Members of Nevada's Public Records Task Force spent hours Monday debating how to report recommendations to lawmakers, with little agreement. After nearly five hours, the task force members ultimately voted for each of the factions to create their own recommendations for the Legislature.
At the next hearing, members will vote to determine if the group can reach a consensus on any recommendations, such as creating an ombudsperson to help resolve public records disputes or implementing standardized fees for requests. The task force, made up of government representatives and transparency advocates, was tasked with recommending improvements to Nevada's public record laws.
Mitch Fox, president of the Nevada Broadcasters Association, said, 'I think before we get to that point where we just throw up our hands and say, 'Well, we're done, even though we only have one meeting left,' can we work on the consensus items a little bit more and just say there are areas of agreement?' Otherwise, why did we spend all this time?
Attorney Colleen McCarty, who has represented the Las Vegas Review-Journal and other media organizations in legal cases, said after the meeting, 'I was very hopeful that we had reached a way to provide a thorough and responsive report to the Legislature that acknowledged the very differing perspectives of both sides but attempted to identify the consensus pieces.' As I leave here now, I'm not sure where we will land on the consensus pieces, if any, which is disappointing.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
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