Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter has appointed a public records ombudsman to review how state agencies handle records requests and to look at ways to improve Idaho's public records laws.
Cally Younger, the associate attorney for the governor's office, is filling the post, Otter announced Wednesday.
The governor said the move comes in response to a request from the Newspaper Association of Idaho, in hopes of creating an option that can resolve public records disputes without the expense of taking it to the court system. Currently, Idaho public record laws state that if a person feels that a request was wrongly denied, their only option is to sue.
Otter says Younger will start by surveying state agencies on the number of records requests received and the reasons any are denied.