Outside earnings and freebies for public officials and employees could become secret if the so-called Tubby Smith Act becomes law.
Inspired by a college newspaper's efforts to publicize the Gophers basketball coach's side deals on things such as shoe contracts and summer camps, government agencies and public unions are pushing for changes in public information laws that would keep everything from police officers' off-duty moonlighting to U researchers' contracts with drug companies out of public view.
Public employee unions and other groups, particularly the Minneapolis Police Officers Federation, are lobbying for the change. Opponents, who have offered a competing proposal that would keep the information open, say the public has a right to know about potential conflicts of interest among workers in often sensitive positions of public trust.
