There are some good things and bad on the public information front this legislative session. On the one hand, the legislature is set to consider bills that would enact most of the recommendations made by the governor-appointed Commission on Open Government Reform in its final report issued in January of last year. On the other, our elected officials are considering a proposal that would deny half of the state’s residents over age 65 access to public meeting notifications and make it darn near impossible for the rest of us to easily find out when local governments and their agencies will consider things like land use and zoning changes, conduct budget workshops and hearings, or meetings to discuss things like utility expansion or special assessments. The First Amendment Foundation has given sunny skies to Senate Bill 1598, which would consolidate the state’s public records and open meetings laws into one Open Government Act.