EDITORIAL: Forced to hire a lawyer to make democracy work

Nevada is one of about 35 states that forces residents to go to court to resolve open records disputes with public agencies. Sunshine Week, which runs through Saturday and promotes open government, is a good time to consider an alternative.

“If the system requires the average person to hire an attorney to make democracy work, then it’s really broken,” David Cuillier, director of the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida, told The Associated Press.

Indeed, such a setup can discourage watchdog organizations and individual citizens from pursuing public information, thus inhibiting accountability. It also provides an incentive for government agencies to stonewall record requests in hopes of financially bleeding those who seek the documents.

A handful of states, the AP reports, have imposed enforcement mechanisms designed to ensure compliance with open records statutes. Pennsylvania, for instance, has an Office of Open Records that “reviews appeals and issues binding decisions, which can be appealed in court,” the wire service noted this week.

It’s unfortunate that so many public agencies — in Nevada and elsewhere — routinely fail to comply with the law, reflexively running for the shadows rather than embracing transparency. In a perfect world, there would be no need to create another bureaucracy to ensure those who work for the taxpayers follow the statutes.

But in reality, putting more teeth into public records laws and making it more uncomfortable for the bureaucrats who flout them makes eminent sense.

Would the Metropolitan Police Department — under Sheriff Joe Lombardo, now the governor — have wasted thousands of dollars to fight records requests regarding the deadly Alpine Motel fire in downtown Las Vegas if an outside agency had ordered them to release the documents or if the sheriff and his team knew they might be personally liable? Doubtful. In the end, Metro — read: local taxpayers — must now fork over $620,000 in fees and costs to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Would Clark County commissioners have sanctioned endless appeals of the coroner’s effort to keep certain autopsy reports secret if such a move contradicted the holding of a state open records office? Perhaps not. That losing fight also cost taxpayers more than six figures.

Open and transparent government is a necessity in a free democratic republic. Taxpayers shouldn’t have to drain their bank accounts to prevent recalcitrant public officials from flouting laws intended to promote government transparency and to instill confidence in our public institutions. Lawmakers should consider reforms intended to make public employees more receptive to public records requests.