Lawmakers chip away at Oregon's public records law

[struggle4progress]

3/12/2005, 9:48 a.m. PT
By BRAD CAIN
The Associated Press

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Passed at the height of the Watergate scandal, Oregon's 1973 public records law was designed to rebuild people's confidence in government by allowing unfettered public access to government documents.

But in the past 30 years, Oregon legislators have chipped away at the law by approving more than 300 individual exemptions that put records out of the reach of the public.

Open records advocates say those exemptions have undermined Oregon's shine-a-light-on-government law by putting a cloak of secrecy over all manner of records.

"It's like a jigsaw puzzle — if you start taking away too many pieces, citizens will no longer be able to see the big picture," says state Sen. Rick Metsger, D-Welches. <snip>

http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1110649590198850.xml&storylist=orlocal

<edit: fixed link>

[benddem]

1. wrong link

the story is about kids protesting 49 teachers let go.

[struggle4progress]

2. Oops. Try now.

:)