What if…

Though elected officials gathered earlier this month to select a designee who will take charge of public records requests, there was a distinct lack of volunteers. “Nobody wants to do that,” said Commissioner Jeanne Whalen.

The reluctance comes from what gathered officials described as a new law that still has many unanswered questions. Enrolled Act 72, passed by the legislature earlier this year, makes changes to how government entities must handle public records requests.

Among other changes, the act requires each governmental entity to designate a “public records person” to whom all applica...