The Kentucky Broadcasters Association still has serious concerns with SB 63. We appreciate the sponsor’s efforts to limit the definition of immediate family, and to prohibit convicted public officers from utilizing the provisions of SB 63. But the chilling effect this legislation will have on investigative journalism is real, and will be the unintended consequence of this legislation becoming law.

• We see serious detrimental effects on Kentucky’s Open Records Act from SB 63 – taking information that has long been available and taking it away from the public’s eye. This will impact transparency of state and local governments, and will undermine the public’s faith that their government is operating in their best interest.
• The KBA is opposed to the inclusion of the civil liability provision in SB 63.
• SB 63 will create the same problems that its model, New Jersey’s Daniel’s Law, and other similar legislation has created in other states. Some public agencies will cease responding to Open Records requests, and the General Assembly will have to come back and add limits and changes and clarification to this bill.
• Other states have come back and created an office to provide some oversight to this type of program. SB 63 has no central office processing the use of SB 63, and therefore has no real oversight. While most law enforcement may appropriately use this program, there is nothing to prevent the hiding of information that would reveal criminal activity that has not yet led to a conviction in court.

The Kentucky Broadcasters Association encourages the state Senate to carefully examine this proposal, to remove the civil liability, and to add some level of oversight to this program to protect it from future abuse.