FRANKFORT — A bill that would make it harder for the public to learn about businesses seeking incentives from the state grew larger Tuesday evening.

“We think this is a direct frontal assault on transparency. It’s a terrible bill that, as far as we can tell, has gotten significantly worse,” said Michael Abate, an attorney for the Kentucky Press Association who testified against the bill Tuesday evening.

In its original form, House Bill 387 would block from disclosure certain records submitted to the state by companies seeking economic development incentives. That would include records that contain financial information, the identity of shareholders and business plans.

Background:How officials lure companies like Amazon could become secret under bill

But at a meeting Tuesday, the House Economic Development and Workforce Investment Committee approved a substitute version of the bill that retained original provisions and added new ones that would:

Eliminate the ability to appeal to the courts a denial of a request for legislative branch records. The final decision on release of legislative records would be made by the Legislative Research Commission — a body made up of all leaders of the Kentucky House and Senate.

Limit the ability of non-Kentucky residents to use the Kentucky Open Records Law, which currently allows anyone — regardless of residence — to access records through the law.

Prevent people involved in lawsuits from using the Open Records Law to gather documents, requiring such people to use the court system’s discovery process.

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Jason Petrie, R-Elkton, and was approved by the committee on an 11-5 vote with three members voting "pass."

It now goes to the full House for consideration.

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Abate, who also represents the Courier Journal, said the original bill is directly related to two ongoing court cases over whether the public should legally have access to certain records pertaining to Amazon, the online shopping juggernaut, and Braidy Industries, a private company that plans to build a $1.7 billion aluminum rolling mill in Eastern Kentucky and received a $15 million direct investment from state government in 2017.

The Courier Journal is involved in both cases — one which stems from the newspaper's request for Louisville to disclose its proposal during Amazon's search for a location for its second headquarters. The other concerns the newspaper's request to the state Economic Development Cabinet seeking the identity of some investors in Braidy.

Abate said he is still reviewing the substitute bill, but noted many parts of it now appear to significantly restrict government transparency.

Of the provision allowing the Legislative Research Commission to decide on release of legislative branch records, Abate said, "Having no court review of LRC records is very troubling ...You need a dispassionate, neutral voice some times, and the courts are an absolutely essential backstop to assure a government agency doesn’t monkey around and flaunt the law."

As for allowing only Kentucky residents to use the Open Records Law, Abate said, "This would be an unprecedented limitation on the ability of the public to request records," that would affect out-of-state newspapers, online media publications, academic researchers and many others.

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But Petrie said Tuesday night of this part of the bill, "What's the purpose of the open records? Is it to be open and transparent to the rest of the world? Or is it to be open and transparent to the people residing in Kentucky? I think it's the latter, not the former."

Amye Bensenhaver, a former assistant attorney general who handled open meetings and open records appeals for that office between 1991 and 2016, said she has serious objections to the original bill, and many more with the amended version.

She said an exception in the law allowing preliminary documents to be withheld is expanded by the bill limiting public access to only those documents incorporated in an agency's final findings or decision.

"This bill would have devastating consequences to the public's right to know," said

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Reporter Tom Loftus can be reached at 502-875-5136 or tloftus@courier-journal.com. Twitter: @TomLoftus_CJ.