Editorial: Keeping government open

Monday, Jan. 22, 2007 | 7:14 a.m.

The state Constitution declares that "all political power is inherent in the people," but you might think that had been repealed if you ever try to use the state's so-called sunshine laws, which are supposed to ensure that the public has access to see the inner workings of government.

Over the years the state Legislature has failed to strengthen the laws governing public records and public meetings.

State law requires government records and meetings to be open, unless, of course, there is an exception. And there are a multitude of exceptions scattered throughout state law, as well as interpretations of state law that allow government to lock the public out of its business.

The most egregious example of the problems with the open meeting law since the last Legislature comes from the state Tax Commission, which gave a $40 million rebate to an out-of-state utility behind closed doors. The commission deliberated behind closed doors and voted behind closed doors. In public, the commission only acknowledged that a "taxpayer's" request had been granted. It was only the reporting of Las Vegas Sun Capital Bureau Chief Cy Ryan that disclosed the amount.

The commission has argued that the law outlaws it from disclosing a taxpayer's proprietary information and says it cannot deliberate or vote in public because it might release proprietary information and violate the law. The case is pending before the state Supreme Court.

It goes against reason to think that a public body can approve a multimillion-dollar tax rebate without telling taxpayers why it voted to do so, and the Legislature needs to change that and add penalties for violations to increase the accountability of government.

It also needs to consolidate and update the public records law, which has enough loopholes in it to make it largely ineffective as a way for the public to see and understand the workings of government. As it is, government can stonewall people three ways:

The open records law needs to include a deadline on government responses, a cap on costs and a change to throw out the balancing test. The attorney general's office also needs to be given the power to enforce the open records law.

To truly ensure that the people have the political power, as the Constitution guarantees, the Legislature needs to overhaul these laws and reaffirm that government in Nevada truly is open to the people.