SC House panel advances public records legislation

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A House panel has advanced three bills strengthening South Carolina’s public records law.

Legislation sent Wednesday to the House Judiciary Committee would require government entities to respond more quickly to requests and bar them from charging excessive fees. A separate bill would remove legislators’ exemption from the Freedom of Information Act.

Attempts to make public documents more accessible have died repeatedly in the Legislature. Advocates hope the changes stand a better chance this year by making legislators’ exemption a separate debate.

A third bill would require public bodies to post agendas for their meetings at least 24 hours beforehand. That’s a response to last year’s state Supreme Court ruling that public bodies don’t have to post what they’ll discuss. The Senate unanimously approved a similar bill last week.