Governor Matt Mead has let a bill that would change Wyoming’s Open Records law go into effect without his signature. The Governor expressed concern over the legislation that would allow University of Wyoming Trustees to continue their search for a new President in private. Mead says he is concerned about expanding the exemption of the Open Records law. A Judge recently ruled that the finalists for President needed to be made public. But Senate President Tony Ross defended the bill’s enactment.
“Well I don’t think we overstepped at all. I think when you read the judge’s opinion he said there wasn’t an exception in the law. We provided an exception, we think it’s the right thing to do. We think it’s a promise the trustees made and we upheld that,” Ross said.
UW officials have feared that the Judge’s ruling would keep them from getting candidates who could face repercussions from their current employer if their names were made public.