• Wyoming’s public records ombudsman is trying to get the word out about a task force that seeks to improve the law that gives citizens access to government work.

 

By Angus M. Thuermer Jr., WyoFile.com

Wyoming’s public records ombudsman says there’s been little public notice of a public meeting regarding the Public Records Act scheduled for Monday, and she’s trying to get the word out.

An appointee in Gov. Mark Gordon’s office, Darlena Potter, agreed to chair a legislative committee’s working group on Monday to hash out changes to the law. The goal is to make improvements sought by the public, state and local agencies and governments — changes that could be adopted by the Legislature in early 2026.

But lacking the official status that would allow her working group the public-notice resources and reach of the Legislative Service Office, Potter is scrambling to let policy wonks, reporters and even the odd town-council gadfly a chance to weigh in.

Public records requests have increased significantly in recent years, Potter said.

“A lot of folks are requesting things such as how their local entities’ monies are being used,” she said. Citizens are “trying to get a grasp on the transparency issue of what sort of items their taxpayer dollars are going towards.”

She called the increase in public records requests “a huge shift, which is kind of encouraging.”

Citizens are trying to educate themselves, she said, but “they’ve run into a few hurdles.”

The Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions that considered two draft bills at its Aug. 14 meeting also encountered bumps. Scheduled for an hour and 45 minutes of discussion, the public records deliberation lasted more than five hours before lawmakers assigned Potter the task of shaking things out through a working group.

The group will meet for the first time at 10 a.m. Monday in Room W-113 of the Wyoming Capitol. People can participate remotely through this Zoom link.

 

‘Any information…’

A public record is “any information in a physical form created, accepted, or obtained by a governmental entity in furtherance of its official function and transaction of public business,” according to the law. Wyoming Statute 16-4-201 through 205 requires that “all public records shall be open for inspection by any person,” with some obvious exceptions for privacy reasons. Records custodians can charge a reasonable fee for copies.

Three topics are foremost among Potter’s worries. One is the timeline for responding to and delivering public records sought through a request.

“Currently, the statute mandates a seven business-day acknowledgment of a public records request and production of documents within 30 calendar days,” Potter wrote in a memo. One proposal suggests a three-day acknowledgment and 10 calendar day production of documents, but that framework remains under debate.

Another issue is the cost of obtaining copies of public records. Because laws prevent some private information from being released, some requests require costly review by lawyers.

“There was some discussion of standardizing these,” Potter said of the August committee meeting discussion. “Some areas of the state are more expensive than others to produce the same types of documentation and, in the state statute, it just says ‘reasonable’ [fees].”

Finally, there’s the issue of data mining. Potter said she’s seeing lots of requests from out-of-state entities for a large volume of information.

Consider, for example, all the gear companies and outfitters who might want a list of addresses of the holders of Wyoming elk licenses. Imagine an entrepreneur’s 2025 pitch: “Want to buy a corner-crossing ladder?” 

People who want to learn more about the corporations committee’s struggles and draft legislation can access meeting materials and a recording of the August session on the LSO website.

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