Nevada lawmakers pass open record reform bill on last day of session

The legislation was amended on Saturday, then finally brought up for a vote and passed unanimously by the Senate on Sunday. The Assembly unanimously approved the legislation late Monday after making its own amendments.

The amended bill makes local governments and state agencies subject to civil penalties for violating the public records law. One of the amendments added that agencies must “willfully” violate the law to be subject to the penalties.

The first violation would result in a $1,000 fine to the government entity. A second violation would be $5,000, while a third would be $10,000.

One of the adopted amendments also removed specifics in what agencies could do to help requesters find information.

Last week, the Right to Know Nevada coalition called on Senate leadership to vote on the bill, which was initially introduced on March 15.

“Nevadans deserve a transparent and accountable government. They also deserve to know where their elected officials stand on this issue,” the group said before the vote.

In a Facebook post, the ACLU of Nevada called the bill’s passage a “huge first step for government transparency.”

By Derek Draplin | The Center Square

Derek Draplin is the Regional Editor for the Great Plains at The Center Square. He previously worked as an opinion producer at Forbes, and as a reporter at Michigan Capitol Confidential and The Detroit News. He’s also an editor at The Daily Caller.