• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Web Records Law Presents Quandary for County Officials

Posted on: Saturday, 16 July 2005, 00:00 CDT

Jul. 15--A law that makes it illegal to post personal information about public officials on the Internet has uncertain consequences for Boone County's extensive Web site.

When he signed the bill on Wednesday, Gov. Matt Blunt urged the General Assembly to consider repealing the portion that deals with Internet records when it holds a special session in September. But the law takes effect Aug. 28.

Supporters say the provision in Senate Bill 420 promotes safety, but it has drawn the ire of county officials faced with removing the information from thousands of records posted on Web sites. The task could cost thousands of dollars or require additional staff for several county departments, Boone County Recorder of Deeds Bettie Johnson said.

"All of those Web sites are going to have to take those (records) down, redact them in some way," she said, "unless they get the permission of those people to leave them up."

Boone County's Web site includes searchable databases with voter registration, real estate, marriage and tax records that have numerous types of personal information. The information is still public under the law, but it cannot be posted on the Internet without public officials' written permission.

Senate Bill 420 originally was supposed to address the issue of unlawful detainers, but it grew to include numerous provisions such as the ability of judges to retain jurisdiction over a child order of protection. It's the section pertaining to public officials' information that most worries county officials.

The section makes it a crime to post the home address, Social Security number or telephone number of any elected or appointed public official, their spouse or children on the Internet. The law defines public officials as county commissioners, city council members, mayor, prosecuting attorneys, judges, state legislators and others.

Combing through the recorders' databases and removing information about public officials would cost the recorders' office an estimated $150,000 to $200,000, Johnson said.

Keeping track of public officials also will be difficult, she said. City councils change frequently, and people take and leave jobs at a rate that would be difficult to track.

Boone County Clerk Wendy Noren said she is unsure what her office will do. Her site's voter registration information allows voters to find polling places and change addresses online, making it unnecessary to call or visit her office. Political organizations use the site to help members find polling places and update information, Noren said. Without the site, her office would have had to expand the phone system and hire temporary employees to meet that demand.

Updates to the phone system for the 2000 presidential election would have cost $20,000 to $25,000, Noren said.

"It allowed us to have this huge work force outside of our office we weren't paying for," she said. "I would have had to spend thousands on our phone system to meet the kind of crush we were going to have."

Identifying public officials who might have information on the Boone County Web site, www.showmeboone.com, and seeking permission to keep the information posted also could cost thousands of dollars, Noren said.

Sen. Rob Mayer, R-Dexter, who sponsored the bill, was unavailable for comment.

The law was intended to prevent people from publicizing public officials' addresses in an attempt to harm them, not to prevent cities and counties from doing normal business, Blunt spokeswoman Jessica Robinson said.

Sen. Chuck Graham, D-Columbia, said the law was in part a response to the February murders of the husband and mother of U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow in Chicago.

Graham voted for the legislation, but he said the language pertaining to public officials' information "probably went too far." The law addresses both governmental and non-governmental Web sites.

Some information, such as Social Security numbers, should remain private, he said. Still, he does not object to constituents' finding his personal contact information.

"Half the town's got my cell number, so I always try to be available," Graham said. "I also understand the concerns about people, especially in the judiciary, who have been threatened by members of the public."

Boone County Northern District Commissioner Skip Elkin said he doesn't mind if the public has his address or phone number.

"I think it's a horrible idea," Elkin said of the new law. "It's our job to be accessible and in touch with citizens we represent."

Boone County Assessor Tom Schauwecker said his office's online mapping system had 1 million queries in its first year. Visitors can find out who owns a piece of property, its value and the amount of taxes owed.

"I believe that if we had to disseminate that information over the telephone or in person, it could cost us another full-time employee," Schauwecker said.

The county assessor's site requires visitors to register and receive a password, which would provide some ability to track who was searching for information, he said.

Columbia officials don't expect the law to have much effect on the city's Web site, City Attorney Fred Boeckmann said. It does not have as much online information as the county, he said.

-----

To see more of the Columbia Daily Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.columbiatribune.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, Columbia Daily Tribune, Mo.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: Columbia Daily Tribune

More News in this Category