Does mandated government transparency always result in accessibility? Not according to journalists, academics and advocates who spoke at a Public Records Task Force meeting on June 8.
According to the Nevada Public Records Act, all public records not explicitly declared as confidential shall be open for inspection. However, discussions at the meeting highlighted recent obstacles to accessibility that undermine the public’s right to know.
Bob Conrad, who advocates for public record transparency, serves as the Nevada Press Association president and Nevada Open Government Coalition board member. He recounted one prominent hurdle in obtaining public records: delays.
“I find nothing in the law that allows for a state agency, or any government agency, to set their own deadlines to produce records and then repeatedly miss them and force the requester again here to wait indefinitely,” Conrad said.
But this isn't the only issue encountered when requesting records, attendees said. Other common threads among presenters included the cost of obtaining public records, a general broadness and lack of clarity in Nevada’s public records law, and balancing transparency with victim’s rights to confidentiality.
The task force is responsible for offering recommendations to the Nevada Legislature on changes to the state's public records law and will continue to meet before drafting a report in October.
