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Senate Bill 287, the Nevada Press Association’s highest legislative priority, was passed Monday night in the waning hours of the 2019 session. At 11:22 p.m., with only 38 minutes left before lawmakers in Carson City adjourned for 20 months, the Senate by voice vote unanimously consented to amendments made earlier in the day on the Assembly side, sending the bill to Gov. Steve Sisolak for his signature.
The governor played a behind-the-scenes role in pushing the bill forward and is almost certain to sign it. It was introduced by Sen. David Parks (D-Las Vegas) and had several co-sponsors, including Sens. Pat Spearman (D-North Las Vegas), Moises Denis (D-Las Vegas), Ira Hansen (R-Sparks), Joyce Woodhouse (D-Henderson), Yvanna Cancela (D-Las Vegas), Melanie Scheible (D-Las Vegas) and Ben Kieckhefer (R-Reno, Carson City).
“The Nevada Press Association is gratified that legislators voted unanimously to pass this important piece of legislation,” said Glenn Cook, president of NPA and executive editor of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “It has the potential to change the culture of Nevada agencies that prefer secrecy to openness.”The legislation sat in limbo for months in Senate committees before it finally began to move late last week over the objections of government lobbyists. Its momentum grew after Right to Know Nevada, the coalition backing the bill, launched a furious grassroots campaign in support of the legislation after Memorial Day weekend. RTKN is an ideologically diverse coalition that includes NPA, ACLU of Nevada, Nevada Policy Research Institute, SPJ Las Vegas, the League of Women Voters of Nevada as well as many private organizations, individuals and print, online and TV news outlets.
A key moment in the bill’s progress came Thursday, when Sens. Scheible and Kieckhefer unveiled their amendment to the original bill. Parks had tasked them with listening to stakeholder feedback and drafting an amendment. They played a decisive role in the bill’s passage, along with Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas), Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson (D-Las Vegas) and Assemblyman Edgar Flores (D-Las Vegas).
SB287 was voted out of the Senate Finance Committee late on Friday and was passed 21-0 by the full Senate on Sunday. It was heard by the Assembly Committee on Government Affairs on Monday morning; that committee approved a few, modest amendments early in the evening, and the Assembly approved the bill 41-0 around 9 p.m. That final version is the one now on its way to the governor.
Here is how SB287 amends Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 239 — aka the Public Records Act.
Sec. 1 is the most important provision. It subjects local governments and state agencies that “willfully” violate the PRA to penalties —$1,000 for a first offense up to $10,000 for a third and subsequent offense within a 10-year period. For the first time ever, state agencies and local governments will face consequences for disregarding the state’s Public Records Act.
Sec. 2 adds one word to the PRA preamble — “prompt”: “The purpose of this chapter is to foster democratic principles by providing … the public with prompt access” to public records.
Sec. 3 defines the “actual cost” agencies can charge for records as the “direct cost incurred … in the provision” of records, “including … the cost of ink, toner, paper, media and postage.”
Sec. 5 requires the government to provide records in “an electronic format by means of an electronic medium” if the record was created and stored electronically and requesters ask for it in that format.
Sec. 6 is the customer service provision. It requires the government to regularly communicate with requesters throughout the request process, e.g. if/when the record is/will be available, why the record isn’t immediately available, etc.
Sec. 6 also requires the government to, “Make a reasonable effort to assist the requester to focus the request … to maximize the likelihood” the records they seek will be provided “expeditiously”.
Sec. 7 adds unreasonable delay and excessive fees to the causes of action requesters can sue the government for. It also entitles requesters to recover costs and attorney fees if the government appeals a decision that is ultimately affirmed.
“SB287 was badly needed because so many NPA members and Nevada residents were consistently stonewalled by public agencies intent on keeping government documents from public scrutiny,” Cook said. “Nevadans also commonly were asked to pay illegal fees and deposits to access records that, under the law, they have a right to see. And governments who ran afoul of the law faced no consequences. Years of court victories for requesters and Nevada Supreme Court decisions supporting the clear language of the Public Records Act did not change a culture of noncompliance across the state. A revision to state law should send a clear message that the public’s business is public.”
This is an excellent Bill. I know first hand on having to wait for court records, in my case several months, I was told until the Judge in my case released a section of the five year long case.Interestingly enough, it is clear that the issue of concern in which the written statements are clear, the audio and video have doctored out the vital testimony.