It's now a lot harder for people in Ohio to know whether their communities are prepared for chemical emergencies, thanks to local officials who unilaterally removed documents from libraries without the librarians' prior knowledge or public comment.

Montana Governor Judy Martz (R) and leading state lawmakers recently abandoned a state bill which would have given the government authority to withhold any information from the pubic that it deemed “sensitive.” State Senator Walt McNutt (R-Sidney) stated that Senate Bill 142, which was crafted in order to protect public works from terrorist attacks, is being dropped because the legislation would have created an atmosphere of too much secrecy. The Senator explained that the legislation would have made it possible for agencies to abuse their privilege and withhold a great deal of information.

The Bush Administration has backed away from a crackdown on government leaks of classified information in part due to occasional behind-the-scenes meetings attended by government officials and press representatives.

The Bureau of National Affairs recently reported (“Drive Under Way to Enact Legislation On Data Quality, Access at State Level” February 12, 2003) that the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness (CRE), a conservative clearinghouse that focuses on data quality and data access issues, has drafted and is making efforts to promote a state version of the federal Data Quality Act along with a state Data Access Bill. Apparently CRE has submitted the two model bills to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative policy group that advocates specific legislation at the state level.