Two new laws — one that went into effect Sept. 21 and one that will be in effect on Dec. 31 — are pushing the doors of government wider so the Arizona and the Gila Valley public can get a better view of what’s inside.

Although annual open government “sting operations” by The Arizona Republic newspaper show all local agencies — both school districts and law enforcement — as cooperative and swift to move on public records requests, the day-to-day reality can be quite different.

A statewide audit by the Associated Press Managing Editors found law enforcement agencies to be offenders of the Public Records Law nearly half the time a crime record request was made, and school districts were slow to respond. Requests made for records regarding public health and safety were often stonewalled, leaving no other recourse to the public but litigation. Courier reporters have had no problems obtaining records from local school districts in recent years. That can probably be attributed to the annual training the superintendents, district secretaries and school board members receive from the Arizona School Board Association on the Public Records Law.

Reporters have also been able to acquire public records from law enforcement agencies for the most part. The Safford Police Department is a good example of an agency that knows and understands the rights of the public, which includes news agencies. This department and its leadership never stonewalls or neglects to return calls to the newspaper when a public record request is made.

The newspaper does its part by filling out public records request slips and by handling the reports so no victims’ names or private information is made public.

The same cannot always be said of other local law enforcement agencies, whose leadership sometimes leaves requests for public records unanswered for more than a week and no one in authority to access the records. This leaves the newspaper with little doubt that the public is often treated the same way.

Under the old public records law law, individuals who made unanswered records requests were often left with little or no satisfaction because the cost of litigation was so high and they were required to pay their own attorneys’ fees. Courts seldom awarded attorneys’ fees even if the plaintiff could show that the denial was made in “bad faith or in an arbitrary or capricious manner,” according to David J. Bodney, counsel to The Arizona Republic.

As a result, agencies could hide out until the person requesting the records gave up because they knew most people could not afford to go to court over a public records request.

Under the new law, attorneys’ fees can be awarded whenever a person can show that public records were wrongfully withheld and that the person substantially prevailed in attempts to acquire those records.

This doesn’t mean fees will be awarded in every public records case, but it should give public officials strong incentives to comply with the state’s public records law.

The state will push the door open even more when it adopts another law on Dec. 31 to empower the Office of Ombudsman-Citizens Aide to investigate violations of open government laws. The state will assign two assistants to review complaints, train public officials and educate the public on records and Open Meetings Laws.

Information on the two new laws was taken from an article by David J. Bodney, a partner of Steptoe & Johnson and counsel for the The Arizona Republic.