SLS 15RS-394 ORIGINAL
2015 Regular Session
SENATE BILL NO. 120
BY SENATOR ADLEY
Prefiled pursuant to Article III, Section 2(A)(4)(b)(i) of the Constitution of Louisiana.
PUBLIC RECORDS. Provides relative to the records of the governor. (gov sig)
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 44:5, relative to public records; to provide for the application of
3 public records law to records of the office of the governor; to provide for exceptions;
4 and to provide for related matters.
5 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
6 Section 1. R.S. 44:5 is hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:
7 ยง5. Records of the office of the governor
8 A. This Chapter shall not apply to any records having been used, being in use,
9 possessed, or retained for use by the governor in the usual course of the duties and
10 business of his office relating to the deliberative process of the governor, intra-office
11 communications of the governor and his internal staff, the governor's security and
12 schedule, or communications with or the security and schedule of the governor's
13 spouse or children. The legislature recognizes that it is essential to the
14 maintenance of a democratic society that public business be performed in an
15 open and public manner, and that the citizens be advised of and be aware of the
16 performance of public officials and the deliberations and decisions that go into
17 making public policy. Toward this end, the provisions of this Section, as well as
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1 the rest of this Chapter, shall be construed liberally so as to facilitate, rather
2 than hinder, access to public records.
3 B. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this Subsection, the provisions of this
4 Section shall not apply to any agency, office, or department transferred or placed
5 within the office of the governor. Records of the office of the governor shall be
6 public records and shall be subject to the provisions of this Chapter.
7 (2) Notwithstanding Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, a record limited to
8 pre-decisional advice and recommendations to the governor concerning budgeting
9 in the custody of any agency or department headed by an unclassified gubernatorial
10 appointee shall be privileged for six months from the date such record is prepared.
11 Any record of the office of the governor relative to fiscal or budgetary matters,
12 including but not limited to a record of communications between the legislative
13 auditor's office and the office of the governor relative to fiscal or budgetary
14 matters, shall be public record.
15 (3) Notwithstanding Paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Subsection, a record
16 of the office of the governor relating to intra-office communications of the
17 governor and his staff may be privileged from disclosure.
18 (4) Notwithstanding Paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Subsection, any
19 record of the office of the governor pertaining to the schedule of the governor,
20 his spouse, or his child that contains security details that if made public may
21 impair the safety of the governor, his spouse, or his child may be held
22 confidential for a period not to exceed seven days following the scheduled event.
23 However, nothing in this Paragraph shall be interpreted or construed in a
24 manner to make confidential all records concerning a meeting or event that the
25 governor attends and transportation related thereto. The governor may keep
26 a record concerning a meeting or event that the governor attends and
27 transportation thereto privileged for a period not to exceed seven days after the
28 occurrence of the meeting or event.
29 (5) For purposes of this Section, "office of the governor" means the
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1 governor, his chief of staff, and his executive counsel.
2 C. The provisions of Subsection B of this Section shall not prevent any
3 person from inspecting, examining and, copying, or obtaining a reproduction of
4 any records record pertaining to any money or monies, any assets or items of
5 economic value to the state, or any financial transactions in the control of or
6 handled by or through the governor or the office of the governor.
7 D. For purposes of this Section:
8 (1) "Deliberative process" means the process by which decisions and policies
9 are formulated.
10 (2) "Internal staff of the governor" means the governor, chief of staff,
11 executive counsel, director of policy, and employees under their supervision. Internal
12 staff shall not mean any person employed in any other executive agency, including
13 those designated by state law as housed in or transferred to the office of the
14 governor.
15 (3) Records "relating to the deliberative process of the governor" means all
16 forms of pre-decisional advice, opinions, deliberations, or recommendations made
17 for the purpose of assisting the governor in the usual course of the duties and
18 business of his office. The governor and his internal staff shall preserve all
19 records to which this Section is applicable and at the conclusion of his term of
20 office, the governor shall transfer all such records to the custody of the archives
21 division of the secretary of state. Any exemption granted by this Section for
22 such records shall continue in accordance with Subsection E of this Section. For
23 purposes of this Subsection, "internal staff" of the governor includes the
24 governor's chief of staff, executive counsel, and director of policy, but shall not
25 include any employee of any other agency, department, or office.
26 E. Notwithstanding any provision of this Chapter, the state police shall
27 maintain a travel log identifying the date and location of all travel by the governor
28 in a state police helicopter, which record shall be available for inspection and
29 copying in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter. Entries to the state police
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1 helicopter travel log shall be made within seven days after the date of travel. Any
2 exemption granted by this Section shall lapse ten years after the creation of the
3 record to which the exemption is applicable. After the lapse of ten years, the
4 records of the office of the governor, as maintained by the state archivist and
5 deposited with the state archives program pursuant to R.S. 44:417, shall be
6 public record.
7 Section 2. This Act shall become effective upon signature by the governor or, if not
8 signed by the governor, upon expiration of the time for bills to become law without signature
9 by the governor, as provided by Article III, Section 18 of the Constitution of Louisiana. If
10 vetoed by the governor and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become
11 effective on the day following such approval.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Ashley E. Menou.
DIGEST
SB 120 Original 2015 Regular Session Adley
Present law relative to public records provides that present law does not apply to any records
having been used, being in use, possessed, or retained for use by the governor in the usual
course of the duties and business of his office that relate to the deliberative process of the
governor, intra-office communications of the governor and his internal staff, the governor's
security and schedule, or communications with or the security and schedule of the governor's
spouse or child.
Proposed law deletes these provisions of present law, and further provides expressly that
records of the office of the governor are public records and subject to the provisions of
present law relative to public records. Proposed law further provides that any record of the
office of the governor relative to fiscal or budgetary matters, including but not limited to a
record of communications between the legislative auditor's office and the office of the
governor relative to fiscal or budgetary matters, is a public record.
Proposed law provides that, notwithstanding proposed law, a record of the office of the
governor relating to intra-office communications of the governor and his staff may be
privileged from disclosure, but this privilege does not apply to any record of the office of the
governor relative to fiscal matters.
Proposed law provides that any record of the office of the governor pertaining to the
schedule of the governor or that of his spouse or child that contains security details that if
made public may impair the safety of the governor or his spouse or child may be held
confidential for a period not to exceed seven days following the scheduled event. Proposed
law further provides that nothing in proposed law is to be interpreted or construed in a
manner to make confidential all records concerning a meeting or event that the governor
attends and transportation related thereto. Proposed law further provides that the governor
may keep a record concerning a meeting or event that he attends and transportation related
thereto privileged for a period not to exceed seven days after the occurrence of the meeting
or event.
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Proposed law provides that proposed law does not apply to the records of any agency
transferred or placed within the office of the governor or to the records of any other
executive branch agency.
Proposed law provides that "office of the governor" means the governor, his chief of staff,
and his executive counsel.
Present law provides that present law does not prevent any person from examining and
copying any records pertaining to any money or monies or any financial transactions in the
control of or handled by or through the governor or the office of the governor.
Proposed law retains present law, and adds that proposed law does not prevent any person
from inspecting or obtaining a reproduction of any record pertaining to any money or
monies, any assets or items of economic value to the state, or any financial transactions in
the control of or handled by or through the governor or office of the governor.
Proposed law provides that the governor or his internal staff (the governor's chief of staff,
executive counsel, and director of policy, but not employees of any other agency,
department, or office) are to preserve all records to which proposed law applies, and at the
conclusion of his term of office, the governor is to transfer all such records to the custody
of the archives division of the secretary of state. Proposed law further provides that any
exemption for such records continues in accordance with proposed law.
Proposed law provides that any exemption granted by proposed law lapses 10 years after the
creation of the record to which the exemption is applicable. Proposed law further provides
that after the lapse of 10 years, the records of the office of the governor, as maintained by
the state archivist and deposited with the state archives program pursuant to present law, are
public record.
Effective upon signature of the governor or lapse of time for gubernatorial action.
(Amends R.S. 44:5)
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