Open Records Bill Shielding Lawmakers Wins Final Passage

Kentucky lawmakers have finished work on a bill seen by critics as a weakening of open records protections. The bill aims to remove the right to pursue a court appeal when denied access to legislative records. It won final passage Friday. An open records advocacy group says it will urge Gov. Andy Beshear to veto it. When the bill surfaced, it was criticized by many media outlets. Lawmakers responded by loosening residency requirements to make records requests. But the measure seeks to give Kentucky lawmakers the ability to deny requests for legislative records without risk of a court appeal.