Open government bills in Wyoming

There are three legislative proposals set to make government more transparent in Wyoming. One bill would require a response to Freedom of Information Act requests in three days. Currently, the Wyoming Sunshine Law does not specify response times.

Another proposed change would require courts to expedite cases involving public records requests, while the third bill would require government bodies to record executive sessions.

Forcing governments to comply to a time frame in answering public records requests is a great step towards more openness. Tightening response times for FOIA responses was one way Illinois dealt with its government transparency problems. And as far as recording executive sessions–what better way to ensure that all citizens have access to open government. Doing so would be in the spirit of the Wyoming Public Meeting Law.