Public’s Right To Know May Be In Danger

By Don Shearon, First Published February 23, 1973One of the cornerstones of our form of government, the public's right to know what its government is doing, may be in danger of curtailment in Nebraska if a pending proposal gains acceptance by the Unicameral.Introduced during the early days of the current legislative session LB 134 would, among other things, put the state in the publishing business in a major way. The bill provides for creation of a state publication to be called the State Register. It would be published “at least weekly” as “the official state newspaper” and would be “printed by state printing facilities,” in the words of the bill itself.Still using the language of the bill: “All state government notices, proclamations, and appointments, and the adoption, amendment, modification, or repeal of state agency rules and regulations, or any other stale government matters required to be published by law shall be published in the State Register.”An “official state newspaper” printed by state facilities, presuming to give public notice to state government matters.It smacks of totalitarianism.From time to time, laws are enacted requiring publication of notices of one sort or another. The purpose of such requirement is to give the widest possible public notice to these matters of state business.To accomplish this purpose, legal publications are printed in local newspapers of Nebraska, the obvious best means of assuring widest circulation possible.Newspapers long have been regarded as guardian of the public interest and as the vehicle best suited to fulfilling the public's right to know how its government is functioning. Of the public's right to know, consider this 1787 comment attributed to Thomas Jefferson: “The basis of our government being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”Until this week, LB 134 had been gathering moss in the files of the Miscellaneous Subjects committee. Now, it appears, someone is attempting to breathe new life into the measure. It has been scheduled for hearing on Thursday, March 1.In the public interest, we feel LB 134 should be buried by the committee, beyond any possibility for revival.

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