LOUISIANA, USA — A proposed bill could prevent the public from viewing records of elected officials at all levels, including emails, text messages and other government documents. Senate Bill 482 would allow elected officials to keep their records from the public's view.
The proposed bill talks about the hassle it would take for public records access.
Senator Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek filed the bill Tuesday. Cloud made a suggestion that would exempt public access for all "documents that detail 'deliberations' in government work", Nola.com reported.
Others disagree with the bill and said it's alarming.
“This will create government secrecy on a level that should alarm people regardless of where they are on the political spectrum,” said Melia Cerrato, a Sunshine Legal Fellow at Tulane University’s First Amendment Law Clinic."
Cerrato said the bill could be at risk of violating the state's constitution. “This is bad government," she told our partners.
The bill is now pending and will be considered at the next Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee meeting on Wednesday, Apr. 17 at 9 a.m.
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