State Senator Lewis Calls For More Government Transparency

The Office of State Senator Jason Lewis - who represents Malden - says he could do with more transparency in state government.

On Tuesday, Lewis mapped out a plan before the Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight, in hopes that newly-filed legislation could lead to a more useful Massachusetts public records law.

“Unfortunately, under Massachusetts’ outdated public records law, it is difficult, costly, and sometimes virtually impossible to get access to public records that rightly belong in the public domain,” said Lewis, according to a statement to the media.

Under Lewis’s legislation, public records would be available in a universally-accessible electronic, presumably online, form. All state agencies would have a Records Access Officer to oversee public records requests, and people could actually afford to access public records via a charges cap. Furthermore, attorneys putting forth civil cases against the government if or when public records laws get broken would be financially compensated.

Sounds reasonable, right?

Photo credit: Office of State Senator Jason Lewis

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