A brief history

of our “open government”:

1895
Every citizen has a right to inspect and to take a copy of any public writings of this state . . . (and) (e)very public officer having the custody of a public writing . . . is bound to give (citizens) on demand a certified copy of it.
Mont. Code Ann. § 2-6-102 (emphasis added). 

1963
It is the intent of this part that actions and deliberations of all public agencies (in Montana) shall be conducted openly. The people of the state do not wish to abdicate their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. Towards these ends, the provisions of the part shall be liberally construed. (emphasis added). 
 Mont. Code Ann. § 2-3-201.
 
The “part” referred to above requires that all meetings of governmental bodies “supported in whole or part by public funds or expending public funds” must be open to the public. This statutory provision is among the broadest in the nation with respect to the deliberative bodies it touches. 

The 1972 Constitution, Article II, § 9 reads:
No person shall be deprived of the right to examine documents or to observe the deliberations of all public bodies or agencies of state government and its subdivisions, except in cases in which the demand of individual privacy clearly exceeds the merits of public disclosure.  

 IV. RECORD CATEGORIES — OPEN OR CLOSED              C. Business records, financial data, trade secrets. Open, unless protected by statute, because the privacy exception to the public’s right to know does not extend to non-human entities such as corporations, and cannot serve as a basis for protecting trade secrets and other confidential proprietary information of non-human entities. See Great Falls Tribune v. Montana Public Service Comn., 2003 MT 359, ¶ 36, 19 Mont. 38, ¶ 36, 82 P.3d 876, ¶ 36.   

IV. RECORD CATEGORIES — OPEN OR CLOSED                    M. Public utility records. Open, unless the demands of individual privacy clearly exceed the merits of public disclosure.  

There is of course, that one part about preliminary drafts. So, what is the difference between the preliminary draft, and the first draft, etc?     

14 May 2007 | Life | Comments