Lawsuits challenge shielding of Louisiana records

Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration is facing court challenges over attempts to keep records from the public. At issue is the use of a public records exemption successfully pushed by Jindal and added to state law during his first term. One lawsuit appears to be headed for resolution, but another is still pending over the “deliberative process” exemption cited by administration officials in refusing to release a variety of documents. Shreveport-based Willis-Knighton Health System sued the Department of Transportation and Development over its refusal to provide information about a highway extension project. The department claimed an exemption tied to the “deliberative process.” That lawsuit may be near settlement; a Tuesday hearing was postponed after officials said they would release the documents. “All the information requested will be provided. No legal proceedings are anticipated,” Jodi Conachen, a transportation department spokeswoman, says in an email. However, a separate lawsuit has not yet been resolved. In August, The (Monroe) News-Star newspaper sued the Education Department for denying information about the state’s new voucher program for public schools. The Jindal-backed program uses tax dollars to send students to private schools. The department argued that emails requested by the newspaper could be kept hidden under the governor’s deliberative process exemption. Read the full story here.