Author
Amye Bensenhaver
No need to further victimize children through legislative ineptitude or gubernatorial stubbornness
Gov. Andy Beshear and Auditor of Public Accounts Allison Ball squared off earlier this month in a legal dispute over the auditor’s access to iTWIST, a database maintained by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services that “track[s] the state’s efforts to assist its most vulnerable citizens” and that was available to the ombudsman attached […]
Transparency should be the rule in Kentucky pensioners’ long-running challenge to hedge funds
The details are still a bit sketchy, but it is clear that attorneys representing the parties in Kentucky’s pension litigation will return to Franklin Circuit Court for a hearing in Tia Taylor, et al. v. KKR? & Co, LP, et al. on Monday after Judge Thomas Wingate gave the green light for the case(s) to […]
A lot to give up without a fight, public’s right to know undercut by ‘modernization’ bill
Approximately nine minutes. That was the duration of the March 12 floor debate in the House of Representatives on House Bill 509. Approximately nine minutes to reverse nearly a half century of open records law and effectively repeal statutorily established and enforceable rights of public access to records based on their nature and content rather […]
Kentucky appeals court rejects gravest threat yet to the open records law
Open government advocates are inclined to rhapsodize about every judicial victory that advances the cause of public agency accountability and defeats government secrecy.? But it is nearly impossible to overstate the importance of the Court of Appeals’ Oct. 27 opinion in Kentucky Open Government Coalition v Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Commission. One […]
Bipartisan backlash killed most of Sanders’ anti-transparency agenda
It’s doubtful that Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders anticipated the national firestorm she would ignite on Sept. 8 when she called the state’s General Assembly into special session — commencing Sept. 11 — to enact legislation aimed at upending the state law governing the public’s right to know, the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. Clearly, […]
Beware Sanders-like attack on government transparency by Kentucky’s supermajority
Arkansans set a high bar for Kentuckians in responding to their governor’s direct assault on the state’s public records law, and their message is clear: Stop putting the public’s interest last yet again.? As one critic loudly proclaimed, “Avoiding public scrutiny is neither bold nor conservative; it’s weak and reactionary. Requiring elected officials to obey […]
Kentucky courts navigating open meetings questions raised by pandemic mask mandate
“The purpose of open meetings laws is to provide a window, not a weapon for political sparring.” — Kentucky Court of Appeals ruling by Chief Judge Larry E. Thompson, Judges Kelly Mark Easton and Annette Karem in Campbell County Board of Education v. Ken Moellman Sr. and Noam Heim? An open meetings challenge to policies […]
A judge rejects Cameron’s disregard for a half-century of open government precedent in Kentucky
At long last, Attorney General Daniel Cameron has been called out by a court for ignoring precedent when it conflicts with his policy preferences for secrecy in government. The Oldham County Circuit Court’s June 13 open meetings opinion in J. Albert Harrison v. Oldham County Ethics Commission should serve as a cautionary tale for Kentucky’s […]
Daniel Cameron enemy of open government
What would a Daniel Cameron gubernatorial administration look like through the lens of Kentucky’s open government laws? In a word: opaque. Since taking office as attorney general in December 2019, Cameron has established a track record of disdain for the public’s interest in free and open examination of public records and the formation of public […]
Cultivating a culture of transparency and accountability
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg is making good on his campaign promise to improve Louisville Metro open records compliance in his first budget. He has allocated $475,100 to create a new Department of Records Compliance, including six new positions to handle open records requests. “Greenberg has expressed the hope that this proposal will make Metro government […]
Kentucky legislature excluded public from all but the most carefully orchestrated ‘debate’
“Adjourned sine die.” The sweetest phrase in the legislative lexicon. Open government advocates on March 30 breathed a sigh of relief as lawmakers departed the Capitol until noon, January 2, 2024 — certainly compared to a broad swath of Kentuckians who felt the sting of legislative injustice in the 2023 Regular session. It was a […]
As threats to open government in Kentucky keep multiplying, it’s hard to celebrate
I will not celebrate Sunshine Week 2023. Since leaving the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office in 2016, I have pursued open government as an avocation rather than a vocation. I have come to understand the importance of Sunshine Week as an annual celebration of public records laws securing the public’s right to know how their elected […]