HT Deal with Corrupt Contractors: Exempt Them From State Law

It's the logical next step after outsourcing public services to private contractors who charge twice as much to do a half-assed job: let them escape any accountability to the public whose money they steal.

And it's just so embarrassing when some legislator's idiot nephew with a state contract is exposed as the lying, thieving little weasel he is.

John Cheves at the Herald:

Some targets of critical news stories and state audits from recent years could avoid scrutiny under changes that lawmakers are proposing to the Kentucky Open Records Act.

Presently, any organization that gets at least 25 percent of its revenue from local or state government must share most of its records under the act, which is meant to bring transparency to public spending.

But House Bill 496, set to be heard next week in committee, would change the act to exempt from disclosure any money awarded by a government “for goods or services that are provided by a contract obtained through a public procurement process.” While a government entity still would have to share its records upon request, a private organization that is awarded state business, and taxpayer money, would not.

Among those asking questions about the bill are state Auditor Adam Edelen and the Kentucky Press Association.

“The government’s business is the public’s business, and the public has a right to know what’s going on with its money at all levels,” said David Thompson, KPA executive director. “Some of these entities might not consider themselves public. But that portion of their revenues that comes from government should be open for inspection.”

The bill potentially would shield private contractors, such as Utility Management Group, which is paid more than $11.6 million a year to manage Pike County’s water and sewer systems. Attorney General Jack Conway’s office ruled in September that UMG is a public entity under the Open Records Act and must disclose spending information requested by local citizens. UMG is appealing in Pike Circuit Court.

UMG and its public employer, Mountain Water District, have been at the center of several controversies in recent years, including no-bid contracts that led to an ethics sanction of state Rep. Keith Hall, D-Phelps, who owns a company that digs sewer lines. UMG also refused to share its financial data with the state auditor’s office.

Rep. Johnny Bell, the sponsor of HB 496, said he respects the public’s right to know. Bell said his bill is a response to a flurry of Open Records Act requests filed in the last five months against private companies in construction, highway building, engineering and architecture, who do much of their business with government. The companies are complaining about wasted time and legal fees, Bell said.

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