Rosenblum: Change Ore. records law step by step

By The Associated Press Published: Jun 28, 2012 at 2:06 AM PDT
Rosenblum: Change Ore. records law step by step
In this Tuesday, May 15, 2012 photo, Oregon Attorney General candidate Ellen Rosenblum stands among supporters at her election headquarters after winning the primary election in Portland, Ore. As Rosenblum prepares to take over as Oregon's chief lawyer and prosecutor, she promises to bring a cautious and deliberative approach to the attorney general's office. That's a big contrast to the style of John Kroger, the hard-charging former Brooklyn mob prosecutor she's replacing. And she'll have some repair work to do in an office suffering from low morale following a string of ethical lapses and botched investigations. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Oregon's new attorney general said she's interested in reforming public records law but is likely to take a less sweeping approach than her predecessor.

Ellen Rosenblum will be sworn in Friday to succeed John Kroger, who's resigning to become president of Reed College.

Kroger proposed an overhaul to set deadlines for agencies to respond to requests for records, limit what agencies can charge, and reduce and reorganize the number of records exempt from disclosure.

He ran into resistance. Local government officials, for example, worried about the cost of complying with record requests.

His ideas died in committee in 2011, but some legislators are interested in revisiting the question when the Legislature holds a session next year.

Rosenblum told the Salem Statesman Journal's editorial board on Tuesday that she wants to make government responses to requests for records "earlier, cheaper and better."

The paper reported that she suggested that the components of Kroger's overhaul might be accomplished step by step, rather than in a package.

"I'm interested in taking another look at it," she said. "It was an ambitious undertaking."

The records law dates to 1973, but legislators have granted many exemptions since then.

Kroger is leaving six months before the end of his term. Rosenblum won the Democratic primary for the office, and Gov. John Kitzhaber appointed her to the job to finish the term. She is favored to win election in November against Republican James Buchal, a Portland lawyer.

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Information from: Statesman Journal

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.