OTHER VIEWS: Don’t conceal the Legislature’s policy research from the public
Published 6:00 am Wednesday, March 26, 2025
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For Oregonians who care about privacy, the idea of an arm of the Legislature being careful with data it collects makes a lot of sense.
Want the Legislature to turn over every possible morsel of information it collects to somebody making a public records request? Phone numbers? Addresses?
No thanks.
But does that mean there should be a blanket ban on the release of the contents of any research requested, collected, maintained or utilized by the Legislative Policy and Research Office unless the person providing the information consents in writing?
No thanks, to that either.
The Legislative Policy and Research Office does what it sounds like for the Legislature. As of now, it informs people it gathers information from that the information may be more broadly shared. That could hamper its ability to be able to gather information.
Senate Bill 555 takes the blanket ban approach. It should be replaced by something narrower.
Legislators should not be shielded from what they request being made public. The public has the right to know what legislators are doing.
Similarly, how the Legislative Policy and Research Office goes about gathering information to inform policy decisions should not be shielded from the public. The data used to formulate policy are choices that drive state policy. The public can’t understand what its government is doing if the information used to develop policy is secreted behind a wall.
In much of Oregon public records law there is a balancing test. The public’s right to know is weighed against any negative impact of releasing the information. It’s not a perfect system. The agency or public body making the decision is not an objective decision maker. What agency wants to release information that may make it look bad? A balancing test is better than a blanket ban.
The argument being made about the need for passage of the bill is that it will protect privacy and better enable the Legislative Policy and Research Office to do research. The fix in this bill is excessive. A blanket ban is a terrible idea. Narrow the bill or kill it.
