JEFFERSON CITY - Gov. Jay Nixon recently signed House Bill 256, which reinstates important public safety exemptions to Missouri's Sunshine Law. These exemptions, which expired at the end of 2012, instituted immediately, help prevent the release of security plans and procedures that protect facilities such as schools, courthouses and hospitals. The governor had publicly called on the General Assembly to renew these expired provisions earlier this year.

"Earlier this year I called on the General Assembly to reinstate these narrowly tailored provisions, which help keep sensitive security plans out of the hands of criminals and terrorists, while respecting the bedrock principles of transparency and accountability," Nixon said.

Specifically, the bill re-institutes exceptions to the Sunshine Law that protect records relating to operational guidelines, policies and specific response plans maintained for the purposes of law enforcement, public safety, first response or public health. Under the bill, a public governmental body can also close records that relate to security systems and structural plans submitted by private entities with facilities on public property.

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