JEFFERSON CITY - Less than twenty-four hours after the Missouri House voted to create a "negligence" standard for breaking the state's Sunshine Law, a conference committee voted to strip out the stronger language.
Pressure from the Missouri Municipal League and other local government lobbying groups succeeded in having the provision removed. Rep. Jack Goodman, R-Mt. Vernon, said Senate Republican Floor Leader Mike Gibbons made it clear the bill would die in the Senate if the "negligence" standard remained in the legislation.
"Everything else made it through, except the most important part," Goodman said.
Rather than "negligently" violating the law, the conference committee inserted the word "knowingly" instead -- the very same change some House members had tried unsuccessfully to do a day earlier. Goodman said a "knowingly" standard is very difficult to prove, and "encourages people not to bother learning the law."
Sen. Sarah Steelman, R-Rolla, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, said she "had to swallow hard" to accept the removal of the negligence standard. Steelman said there was "still a lot that goes on that the public needs to know about," and she thought a higher standard would have better held public bodies accountable for their actions.
"Nobody may be completely happy with it, but at least it's certainly a good step toward more openness," Steelman said.
Steelman said Gary Markenson, executive director of the Missouri Municipal League, had come up to her after the conference committee and expressed his support for the new language.
"He shook my hand," Steelman said. "He's okay with it."
The Missouri Municipal League had lobbied against the bill to strengthen the Sunshine Law, saying it would place more of a burden on local governments. Several weeks ago, the City of Joplin asked the group to introduce a change to weaken one of the bill's electronic information provisions, but that measure did not succeed.
The final version of the Sunshine Law bill did retain its provisions related to electronic records and electronic meetings.
The conference committee report passed the Senate Thursday in a bipartisan vote, and has been sent to the House. If approved there, it will be sent to Gov. Bob Holden for his consideration.