Legislature makes mockery of transparency, open government
Someone needs to remind the Mississippi Legislature that it works for the people, that it's not meant to be a cabal as it seems to believe.
First, let us make clear the current legislative leadership is not responsible for the great powers of secrecy granted to lawmakers that prevent the public from seeing contracts, correspondence and records deemed public information in every other state office. However, it isabsolutely responsible for continuing this practice when presented the opportunity to act in a transparent and open manner.
Lawmakers and media have requested copies of the contract with EdBuild, a nonprofit organization hired by the Legislature to recommend a new education funding formula. The move was controversial as is any attempt to mess with the Mississippi Adequate Education Program. However, as we have stated previously, we believe it is a smart move to address the continuous logjam over fully funding public education.
At the same time, we were critical of how the Legislature handled the hiring of EdBuild. It did so secretively, with no discussion of its plans until the announcement was made. Our issue with this was two-fold:
Read more: http://www.clarionledger.com/story/opinion/editorials/2016/11/19/legislature-makes-mockery-transparency-open-government/94070280/