Critics say Senate bill would hinder access to gov’t documents

Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz

By THE STAR STAFF

The island Senate is scheduled to vote on Tuesday on legislation that will undermine the constitutional right to access government documents and information, critics say.

Penned by Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz, Senate Bill 63 aims to amend the 2019 transparency law and, according to several media outlets, will make access to public information slower, more limited and less robust.

Under the proposed changes, anyone requesting information must notify both the information officers at each agency and the head of the agency, as well as the head of the relevant legislative or judicial branch. If the notification of a request is done improperly, it will be deemed defective, which in turn will not pause the disclosure deadline or the time agencies have to provide the requested information.

Currently, agencies are required to respond to requests within 10 days. However, under the new amendments, agencies must respond within 20 business days for central offices and 30 business days for regional offices. If no response is provided within those deadlines, the request will be considered denied, and the requester may appeal to the courts.

The request for information must include at least one mailing address and an email address. Critics argue that this requirement will hinder requests from individuals who do not have access to computers.

Additionally, the amendments will eliminate the requester’s right to choose the format in which to receive the information.

The legislation states that any decision to deny disclosure of public information must clearly specify the legal grounds for the denial in writing. Information that has been explicitly classified as confidential by law or regulation prior to the request may not be disclosed. However, case law asserts that all government documents are considered public.

Information officers may fulfill requests by making documents available for inspection or copying at the agency, sending documents via email, mailing physical copies if the requester agrees to pay for postage, providing a URL with instructions to access the documents, or allowing in-person inspection of relevant files.