Proposals would streamline South Carolina public records process
Two bills filed this month in the South Carolina General Assembly would lessen the time and cost associated with challenging denials of public records requests.
The measures introduced by Sen. Chip Campsen and Reps. Weston Newton and Bill Taylor call for state administrative hearing officers to preside over disputes regarding requests made under South Carolina's Freedom of Information Act.
Those who want to challenge the denial of a public records request now must often wait up to a year for a circuit court judge to rule on the matter, said Campsen, a Republican from Charleston. He said administrative hearing officers would be able to handle these cases more promptly.
In October 2015, the Independent Mail, The Greenville News and The Journal of Seneca sued the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division after authorities refused to release a video from a dashboard camera related to the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Zachary Hammond. The video was released about two weeks after the lawsuit was filed and the case was ultimately dismissed, according to court records.
Read more: http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/2016/12/27/proposals-would-streamline-sc-public-records-process/95880702/