Timothy Shea with the State Administrative Office of the Courts said it would be nearly impossible for the courts to follow such a change in the law, being that courts state-wide receive a substantial number of documents every day and no real practical way to redact the information.

Task-force members also discussed changing the way the public accesses e-mails and memos from elected officials and government officials. Under the proposed law, an internal communication or memo would be private if it is prepared as "part of the deliberative process" or is prepared to communicate information that:

• Does not establish policy

• Does not establish guidelines or procedures

• Does not certify a financial transaction or become a receipt

• Has only communicative or administrative value

E-mails between elected officials and a "citizen" will be considered private, "unless one of the parties to the communication elects to make the communication public."

The task force took several items under consideration, including a limit on personal information. The task force expects to approve their final draft of the three bills Nov. 8, their last meeting before the legislative session in January.

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E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com