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[Note: This material is copyright by the Des Moines Register, and is reproduced here as a matter of "fair use" for non-commercial, educational purposes only. Any other use may require the prior approval of the Des Moines Register.]

State Rep. Pam Jochum and Sen. Mike Connolly, both Dubuque Democrats, agreed last week that lawmakers need to review Iowa's open meeting and open records laws to determine if changes are needed. Jochum is chairwoman of the House State Government Committee. Connolly is the chairman of the Senate State Government Committee.

The two lawmakers agreed that controversies over the secrecy of the selection process used by the State Board of Regents in its search for a new University of Iowa president, the public records practices at the Central Iowa Employment Training Consortium and the controversy over disclosure of TouchPlay financial records by the Iowa Lottery Commission are prompting lawmakers to do a review.

"It is time to evaluate both laws to see if changes are needed, particularly in light of the numerous occasions in the last year when questions about compliance with the law have arisen," Jochum said. "It is pretty clear to me that both laws need an update or we have to find a way to make sure that people start following the law a lot more closely."

That review, which might take the next two years, will examine whether lawmakers need to tighten confidentiality exemptions in both laws, streamline the administrative and legal procedures used to determine whether records should be disclosed, and toughen civil penalties for violators of the law, Jochum said.

Susan Judkins, director of governmental affairs for the Iowa League of Cities, said that her group will participate in the review because "it appears to us it is time to make sure these important laws are effective in times that are changing so quickly."

Judkins also said that the cities want the Legislature to review a decision made last year as part of the CIETC scandal, requiring intergovernmental agencies to publish financial records and other decisions made by the agency.

"Many of these agencies really have no money and are used by governments to hold down costs on joint efforts," Judkins said. "We think the Legislature went too far on requiring the publishing of this information and would like them to reconsider it."

Meanwhile, Connolly also said that Democratic leaders in both the Senate and the House have no intention of using secret committee meetings to work out legislative packages on controversial issues. In past years, leaders would often form bipartisan "working groups" to negotiate controversial legislative packages in private that would then be voted on by House and Senate members.

Instead, Connolly said Democrats will rely on the traditional use of conference committees and open debate to arrive at legislative solutions.

"That process is gone, as far as I am concerned," Connolly said. "We believe that those kinds of negotiations need to be done in the open so that the public can see how we have arrived at these conclusions. Many of us believe that those secret committees were simply circumventing the public's right to know what was going on."

Lawmakers are not subject to either Iowa's open records or open meeting law, but Connolly said that legislative procedures already can assure substantially more transparency to legislative negotiations.

"We have conference committees to work out differences and there is no reason we can't go back to using them," Connolly said. "I think a lot of us got tired of getting a legislative package on a controversial subject and told we had to vote it up or down without change."

Lawmakers strengthened Iowa's open meeting and open records laws in the late 1970s in the midst of a push to require more public accountability by state and local government units. Those laws essentially require all government decisions and records held by government to be made available to the public, with confidentiality exemptions permitted under certain circumstances.

But Jochum said recent controversies have raised questions about whether the law has become outdated and needs to be freshened.

She said she will be inviting government officials as well as news organizations and members of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council to participate in the review.

"I am not sure what changes need to be made, but I also wonder if there is a need for 58 confidentiality exemptions in the open records law," Jochum said. "If government isn't transparent and information isn't easily accessed by the public, then we will start to lose our legitimacy to govern with the people."

Jochum said that the two laws should be more efficient and effective because those are the primary ways that government can keep the public trust.

"We need to understand how fragile and important that trust can be," Jochum said. "If that would be destroyed, we will have more and more problems."

Connolly said that lawmakers will have to consider the impact of new information technologies on both laws and how to make the laws fit in the age of the Internet.

Last week, Iowa Chief Justice Marsha Ternus asked lawmakers to impose new restrictions on public access to information in a soon-to-be paperless court system. Ternus said that the switch to a digital court filing system could result in a substantial number of personal documents being made available to the public as part of court files.

Connolly said new information technologies for communication as well as storage will have to be recognized in future years.

"I don't think any of us know for sure just how new technology will change how we store government documents and how we conduct government business," Connolly said. "But I think we need to think about those issues and begin to adjust our laws that require accountability to that new reality."