Letter from the Editor: Pandemic underscores need for government transparency Updated Apr 11, 2021; Oregon started out, back in 1973, with a strong public records law. The law essentially says that any writing “that contains information relating to the conduct of the public’s business” should be accessible to “any person,” unless specifically exempted from disclosure. Over the years, however, many exemptions have been added to the law -- there are more than 600 at last count. And, worse, many secrecy provisions are written into other statutes. Right now, legislators have an opportunity to make government more transparent during a pandemic. Legislators are considering changes to a statute that requires the state to keep confidential any information obtained during a public health investigation.