LOCAL EDITORIAL: Oklahoma can do more for public's right to know

It’s Sunshine Week.

A week to mark the perpetual effort to ensure our government is as open and transparent as possible.

It’s a week heralded by journalists and open government advocates.

As it should be. But it shouldn’t end there.

We laud the officials who work to keep records and meetings open to public and scold those who do not.

But access remains a struggle.

We’d like to work under the assumption that any record is an open record unless it’s specifically exempted by state or federal law.

Have you ever tried to make an Open Records or Freedom of Information request?

Prepare for delays. Prepare for fees. Prepare for rejection. Prepare for agencies that don’t have enough training in records requests.

“No one should have to sue their own government to obtain a public record.”

That’s from Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, the recent recipient of the Sunshine Award from Freedom of Information Oklahoma.

Drummond went on a statewide tour last fall to educate Oklahomans on their rights regarding open meetings and records. He also appointed a public access counselor and created a tip line (opengov@oag.ok.gov) in an effort to keep agencies compliant with access to meetings and records.

Laudable, as previously stated.

But he’s also up against lawmakers who almost every year file legislation that creates another exemption in open records. And some state agencies don’t have an online portal for Open Records requests. You’d think that would be uniform across the state. And too many agencies rely on only one person to serve as a records clerk.

It’s not supposed to work that way.

Oklahoma needs laws that strengthen, not diminish, residents’ access to their government. Our government agencies, large and small, need people trained to ensure the public’s right to know is not being abated.