Rep. Paul Wesselhöft said today that he regrets voting for a bill that was amended in the House Public Safety Committee after re-reading the details of the amendment.
House Bill 1361 pertains to the Oklahoma Open Records Act
“A very detailed amendment of the bill was first given to members at the committee; and I failed to detect a major flaw in my brief reading of that amendment,” Wesselhöft said.
The bill, as amended, allows exceptions to providing the public with video recordings from law enforcement dash cameras and cameras attached to the officer’s clothes.
Wesselhöft said that there are other flawed exceptions in the bill but the major one is: “Any information related to the detection, investigation or prosecution of a crime where the release of the information may interfere with the investigation or prosecution of the crime.”
“That broad language essentially allows law enforcement to deny open records request for virtually anything that law enforcement subjectively considers interference to their investigation or prosecution of any crime,” he said. “I regret not catching the loophole in that language.”
Wesselhöft believes the bill “virtually nullifies the Oklahoma Open Records Act.” Unless the flaws are fixed, he will debate and vote against it on the House floor, he said.
“I apologize to my constituents for not catching a major flaw in the legislation.”
Paul Wesselhoft doesn’t read bills before he votes on them and when he gets caught he throws other legislators under the bus. I get it. Good story.
This is how we end up with sorry Laws in Oklahoma. Our Open Records Act is a joke the first thing government or Law in Forcement do in any bill is to except themselves from the open records act. See this anytime as citizens try to have open and honest government. And it appears we have another Legislator that just votes as he is told and doesn’t read what he’s voting for. No wonder we are at the bottom of most national lists for everything but throwing out poor law makers.
Wesselhoft should be the poster child for reduced term limits. 12 years is too long and Wesselhoft has proved it. What a joke.