Louisiana’s Board of Ethics is facing a major test over a new privacy law that lets judges—and soon hundreds of other elected officials—demand their home addresses, spouse’s work information and other personal data be removed from public campaign finance records online, Louisiana Illuminator writes.
Three Jefferson Parish juvenile court judges have already used the law to request 66 redactions, prompting the board to ask Attorney General Liz Murrill for guidance on how far it must go. The statute conflicts with long-standing transparency rules used to track political donors and spending, and could dramatically complicate campaign finance oversight when lawmakers, statewide officials and district attorneys become eligible to scrub their data beginning in February.
Transparency advocates warn the law could help public officials shield conflicts of interest. Ethics officials say the burden could balloon into thousands of records, and the board may seek a legislative exemption.
