An ideal government wouldn’t need a public records ombudsman.

Officials from the sparsest to most sprawling bureaucracies would be blessed with a crystalline understanding of the public information laws. Meetings would never be held in secret, and public record requests would be handled with promptness and courtesy.

We aren’t holding our collective breath.

Access to public information is better in Maine, thanks to efforts by groups like the Maine Freedom of Information Coalition, but the system still has room for improvement. This is why the Legislature should enact LD 1822.

Sponsored by Rep. Deb Simpson, D-Auburn, this bill would institute reforms to government public information policies, including the creation of a public records ombudsman, or coordinator, within the Attorney General’s Office.

Today, individual agencies handle information requests, which can cause confusion, because documentation – and where different documents fall under freedom of information – is not uniformly understood across government.

Empowering a single person, as the head of a new public access office within the office of the Attorney General to answer public access questions and resolve conflicts, is the kind of streamlining of government services we can easily support.

Government is known to block information requests, or simply fail to fulfill its obligations under law. The recently released arrest report of disgraced Mexico police officer Michael Richard is one example; the report is public information, but was held back until this week, nine months after it was written.

In this case, it was because of explosive content. Its revelations – that Richard had talked about confronting, stalking and attacking his estranged wife with other officers – are startling.

The report contained information the public should know, just like thousands of other pieces of information generated and archived by government in Maine, but is inaccessible either by inaction, obstruction or simple lack of knowledge about public access law.

Perhaps the finest part of LD 1822 is starting a mandatory training in public information for elected officials, as often, new officeholders are unaware of the public transparency of their office.

Government, after all, is in the business of information, but this business lacks a chief executive.

By creating an ombudsman dedicated to public records, a system that exists efficiently and effectively in a number of other states, the Legislature can make this business run smoothly.