Alabama legislators have been handed at least two bills that, if passed, will indicate a willingness to protect the First Amendment of the Constitution and unequivocally show their support for the public’s right to be informed.

Alabama Rep. Prince Chestnut, D-Selma, has already seen his legislation, which would protect journalists from would-be assaults against their rights to cover breaking news in the state, approved by the House Judiciary Committee and yet another bill is slated to go before a Senate committee next week.

Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, has introduced the Alabama Open Records Act, which would give the citizens more access to public records and put an end to formerly-hazy directives in when those documents can be handed over and how much a person can be charged for collecting them.

The bill states that no entity could charge more than the cost of duplication to a citizen seeking to attain a copy of a public document and provides a five-day deadline, unless extenuating circumstances arise, in which case an additional seven days would be allowed, for providing those documents.

Taken together, these bills indicate a recognition of the importance of transparency and the unimpeded exchange of information, as well as journalists’ often seminal role in procuring and distributing such information, and a willingness to mandate transparency on a state-wide level.

The Alabama Legislature would do a disservice to the people of this state, as well as their own reputations, by not acting quickly to pass these bills and prove once and for all that they have nothing to hide from Alabama citizens.

Inquisitive residents and professional journalists are not enemies to the common good of the populace and expanded access to information is not an impediment to the people meant to oversee the dealings of our state – quite contrarily, these people are protectors of and watchdogs for the public and such information, in a large way, already belongs to the public.

Any legislation that provides more avenues on which truth can travel is a boon for the citizens of this state and can only result in our shared progress as citizens.