Late Monday, state legislative leaders reversed their decision and agreed to publish the contract with EdBuild on the state’s Transparency site. The Monday action was taken hours after Attorney General Jim Hood had sent a Monday letter to the legislative leaders informing them that a policy keeping legislative contracts secret was illegal. You can read the original contract here. You can also read the addendum to this contract, which contains the non-disclosure agreement between EdBuild & the Legislature. Hood cites state law to acknowledge that the Legislature can control access to its records. However, Hood also states that the Legislature is subject the the Public Records Act and “namely the Mississippi Accountability and Transparency Act”. The Mississippi Accountability and Transparency Act requires all government agencies to make their contracts public on the Transparency site within 14 days of contract execution. The letter states that the EdBuild contract should have been posted on the Transparency site. Mississippi Today requested a copy the EdBuild contract between the Legislature of New Jersey and the New Jersey nonprofit that was hired to examine and possibly rewrite state’s funding formula for public K-12 education. Tuesday afternoon, President Pro Tempore Senator Terry Burton and Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Greg Snowden sent out a joint statement stating that the contract would be posted on the Transparency website. Their statement stated that the contract was posted to the Transparency Mississippi website after being studied by the House and Senate leaderships for four days. “The contract was released to the Department of Finance and Administration for posting on the Transparency Mississippi Website.” Mississippi Today had requested the open records contract. The House Management Committee approved a policy mandating that all contracts it approves must be confidential on November 15. Rep. Snowden answered a question about whether the policy was still in effect and if it applies to other contracts. “The Management Committee will next meet in December. “In the meantime, we will definitely adhere to statutory requirements,” Sen. Burton stated that the Rules Committee would not be considering a similar policy this week, following the conclusion of the legal staff. The House committee members adopted the new contract secrecy policies to allow members of the Legislature access to the contracts. Jay Hughes (D-Oxford) had also requested public records to view the contract between EdBuild and the Legislature, but was denied access. The Speaker of the House Philip Gunn, and the Lt. Governor did not respond to requests for comment. Tate Reeves was not contacted after the adoption of this policy. Gov. Phil Bryant stated shortly thereafter to Mississippi Public Broadcasting that he was “for open records,” but didn’t comment on the House policy. “I have always tried to be open with records throughout my career. Bryant stated that those are taxpayers’ dollars and taxpayers’ business. This action is coming as a group of state legislators meet to review state agency spending procedures. To support this important work, you can make a regular donation to our Spring Member Drive today. Our reporters give a human face to policy’s impact on everyday Mississippians by listening more closely and understanding their communities. To ensure that our work is aligned with the priorities and needs of all Mississippians, we are listening to you. Click the button below to let us know what you think.
