Mississippi enacts law that would impose civil penalty on Open Records violators

Contents 1 March 4, 2011 2 See also 3 External Links 4 References

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March 4, 2011

Jackson, MS An interesting bill was passed last week in Mississippi. Senate Bill 2289, Mississippi 2011 and House Bill 314, Mississippi 2011 combine to create civil penalty for violators of the Mississippi Public Records Act. The law targets individual members of a public body who refuse access to public records or violate public records laws in some way. Initial fine levels would be made $500 for a first offense and $1,000 for a second offense. Any person who denies access to a public record would be liable for a civil sum up to $100 per violation. Previous law levied a fine against the public body as a whole, which meant tax payer dollars were used from one arm of the government to another. Many states allow committees and other public bodies a legal fee to hire a lawyer to defend their actions, however as the penalty is levied against an individual this would not be allowed. ^[1]

See also

• Mississippi transparency headlines
• Mississippi Sunshine Law
• Mississippi Public Records Act

External Links

• Natchez Democrat Mississippi open meeting laws lack bite, official says 12/26/2010
• Madison County Journal Bill would fine open meetings violators 12/29/2010
• Calhoun County Journal Senate passes bill for more open government 12/30/2010
• Sun Hearld Open meetings bill puts burden on officials 2/22/2011
• Commercial Appeal Open meetings bill goes to Miss. Gov. Barbour 2/22/2011

References

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