A Connecticut law mandating that local governments with Web sites post public meeting minutes within seven days after the meetings is forcing some governments to shut down their sites altogether, The New York Times reports.

Naturally the law aims to increase government transparency. However, many local government Web sites lack staff to type up and post the minutes. Often, just one person runs the Web site, and in some cases he or she is a volunteer. Some governments hesitate assigning such a workload to volunteers, yet can't afford to pay someone to do it. Connecticut towns like Harwinton and New Hartford have shut down their sites, fearing penalization for noncompliance with the law.

Local governments call the law an unfunded mandate and say the state made its implementation expectations of local governments too vague. Officials from Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell's office say the rule isn't as onerous as many local governments think. The governor's staff recently expressed willingness to revise the law's language during the state's next legislative session to clarify its meaning.

In the meantime, three New Hartford employees are learning how to operate the town's Web site.