2005 FOI award winners named

Public learns why access
to government information important

A county administrator, a newspaper, writers and a state senator have been named Freedom of Information winners by the Arizona Newspapers Association for 2005.

The awards recognize the work of media outlets in providing the public with information they may need to know because of its impact on them and their living areas.

Sen. Dean Martin,

This is the third award for the Senator from the Phoenix area. The association’s board of directors and legislative committee said that the work that Sen. Martin continues to do to open records, and keep them open, is one of the most important jobs for a state legislator.

This past legislative session (2005) Sen. Martin introduced two pieces of legislation concerning open records.

The first, Senate Bill 1498 outlawed the growing practice of a government entity suing a member of the public simply because that person requested public records. “That is a method of stalling or refusing to hand over public information,” said John Fearing, executive director of the Arizona Newspapers Association. The government entities claim they need a judge to make a decision on whether the information is public as defined by the state’s Public Records Act. It forces a citizen to hire an attorney and become a defendant, Fearing said.

Martin also introduced Senate Bill 1499, the Public Access Counselor. That bill funds a state employee to advise the public and government on whether a request is legal.

Although the Public Access Counselor was adopted by Senate, and included study of SB 1498, it failed in the House.