COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - House and Senate members are nearing a deal on a bill that would require government bodies in South Carolina to publish agendas before public meetings.
The solving of a problem created by a state Supreme Court ruling last year looks like it will be the only win this year for advocates of open records as other bills making autopsy reports are public records and clarifying how quickly governments must respond to public records requests and preventing them from charging excessive fees appear to be stuck.
A conference committee discussing the agenda bill Wednesday agreed to require a two-thirds vote to alter an agenda within 24 hours of a meeting. City or county councils or other public bodies would also have to agree it was an emergency situation if the members could make a final decision on the agenda item.
One other small compromise requires any public body that maintains its own website to publish the agenda online.
The agreement would have to be approved by the entire House and Senate. Each chamber passed its own bill unanimously earlier in the session.
Rep. Bill Taylor, who is one of the Freedom of Information Act’s biggest supporters in the General Assembly, said the agenda bill isn’t needed for cities that run their governments fairly, but for those who have to have the power of the law to make sure they stay accountable.
“The public has to have a fair shake. They have to have notice to come talk to us,” said Taylor, R-Aiken.
Most public bodies in South Carolina have been publishing agendas for decades, but the state Supreme Court ruled last year that the law only suggested the list of items to be considered instead of requiring them.
“It’s really important for the public to know what a body is going to talk about ahead of time,” said Bill Rogers, executive director of the South Carolina Press Association.
Two other bills concerning the Freedom of Information Act appear dead for the year. The Senate passed a bill requiring a report including the cause of death to be a public record after an autopsy is performed. That proposal was in response to a different state Supreme Court ruling last year that autopsies are private medical records.
A second bill that passed the House is stuck in the Senate. It would clarify how quickly governments must respond to public records requests and prevent them from charging excessive fees. It also would create an agency to hear disputes between public bodies and people requesting information. Currently, the only place to hear those disputes is a costly lawsuit.
Taylor said he was disappointed all the bills didn’t pass. But they will be back next year, and he thinks the bigger FOIA reform package will eventually make it to the Senate floor.
“I remain very optimistic - early next year in the sixth year of this process - we have a good chance,” Taylor said.
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