saying the biggest buyers of motor vehicle records are clearinghouses that sell the information to insurance companies and corporations.
Our question is, if this personal data is so damaging for public employees, should the state be allowed to invade the privacy of private citizens by selling their personal data? We wonder what these employee groups would say if the lawmakers decided to eliminate allowing this sale of information and further reduced the state budget by the amount the state is collecting now.
Any records request and verification process that requires citizens to prove who they are and why they need a record should never become state law.
While the state earns money selling records that include birth dates, some lawmakers and labor groups want to stop the release of government workers’ birth dates under the Oklahoma Open Records Act.
We urge state lawmakers, especially our local legislators who are in leadership positions, to ensure this measure is dead for the session and doesn’t resurface in another bill. And furthermore, similar legislation in the future, which restricts access to information which should be public, should be permanently shelved.
The public has a right to the public’s business. Lawmakers should never forget that.
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Openness is essential to government at all levels. During each session of the state legislature, some groups convince lawmakers to file bills attacking open records, attempting to impede and restrict the ability of a citizen to obtain what should be public information.
Senate Bill 1753 is one of the more contentious measures lawmakers and special interest groups have sparred over during the current session. The “date of birth” bill, as it has been described, was not brought up on the House floor late last week. According to Mark Thomas, executive vice president of the Oklahoma Press Association, that means the this bill should be dead for the year.
However, he also warns the session still has a ways to go before final adjournment on the last Friday in May. This bill could be attached to other legislation in the waning hours. There have been stranger turns of events in previous years.
He indicates legislators are beginning to see how cumbersome this newly announced process of requesting verification of public employee dates of birth was going to be. And they are beginning to understand the courts have closed all state employee DOB until they can study the issue and make a judicial determination.
He further mentions the court has closed all DOB through a restraining order so there is no crisis or reason for the Legislature to act right now.
Interestingly enough, information has surfaced shedding light that the state is making millions annually by selling personal information on private citizens and that of public employees.
According to an article by The Associated Press, the state sells DOB and other data on private citizens. The article points out the state of Oklahoma has collected at least $65 million in the past five years by selling personal information from motor vehicle records. At least two employee groups are protesting the release of this information.
The article quotes Wellon Poe, the chief legal counsel for the Department of Public Safety, saying the biggest buyers of motor vehicle records are clearinghouses that sell the information to insurance companies and corporations.
Our question is, if this personal data is so damaging for public employees, should the state be allowed to invade the privacy of private citizens by selling their personal data? We wonder what these employee groups would say if the lawmakers decided to eliminate allowing this sale of information and further reduced the state budget by the amount the state is collecting now.
Any records request and verification process that requires citizens to prove who they are and why they need a record should never become state law.
While the state earns money selling records that include birth dates, some lawmakers and labor groups want to stop the release of government workers’ birth dates under the Oklahoma Open Records Act.
We urge state lawmakers, especially our local legislators who are in leadership positions, to ensure this measure is dead for the session and doesn’t resurface in another bill. And furthermore, similar legislation in the future, which restricts access to information which should be public, should be permanently shelved.
The public has a right to the public’s business. Lawmakers should never forget that.
