WASHINGTON (AP) — Public agencies in the District of Columbia would have more time to respond to public records requests under legislation proposed by Mayor Vincent Gray that also broadens the type of documents that may be exempt from disclosure.
Advocates for open government have sharply criticized the proposal, saying it would impede the public’s right to know and allow agencies to be less transparent. But D.C. Attorney General Irvin Nathan, whose office is pushing for the legislation, said the bill was intended to curb “abuse” of the public records law by people who file unreasonable requests for information.
“Under current law, the courts may not take into account the volume or reasonableness of a request or provide any flexibility in the time allotted to respond to a request no matter how massive or broad the demand,” Nathan said in a statement Monday. A spokeswoman for Gray referred questions to the attorney general’s office.
The bill would extend the time period for responding to records requests from 15 days to 20 days. It would allow agencies to put that 20-day deadline on pause if it needs to seek additional clarification from requesters about the information they want. The D.C. Superior Court may give an agency additional time to respond if the agency can prove that “exceptional circumstances exist” and that the agency is being diligent in trying to answer the request.
The bill also broadens exemptions from the public records law for certain classes of documents, such as records related to ongoing law enforcement investigations as well as reports, research and studies done by institutes of higher education or non-profits at the request of the mayor or the D.C. Council. And under the bill, public employees deemed to have violated the public records law would be subject to disciplinary action as opposed to criminal punishment.
Thomas Susman, president of the D.C. Open Government Coalition, said in a written statement that the mayor’s proposal was “shameful” and a step backward. He said the bill would make it easier to withhold information and to limit the amount of information available to the public.
“It’s sort of a wish list for everyone who would like to close down access to information on D.C. government at a time when you would think the mayor would be sensitive to the relationship between transparency and combating corruption,” Susman said in an interview Monday, referring to multiple investigations into the local government, including a federal probe of Gray’s 2010 mayoral campaign.
