Editorial: At what price? Increasing cost of open government in New Hampshire

Should we charge a toll when a Manchester resident wants to walk into City Hall?

Manchester Rep. Patrick Long wants to increase the cost of open government by allowing public officials to charge people directly for doing their jobs.

HB 1611 would gut New Hampshire’s Right to Know law by adding huge fees for public record requests. Local and state bureaucrats could bill people seeking access to public records for the time it takes to compile those records. If you wanted to review old minutes from your local school board, a municipal employee would estimate how many hours it would take to find them, and make you pay up front. Continue…

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