Bill Description: Senate Bill 1339 amends language from the Public Records Act to designate the Legislative Services Office as the custodian of public records requests for the Idaho Legislature.

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Analysis:

Does it in any way restrict public access to information related to government activity or otherwise compromise government transparency, accountability, or election integrity?

In designating the Legislative Services Office as the custodian of public records requests for the Idaho Legislature, this bill invalidates any such requests made directly to either chamber or an individual legislator.  As a result, this bill would remove any negative repercussions for the Idaho House or Senate, or individual legislators for ignoring public records requests made directly to them.

As representatives of constituents in their respective districts, legislators are liaisons between the people and their government. Allowing them to ignore requests from their constituents defeats this relationship, which is inherent to our republic.

Overall, SB 1339 decreases government transparency by making it more difficult for citizens to access information about their government.

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