By Butler Cain, Alabama Public Radio
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wual/local-wual-465281.mp3
FOI Week -- Wednesday Report
Tuscaloosa, AL – Alabama has a new open meetings law. In part three of his series on Freedom of Information issues in Alabama, Butler Cain reports the new law was designed to keep the state government open and accessible to its citizens.
Alabama's new open meetings law is the first substantial change since the first one was passed in 1915. It provides guidelines for government boards to follow concerning public meetings, and it outlines how the public should be notified of such meetings. Felicia Mason is executive director of the Alabama Press Association.
"It is a bill that will benefit the public, and that's the main thing. The government officials, who I believe, by and large, want to do the right thing, they have over the years just not had a good guidebook to go by."
Senator Zeb Little and Representative Blaine Galliher sponsored the legislation. Galliher says the old version was a criminal law, and there were never any prosecutions. The new law is a civil one, which means anyone can bring charges against a public board.
"If you feel like, that as a citizen, that a meeting has taken place that did not follow the context of the law, then you as a citizen can file charges and have some remedy."
Strengthening Alabama's open meetings statute was one of Governor Bob Riley's goals for this legislative session. He signed the bill into law yesterday afternoon.
For the Alabama Report, I'm Butler Cain.