Government watchdogs

Government watchdogs and the general public in Wyoming have new tools to keep track of what agencies and boards are doing. The budget session that ended Thursday advanced two bills that address concerns rising out of the digital age. Dan Neal with the Equality State Policy Center says one bill bans public meetings from happening electronically unless the public can sit in and either hear or read the discussion as it happens. The second bill deals with the issue of government emails being public records.






Neal describes the new sunshine bills as products of political compromise. He had hoped there would be a deadline to provide the records requested, and hopes that can be discussed in the future.






Neal says when someone makes a public records request, it has to be acknowledged within seven days.