Proposed Miss. FOI exemption to prevent others from stealing fishing spots

Should the government protect private fishing spots? That's the question many are asking after a Mississippi Senate bill proposed the exemption of privately-built reef locations from the public-records laws., the Sun Herald (Miss.) reported. The bill to shorten the response time for public-records requests died; a bill related to charges for public records is still alive.

Public-records laws have been a hot topic at the Capitol over the last few days.

One measure that would offer exclusions to Mississippi public-records laws is still alive, while another bill that would have lessened the costs citizens pay and shortened the time governments have to comply with such requests died in the Senate Wednesday.

The House and Senate would have to come to an agreement on whether to exempt the locations of privately-built reefs from public-records laws. The measure is part of larger legislation that establishes a program in Mississippi that allows individuals and commercial operations to construct reefs in the Gulf for fishing.

More here.