NCOIL Web Site Action Seen, ?Cynical,' ?Outrageous'

By Daniel Hays and Jim Connolly

NU Online News Service, Jan. 28, 3:26 p.m.EST?Action by the National Conference of InsuranceLegislators to restrict access and charge for some information onits Web site has drawn criticism from a consumer representative andindustry publications.[@@]

The new policy for the www.ncoil.org site, which takes effectSunday, was also criticized by Charles N. Davis, executive directorof the Freedom of Information Center at the University of MissouriSchool of Journalism in Columbia, Mo., who called the action"cynical." J. Robert Hunter, director of Insurance for the ConsumerFederation of America in Washington, said it was "truly anoutrage."

Objections were also voiced by the Sam Friedman, editor-in-chiefof National Underwriter's property and casualty edition,and Alan Prochoroff, editor of Insurance Compliance Week.Under the new access policy, media outlets can contact NCOIL toobtain copies of "non-public" documents "with the clear stipulationthat the information shall not be distributed beyond thatreporter," the group said.

Mr. Prochoroff wrote Ms. Frick to say he agreed with Mr. Hunter,adding that "restricting access to the press, who are working inthe public interest, is also bad policy."

Mr. Friedman said he would outline his objections in his column,"A View From The Press Box," in Monday's edition of NationalUnderwriter. "I rarely see eye-to-eye with Bob Hunter, but Isupport him 100 percent on this issue," Mr. Friedman writes in thecolumn. "There is no way a group of public officials should keepinformation about the public's business from the public?unless,that is, they can afford to pay to see it, and are willing to payfor the privilege!"

Candace Frick, NCOIL's director of legislative affairs andeducation, said other organizations have taken similar Web siteaction and legislators felt the change would lead to increasedattendance at NCOIL meetings.

NCOIL, based in Albany, N.Y., said the change will make privateportions of the site containing NCOIL-adopted model legislation andresolutions, reports and issue briefs, as well as future NCOILmeeting minutes and meeting reports. Working drafts will remainaccessible to everyone until they are adopted.

The organization said that registrants for future NCOIL meetingswill be given temporary passwords, which will grant access tomaterial related to that conference, minutes and meeting reportsfor several months following.

Those who do not attend an NCOIL meeting will be charged a feefor that conference's minutes and meeting report. Additional feeswill be charged for access to NCOIL model bills and resolutionsthat are adopted.

Ms. Frick said she did not have price information immediatelyavailable because "we're fine tuning the fee schedule." She saidNCOIL made the move in reaction to comments made to legislators tothe effect that: "We don't need to join NCOIL or go to meetings. Wecan go on the Web site and get everything."

Closing off meeting data is "not by any means meant to close offaccess. It's to preserve the entity, not to shut people out," saidMs. Frick. Legislators, she explained, were "increasingly concernedwe were giving too much away on our Web site and we had to stemthat."

Mr. Hunter said NCOIL's action set up an unnecessary barrierbetween the public and an organization dominated by insurancecompany delegates at meetings attended by part-time legislators whooften work in insurance.

Ms. Frick said the organization does waive attendance fees forfour consumer representatives, but doesn't have the money to paytheir expenses as does the National Association of InsuranceCommissioners.

In an e-mail response to Mr. Hunter, Ms. Frick said that NCOIL"appreciates your concerns," adding that the group's BusinessPlanning Committee would "further discuss the question of consumeraccess to the Web site" at its meeting in San Antonio, Feb.26-to-29.

Mr. Davis at the Freedom of Information Center said that closingthe NCOIL site, while "not a violation of any one state's sunshinelaws?is a cynical manipulation of the spirit of publiclawmaking."

Robert Freeman, executive director of the New York Department ofState's Committee on Open Government?which, like NCOIL, is based inAlbany?said NCOIL is "not government," and thus would not becovered by freedom of information law. However, he added, anydocuments NCOIL provides to state insurance departments would besubject to FOI law and public inspection.