Oregon – Bill extending records transparency to Legislature dies

SALEM — Lawmakers in Salem love to repeat the quote attributed to Otto von Bismarck, that bill writing is akin to sausage making.

“I was talking to a friend and he said to me, ‘if you like laws or if you like sausage, it’s probably best not to see either one of them getting made’,” Rep. Ann Lininger, D-Lake Oswego, said during a committee meeting in May.

In fact, Oregon statute allows lawmakers the option to keep much of that sausage making private, thanks to an exemption to the state’s public records law when the Legislature is in session. Many other states have similar provisions.  Continue>>>

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