Mississippi lawmakers considering bill to limit public access to bridge reports

ROY HOWARD COMMUNITY JOURNALISM CENTER- Mississippi lawmakers are considering a bill that would change whether certain roadway safety reports can be released to the public.

This proposal comes after a recent dispute over bridge inspection records in Ocean Springs.

Justin Glowacki with the Roy Howard Community Journalism Center explains what the bill would do.

Last year, the Davis Bayou Bridge on Hanshaw Road in Ocean Springs was shut down after inspectors found severe deterioration in its supports.

After the closure, the Roy Howard Community Journalism Center requested inspection reports dating back to 2019 to see what had been documented before the bridge closed.

State officials denied that request.

In January, the Mississippi Ethics Commission ruled that the reports should be released under the state’s Public Records Act.

The commission ordered the Office of State Aid Road Construction to provide a cost estimate within seven days.

As of this story, the center said it had not received the estimate or the requested documents.

While that ruling remains unresolved, there has been action at the Capitol.

State Representative Steve Massengill introduced House Bill 1660 around the same time as the Ethics Commission’s ruling.

The bill would amend Mississippi’s Public Records Act by making certain roadway safety evaluation reports, the same ones RHCJC News requested, exempt from public disclosure.

That means inspection reports documenting structural conditions or maintenance findings would not be available through public records requests.

Stephanie Koch, a resident who lived nearby the bridge when it was closed, says citizens deserve transparency from their government, and that includes things like inspection reports. “To me if someone’s not sharing something freely, then I’m thinking that there’s something trying to be hidden or not completely told the truth.”

On the federal level, states are required to publish basic bridge condition ratings.

Beyond that, state laws vary on whether full inspection reports behind those ratings are publicly available.

Massengill is chairman of the House Transportation Committee.

RHCJC News requested comment from Massengill about the bill and its intent.

As of publication, he had not responded.