Alabama passes bill to exempt 911 calls from open-records law

The Alabama Senate passed a bill last week that would make the audio recordings of 911 calls exempt from state open records laws, the Florence Times Daily reported.

H.B. 159 was sent to Gov. Bob Riley for signing on April 14, 2010.

"Our governor has taken a very strong stance on public records and I would hope that he would veto the bill," said Sharon Tinsely, President of the Alabama Broadcasters Association.

The bill is one of many state efforts to make the media dissemination of 911 audio recordings illegal.