Roberts: What is Rep. Bob Thorpe trying to hide?

It appears that Rep. Bob Thorpe has moved on from his grand plan to prevent college students from voting in his elections.

And from his genius scheme to prevent universities from preventing any talk that might promote "social justice toward a race, gender, religion, political affiliation, social class or other class of people.”

Now the Thorpedo has launched his latest incoming bad idea: he wants to prevent you from knowing what he’s up to.

Capitalism is under threat? Really?

Thorpe is one of the Legislature’s more extreme members. If there’s a kooky idea out there, his name is likely on it.

Consider his bill designating American free-market capitalism as the state’s official political-economic system (House Bill 2277). Me? I wasn't aware that Arizona was in danger of tossing aside free-market capitalism.

But Thorpe wants to protect the evidently fledgling concept by banning the use of public money to promote anything that opposes free-market capitalism. This to protect us from, “an alarmingly high percentage of individuals under 40 years of age who appear to not understand” the negative impacts of socialism, fascism and communism.

Then there's his bill to protect himself from … us.

Thorpe has introduced a bill that would allow him to hide public records stored on his personal cell phone, computer or social media accounts.

If it's his phone, the records are his?

The Flagstaff Republican believes that public officials ought to be able to conduct state business on the sly as long as they’re using their own phones and computers.

“If I’m paying the monthly phone bill on my personal device, I think those records ought to belong to me,” he told Capitol Media Services’ Howard Fischer.

And I’m thinking, Rep. Thorpe, if you’re using your personal phone to try to impose yet another one of your kooky ideas on the rest of us, the rest of us have a right to know about it.  

To rely on the state’s Public Records Law, which says public records are public. Period.

Thorpe told Fischer he introduced House Bill 2265 because there are “conflicting and confusing court rulings” on the subject of whether public business conducted on a private phone is public.

He may be confused. I’m not, and you shouldn’t be either.

What the court has said (multiple times)

In 2007, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that the content of a record is what governs whether it is public or private – not the device on which it is stored. The vote was unanimous.

In 2016, the state ombusdsman, Dennis Wells, advised that texts are just like any other record. “If the text message is made or received by a public employee or official in connection with the transaction of public business, it is a public record.”

Not even a month ago, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled in a case involving Department of Public Safety  officers who communicated via text message on their personal phones while working at the scene of a traffic accident.

Cue Appellate Judge Paul McMurdie: “A public employee’s private cell phone records become public records subject to disclosure if a public requestor establishes the employee used the cell phone for a public purpose.”

MORE:'Government is getting more secretive.' How we're fighting that

That seems pretty clear to me.

Just as it seems pretty clear that Thorpe is annoyed at the notion that you might be able to find out what he’s up to.

For example, his bill to cap the salaries of state employees (HB 2273). Or his push to snag a massive pay raise for himself (HCR 2016). Or his proposal to try to boost his daily per diem expense pay. (HB 2275).

If this is the stuff he’s working on that we can see, can you imagine what he’s doing that he doesn’t want us to see?

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