Mo. AG says department didn't violate Sunshine Law in E. coli case

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster says the Department of Natural Resources didn't violate open records law because no one filed a formal request for the testing results, which showed high levels of E. coli in Lake of the Ozarks, the News-Leader reported. Koster said he thinks former DNR Deputy Director Joe Bindbeutel made a "mistake" in delaying the release of the report for four weeks. Although internal DNR e-mails indicate that Bindbeutel requested a copy of the report to take to a meeting with the governor, the governor's office denies that the meeting was about E. coli. Although media requests were made for these reports, the DNR officials didn't view them as official Sunshine request.

Attorney General Chris Koster says the Department of Natural Resources didn't violate the state's open records law in delaying the release of a report showing high levels of E. coli in Lake of the Ozarks.

Koster's office has been investigating allegations that DNR violated the Sunshine Law, which is meant to give citizens and the media access to public documents upon request.

But since no one filed a formal Sunshine Law request for the monthly testing results, Koster's investigator concluded there's no evidence a law was broken.

More here.

See the full PDF of the AG's report here.

View the letter DPS sent the News-Leader requesting seven more business days to review its request for video footage from the governor's office here.

Also, AG Chris Koster: No Sunshine Law violation in E. coli-gate, St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Delayed data on E. coli at lake was wrong, not illegal, Koster says, Kansas City Star: "A DNR e-mail obtained by The Kansas City Star shows that the agency understood it had received numerous requests for test results. According to the e-mail by a DNR employee: 'In a nutshell, I have had email inquires from four reporters since May 26 and phone calls from those four plus a couple others … for information, interviews or data.'”

Koster has more work to do on E-coli scare at Lake of the Ozarks, Kansas City Star: "Specifically, Koster didn't have all the facts he needed before concluding that the DNR did not violate the Sunshine Law regarding pollution reports about the Lake of the Ozarks. Koster told a Kansas City Star reporter on Thursday that he did not know of a DNR e-mail that detailed requests for the information about E-coli levels in the lake back in late May. He said he would look into the new information, and he should."

Footage of governor's office entrance denied in Sunshine request

Missouri Capitol Police have denied the News-Leader's request for video footage from cameras aimed at public entrances to the governor's office in the state Capitol. They cited an exemption passed after the 2001 terrorist attacks. "More specifically, showing areas which are covered by our cameras would reveal areas, (if any) which may be blind spots, thus compromising security at the Missouri Capitol," Capitol Police Capt. Paul Minze wrote in a July 31 response letter. The News-Leader submitted a formal appeal, which is pending. The newspaper is trying to verify whether a meeting between DNR Deputy Director Joe Bindbeutel and the governor took place. E-mails indicate it did, but the governor's office denied that such a meeting -- to discuss the high levels of E. coli in Lake of the Ozarks -- took place.

Missouri Capitol Police have cited a post-Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism exemption in the state's open records law in denying the News-Leader access to surveillance tape footage of the entrances of the governor's office.

Under a Sunshine Law request for public records, the newspaper sought to inspect archived video footage during various dates in June from cameras aimed at two public entrances in the governor's second floor office in the state Capitol in Jefferson City.

The News-Leader is seeking access to the video as part of its ongoing investigation into what role -- if any -- Nixon's office played in the Department of Natural Resources withholding a report for four weeks in June showing dangerously high levels of E. coli in Lake of the Ozarks.

More here.

Public health issue raises Sunshine Law questions

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources might have violated the Sunshine Law by not informing the public of a report indicating that dangerously high levels of E. coli were present in the Lake of the Ozarks, the Springfield News-Leader reported. The Lake Ozarks Water Alliance and the Lake Sun Leader newspaper had both asked for the routine reports and were denied access.

Attorney General Chris Koster's office is investigating whether the Department of Natural Resources broke the Sunshine Law by withholding a report showing dangerously high levels of E. coli in the Lake of the Ozarks to protect businesses and tourism dollars from a loss of revenue.

"Open government is in the best interest of Missouri, never more so than when concerns over public health are at issue," Koster, a Democrat, said in a statement.

DNR Director Mark Templeton said his agency turned over related documents to Koster's office Friday, but he declined to reveal their contents.

More here.

Missouri becoming more proactive in FOIA

In addition to the educational efforts of the newly formed Missouri Sunshine Coalition, the state's attorney general, Chris Koster has contacted all 114 counties to discuss the Sunshine Law, Kim Wrinkle of The News-Leader reported. "We have truly needed less apathy and more action towards those in power who have abused the Sunshine Law or simply ignored it," she wrote. "With the help of the Missouri Sunshine Coalition and the Attorney General's office, I hope that Missouri can become much more proactive with holding our elected officials accountable for their actions."

If we polled 100 people walking down any street in southwest Missouri, my guess would be that 75 of them would have no idea what the Sunshine Law is about or that it even exists.

Missouri has been given a great opportunity by a group of people who know the importance of open, transparent government and believe that any citizen should have access to public information.

The Missouri Sunshine Coalition was formed this year with the mission of educating Missouri about the Sunshine Law. Members of the coalition believe in a form of government that operates in a free and open environment with access to information and is working to make sure the citizens of our state can get such information in a simple way.

More here.

NFOIC Summit: Missouri FOI roundup

State-by-state updates at the 2009 NFOIC Summit: Mike Sherry of the Missouri Sunshine Coalition provided a summary of his state's FOI news.

• The Missouri Sunshine Coalition is trying to figure out the best way to go about advocating and how to be more than an extension of the Missouri Press Association which already advocates for open records changes.
  

Mo. Sunshine amendment defeated in House

An amendment that would have clarified how Missouri defines a public official was defeated in the House of Representatives, The Daily News reported. The definition would have included all state elected officials and private individuals when working in a public capacity. Amendments that were affirmed include requirements that all elected officials go through a Sunshine Law course and that some internal police investigation records be opened.

The Missouri House of Representatives narrowly defeated an amendment on Tuesday that would have added clarification to Missouri’s open records law.

The amendment, offered by Rep. Jake Zimmerman, D-Olivette, was defeated by a 81-79 margin that was largely a party line vote. Nine Republicans joined the vote; all but two Democrats voted in favor of the amendment. The amendment would have clarified the definition of a public official to include all state elected officials and private individuals records when working in a public capacity.

Four other amendments were approved by a voice vote.

More here.

Kansas City School District won't release mold details

Kansas City School officials have said that mold was found at Knotts Elementary School but won't release the results of an air-quality study done at the school, the Kansas City Star reported. The teachers union has sued the district for the records. The district provided The Kansas City Star with some records but none that revealed the results of air-quality studies. The Sunshine Law request for air-quality reports on Knotts was denied, according to the district’s legal office, because “they constitute legal work product and are subject to the attorney-client privilege.”

The Kansas City School District has problems with mold and air contaminants, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars a year testing and cleaning some of its buildings.

But that’s not what frustrates teachers the most.

It’s how sparingly the district shares what it knows.

Teachers at Trailwoods Elementary School waited months before learning why their school was cleaned over the summer. And teachers at Knotts Elementary still don’t know the degree of air contamination that had them scrambling out of their school a week before classes started.

More here.

Number of 'unfounded' rape cases surprises Mo. police

The Southeast Missourian spent 10 months investigating rape cases that police determined had never happened or were "unfounded." The National Sexual Violence Resource Center found that 3 to 8 percent of rape reports turn out to be unfounded. Missouri is on the high end at 8 percent. "Police departments in larger Missouri cities like Springfield and St. Louis reflected much lower numbers of unfounded rape cases than Cape Girardeau," the Southeast Missourian found. In Cape Girardeau, 51 percent of the 53 reported rape cases from 2006-2008 were unfounded.

Fifty-three women have reported rapes in the last three years to Cape Girardeau police.

Police investigators determined that just over half of those rapes were "unfounded" or that they never occurred. That number is six times higher than what is reported across the state, according to the highway patrol.

Rape is one of the most difficult crimes to investigate. The evidence often boils down to one person's word against another's, making rapes difficult to prove in court.

More here.

Missouri bill would strengthen Sunshine Law

A Sunshine Law bill was approved by the Missouri House Rules Committee, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. It would increase public notice from 24 hours to five days in advance of certain fee or tax issues being considered or voted on. General information about the content closed meetings would have to be released, and governmental bodies would have to "reveal a settlement agreement at the next open meeting after it is approved."

The Sunshine law in Missouri would be strengthened under House Bill 316, which was approved by the House Rules Committee yesterday, 11-0.

The measure, sponsored by Rep. Tim Jones (R-Eureka), would:

–Require governmental bodies to include information about the general discussions that occur during closed meetings.

More here.

Money for e-mail archive system dries up in Mo.

Missouri legislators cut the funding projected for an e-mail retention system, which was ordered after former Gov. Matt Blunt's e-mail controversy in 2007, the AP reported.

State lawmakers have eliminated funding for a computer system that archives e-mails sent and received by about 34,000 executive branch employees.

Gov. Matt Blunt ordered the e-mail retention system after public scrutiny in 2007 about whether his office was deleting some e-mails that should have been saved as public records.

Gov. Jay Nixon recommended $731,780 in next year's budget to continue the system and expand it to cover the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Department of Natural Resources.

More here.

First Freedom of Information Center director dies

Paul Fisher, a former University of Missouri journalism professor and the initial director of the Freedom of Information Center, died March 17 at the age of 90, the Columbia Missourian reported.

MU journalism professor Paul Fisher's public acclaim as a hero of the freedom of information movement stood in bright contrast to his quiet, private personality.

Friends and colleagues said Fisher, who died Tuesday, March 17, 2009, at Lenoir Health Care Center at age 90, led the crusade for access to public information and helped found the academic study of information access.

"We wouldn't have a Freedom of Information Act in the United States if it weren't for Paul Fisher," said Pat Smith, editor of the Global Journalist. Smith described her friend and mentor as a brilliant, complicated intellectual who loved reading and the craft of journalism.

More here.

Also, Paul Fisher a true champion for freedom of information, by George Kennedy, here.

Unanswered questions remain in Missouri FOI debate

Since former Missouri Governor Matt Blunt's e-mail controversy of 18 months ago, a new e-mail retrieval system has been implemented in the governor's office but has not been expanded to other offices due to costs, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Hundreds of public officials still maintain that e-mail is not considered public record. It's still not clear what records must be saved, said the court-appointed attorney who oversaw the Blunt investigators' final product. The problem is that the records retention act and the Sunshine Law aren't on the same page.

For 18 months, a cloud of suspicion has blocked out some of the sunshine from the second floor windows of the Missouri Capitol.

Investigators tapped by the attorney general's office tried to determine whether then-Gov. Matt Blunt and his employees were following the public accountability laws that require certain documents to be maintained as open records.

In fact, some laws were being skirted, investigators argued in their final report, which was released this month after more than a year and a half of legal wrangling and political squabbling in which Missouri's Sunshine Law became front page news.

More here.

Former Gov. Matt Blunt will not face criminal charges

Investigators concluded that former Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt's office "did not have adequate policies regarding record retention and state open-records law," the Kansas City Star reported. However, the violations are not considered criminal. Blunt's lawyers said the investigators' report contained “flawed factual assumptions and conclusions.” It's still unknown whether anyone in his administration ordered e-mail backup tapes to be destroyed or not.

A 16-month investigation concluded that former Gov. Matt Blunt’s office did not follow all laws on retaining public records, but investigators decided the violations were not criminal.

The report is the latest word, but likely not the last, on the issue that surrounded Blunt from late 2007 until he left office in January.

A defamation and wrongful termination lawsuit is pending brought by fired administration attorney Scott Eckersley, who contends he was terminated after challenging his superiors’ position on open records.

More here.

Mo. Sunshine Coalition to hold program on Thursday

Missouri finally has a state coalition to unite individuals and organizations interested in promoting government transparency.

A new organization for people who want to promote government openness at all levels in Missouri will hold a public reception and program on Thursday, March 12, in Columbia. The event is free.

The Missouri Sunshine Coalition is seeking individual and organization members from all areas of the public. It will hold a 2 p.m. reception and 3 p.m. program at the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the School of Journalism at MU.

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster has been invited to speak at the 3 p.m. program. Other speakers will be Charles Davis, director of the National Freedom of Information Center, which is based at the School of Journalism; and Mike Wood, director of governmental relations for the Missouri State Teachers Association.

More here.

Mo. citizens ask legislators for stronger Sunshine Law

The current bill would increase the minimum meeting notice from 24 hours to five days for "subjects such as tax increases, eminent domain or tax-increment financing," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Newly elected officials would be subject to the law, even before they're sworn in, and complaints filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission would be made public.

From Brentwood to Cape Girardeau to Rolla, citizens who have battled for more openness at City Hall urged legislators Tuesday to strengthen the state's Sunshine Law.

The witnesses told a House committee that current law provides inadequate notice of public meetings, especially when private land is being taken for commercial development. They also argued for tougher penalties, clearer record-keeping provisions and a right to electronic copies of public records.

"Elected officials should be trying to find ways to conduct business in the open, not to find ways to close things," said Jay C. Purcell, a county commissioner in Cape Girardeau County.

More here.

Blunt may be gone but e-mail saga continues

Independent investigators hired to look into former Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt's e-mail policies realized that they received about 60,000 extra pages of e-mails than media outlets did. Several newspapers had intervened in the lawsuit against Blunt to obtain access to the records. However, the records provided to the media and to the private investigators should have been identical.

The investigation into former Gov. Matt Blunt and whether his office violated open records laws has been rekindled after Attorney General Chris Koster told independent investigators the state would cover their expenses if they are sued.

Those investigators are now alleging that Blunt’s office didn’t turn over the complete record of e-mails to the media outlets that had intervened in the lawsuit.

The more than year-long political and legal struggle over allegations that Blunt’s staff failed to preserve public documents appeared headed to resolution earlier this week when lead investigator Mel Fisher – a former state patrolman – wrote his court-appointed attorney and told him that he would not publish a final report of his findings because the governor’s former chief of staff, Ed Martin, had threatened him with legal action.

More here.

Mo. lawmakers argue they aren't subject to Sunshine Law

Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Allen Icet initially refused to provide the AP with documents on how state agencies would handle potential 15, 20 and 25 percent budget cuts. He used the logic that the Sunshine Law applied to any "public governmental body;" he, individually, is not a "public governmental body." The documents, which were released, revealed the possibility that thousands of inmates and more than a hundred sexually violent predators would be released and that hundreds of people with HIV could be prevented from receiving medication.

They require others to comply with open-government laws. But Missouri legislators have exempted themselves from having to turn over documents they prefer to keep secret.

The Missouri House and Senate have interpreted the Sunshine Law not to apply to individual lawmakers - even though it does apply to the Legislature as a whole, legislative committees and legislative staff.

Whether that complies with the spirit of the Sunshine Law is questionable. Whether that is the correct interpretation of the law also is a matter of some dispute.

More here.

New bill calls for more transparency, public notice in Missouri

Nineteen members of the Missouri House have developed a bill that would bolster the state's open-government law but that doesn't touch upon government e-mail records, despite the controversy involving former-Gov. Matt Blunt's office.

The bill would:

• Tighten the guidelines for when public meetings may be closed for potential litigation discussions.
• Require public comment periods and five business days notice (instead of 24 hours) for government bodies to meet on certain issues.
• Force governmental bodies to provide electronic versions of public records that are maintained electronically, which could eliminate copying costs for those requesting records.
• Provide more openness concerning proceedings of the Missouri Ethics Commission.
  

Some state lawmakers are seeking to strengthen Missouri's open-government law by giving the public more advanced notice of meetings on hot-button local issues such as taxes, zoning and eminent domain.

The legislation also would make public more of the workings of the Missouri Ethics Commission, which receives and reviews campaign finance complaints against politicians.

Those involved in defending and promoting Missouri's Sunshine Law said the legislation hits many of the areas that are causing problems. However, it stops short of the broader overhaul they argue is necessary, but probably wouldn't clear the Missouri General Assembly.

More here.

The Missouri E-Mail Saga Continues...

Much, much more on the Great Missouri E-Mail Flap, as the governor agrees to begin retaining all e-mail and the state AG announces an investigation. The public records status of e-mail is one of the major issues of the day.

Read all about it here. And here, for the governor's rection, questioning the ability of the AG to launch such an investigation at all. This soap opera is far from over...

And Missouri is not alone. Texas is also in the midst of an e-mail spat involving the governor.

Missouri AG to Guv: E-mails are public records

Quite a lively flap in the Show-Me State, where the governor rather cavalierly declared that he deletes his e-mail. The whole thing blew up after a column from my buddy Tony Messenger at the Springfield News-Leader questioned use of government e-mail use in a state Republican Party offensive over Planned Parenthood's lawsuit against the state.

The Missouri attorney general's office sent a message to media outlets Monday emphasizing that e-mails on the state system are public records and often should be preserved.

The office was reacting to reports that Gov. Matt Blunt's staff routinely purges e-mails and does not consider them public records.

James Klahr, the attorney general's lead lawyer on Missouri's open-records "Sunshine Law," sent the message to dismiss the "unnecessary debate" over the issue.

The message does not mention Blunt but declares, "There should be no debate — e-mail communications are public records."

And how about this amazing line?

Topics that are not typically hot-button election talk — the Sunshine Law and the protection of records — may emerge as key issues in the governor's race.

Klahr's message to newspapers and TV and radio stations says "we will be redoubling our education efforts to ensure members of the public and government officials" understand how the Sunshine Law applies to e-mails.

A spokesman for Nixon said the office will send media outlets copies of the law, which details the public's access to government documents and meetings.

State law gives the attorney general, local prosecutors and the public the power to sue over Sunshine Law violations. "Enforcement of violations of the record retention law depend on the nature and content of the e-mails or documents and the circumstances surrounding their destruction," said the spokesman, John Fougere.

Blunt's office on Monday declined to comment.