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Joe
Uecker
State
Representative
09/30/07
Personal Privacy versus Open and Transparent
Government:
There are many times when state law and public will are
in conflict or in moral dilemma. Once such instance is
the need for the public to be able to know what its
government is doing at all times yet honor personal
privacy. Any citizen has the constitutional right to
confront and question their government and government
officials. This right to question (the US Constitution
uses the word “petition”) can be in the form of
in-person questioning or in the ability to ask to review
documents the government either creates or uses in
deliberation to make its decisions. In Ohio, the rules
pertaining to this issue are known as the “Ohio Public
Records” laws.
How could the right of any citizen to review public
records ever be questioned as anything but a good
thing? Well, should any citizen have the right to walk
into a public school and ask to see someone else’s
child’s school records? What about looking at the
speeding ticket you received recently (or any other
court case for that matter) with all your personal
information on it? How about the right to look into
your federal or state income tax file? Why does the
public need to have the right to know the intimate
details of their neighbors’ divorce? What about the
application you might have made for a State Tax Credit
or even an FHA loan? Some records should not be open
for public inspection. To do so opens the possibility
for theft and fraud and the misuse of personal
information… or worse. Does anyone really need to know
the names and addresses of all the little kids in the
public school day care? Quite a balancing act wouldn’t
you agree?
Four years ago the General Assembly voted to create a
committee to study the issue of public records access.
After three years of studying the issue, the report has
been submitted. The committee consisted of 23 members
appointed by the President of the Senate, the Speaker of
the House, the Governor, and the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court. These past two years this committee has
been meeting and listening to testimony from various
groups. From legal authorities to law enforcement
representatives, to representatives of the media, all
facets of this issue was discussed. Law Enforcement
officials were concerned about current laws which could
allow someone to get a hold of an investigating
officer’s home address and phone number. News reporting
representatives expressed a desire for the committee to
focus on identity theft and records posting as opposed
to creating additional exemptions to the current laws.
One television association director testified open
public records laws were necessary in order to be able
to expose wrongdoings and hold public officials
accountable. Local officials complained that public
records laws are sometimes used to harass government
agencies and in some cases literally shut down a public
office so a public records request could be worked on.
Interestingly, the committee seemed to focus on just how
prevalent was the possibility that someone could misuse
publicly disclosed information in order to facilitate
identity theft. They deduced it was way too easy. With
10 million American victims of identity theft in 2003
alone, the almost impossible task is to find a balance
to keep personal information out of the hands of the bad
guys but allow legitimate users to have access.
Several recommendations were made for possible changes
to the current laws concerning public records but the
decision has not yet been reached as to whether changes
will come in the form of a new bill, or amendments to
one of several bills that have been introduced affecting
changes in these specific laws. I wholeheartedly agree
with the overall committee recommendation that
“government agencies should seek to maintain, and not
restrict, broad access to public records” and to “review
whether it is necessary to include Social Security
numbers on public documents” when it cannot be
established “that any legal significance or public
purpose”.
Lastly, it was the committee’s recommendation that
government agencies seek to further expand access to
public records via the internet… as long as appropriate
steps are taken to hide sensitive identification
numbers. I agree.
As complicated as this subject matter is, I am sure it
will take many months to flesh out an appropriate bill.
I will most likely support a bill that allows for open
and transparent government but I will be interested to
see how it balances privacy versus open government.
For those who have any thoughts on the matter, please
feel free to either call me or send me an email with
your comments. I’d love to hear from you.
Simply call me at my office at (614-466-8134) or write
me an email (Joe@JoeUecker.com).
Joe
Uecker
State
Representative
Ohio’s
66 District
Representing
Batavia, Goshen, Miami and Union Townships as well as the
Cities of Loveland and Milford and the Villages of Batavia
and Amelia.
Columbus Phone:
614-466-8134
Local Phone:
513-532-0912
Email:
Joe@JoeUecker.com
Website:
http://JoeUecker.com |
