Chip Taylor

Another surprise

Public officials abuse the laws allowing closed sessions:

A quarter of elected officials in a statewide survey say they've broken state law by letting their closed-door session stray beyond what they promised the public they would discuss.

But public officials were agreeable to a solution: signing sworn statements that they don't stray when the public isn't there to hold them accountable.

Those are two key findings of an audit of board and council practices by The Associated Press, the South Carolina Press Association and newspapers including The Greenville News.

Public bodies like keeping public records secret, too.

Ask
many city or county officials in South Carolina about open meetings and open records, and you’re likely to be met with fear or suspicion; and in some places, officials are seemingly ignorant of the requirements of the law.

In Abbeville County, a lawyer warned County Council members about replying to a statewide survey of public officials’ handling of closed-door sessions.

In Richland County, a school board member said a lawyer advised him not to answer the same questions.

At the St. Matthews Police Department, a person asking for a crime incident report was told he couldn’t have a copy because suspects and victims have rights.

...

Police and sheriff's departments around the state turned out to be the biggest source for denial. More than a dozen law enforcement agencies, about one-fourth of those visited, refused to provide copies of incident reports that residents should be able to review without delay.

The SC Press Assiciation has an FOIA page.