JEFFERSON CITY — A law professor and Republican candidate for Missouri attorney general has said his university emails and other documents are not subject to state open records laws, documents provided to The Associated Press on Wednesday show.
Emails provided to AP show MU School of Law associate professor Josh Hawley argued to university attorneys that his records don't fall under the Sunshine Law.
Hawley is running for attorney general, the statewide elected official whose office is in part responsible for enforcing the state's open records laws.
At issue is a May records request to the university from former Republican state Rep. Kevin Elmer, who asked for copies of Hawley's emails, documents from his work computer and a number of other records.
Elmer also requested emails from Hawley regarding Elmer's request and provided those documents to AP. He declined to comment further.
In the emails, Hawley said whether state open records laws cover public university faculty who don't serve as administrators or "perform administrative functions seems a very open question," calling current laws "at best ambiguous."
"It seems to me that the University may want to think very hard before turning over materials from individual faculty not related to University administration or governance," Hawley wrote in an email dated June 17 and addressed to members of the university's legal counsel and School of Law Dean Gary Myers.
Hawley cited academic freedom and concerns about intellectual property. Hawley announced his candidacy for attorney general just over a month later on July 24.
Paul Maguffee, an attorney for the university, responded to Hawley and said his emails and many other work records are subject to the Sunshine Law. He added that the statute "must be construed liberally to promote the state's policy of openness."
Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster has said he plans to run for governor in 2016, likely leaving the seat open. Republican state Sen. Kurt Schaefer of Columbia also is running for attorney general, which could mean Hawley faces a GOP primary.
Hawley said he supports the Sunshine Law and agrees that the university should comply with current Missouri statutes.
When asked by AP whether as attorney general Hawley would back public universities releasing emails from faculty — not only administrators — he said he would "vigorously enforce the Sunshine Law as it is written."
Hawley also said he supports expanding open records laws to apply to state lawmakers.
Missouri Press Association attorney Jean Maneke said the attorney general should be a "strong Sunshine Law advocate," otherwise the burden will fall on citizens to enforce the law.
"The attorney general's office is the central point in our state for Sunshine Law enforcement," Maneke said. "If we don't have a strong attorney general's office to enforce it, there's no champion for the Sunshine Law in the state."
