No more state Sunshine Committee?

With the 2009 Session less than a week old numerous open government bills have already been introduced. Not all of them will be greeted with open arms by the state's defenders of the people's right to know. Perhaps the most surprising proposal is SB 5119: Eliminating the public exemptions accountability committee.

This proposal would repeal a 2007 law creating the state Sunshine Committee. According to the Attorney General's Office:

Voters approved the Public Disclosure Act by initiative in 1972. At the time, the act included only 10 exemptions from disclosure. Today, there are at least 300 exemptions (provided by Legislative staff).

Attorney General Rob McKenna requested a bill during the 2007 Legislative session to establish a Blue-Ribbon Committee to review all exemptions to the Public Disclosure Act on an annual basis. State Bill 5435 became law on July 22, 2007 creating the Public Records Exemptions Accountability Committee. The "Sunshine Committee" will make recommendations to repeal or amend exemptions to the Public Records Act.

According to SB 5119, however:

. . . the legislature finds the committee's review of exemptions has proven to be unproductive and, given the economic climate we are currently experiencing, it is an unnecessary and wasteful expenditure of time and resources. Additionally, the legislature finds that the committee has not acted efficiently or effectively in carrying out its mandated charge and has provided, at most, limited guidance to the legislature. Therefore the legislature concludes that the continuation of the public records exemptions accountability committee does not serve the public interest.

Another proposal likely to cause the open government community heartburn is SB 5130: Regarding prisoner access to public records.

Other proposals to keep an eye on:

• HB 1017: Creating a committee to study the feasibility of creating a board with public records act and open public meetings act responsibilities
  
  
• HB 1105: Regarding public disclosure of records relevant to a controversy to which an agency is a party 


• HB 1106: Removing the ability of agencies to enjoin the examination of a specific public record 


• HB 1107: Regarding local government self-insurance programs and public records  

Here are the Washington Policy Center's recommendations for open government reforms from our Policy Guide:

1. Create a Public Records Ombudsman authorized to enforce the Public Records Act.


2. Clarify the use of the attorney client-privilege exemption.


3. Create criminal penalties for willful violation of the Public Records Act. 


4. Require audio taping of executive sessions. 


5. The legislature should make itself subject to the Public Records Act and Open Public Meetings Act. 


6. Adopt a constitutional amendment placing the preamble of the Public Records Act into the constitution, and require a 60 percent vote of lawmakers to enact a new exemption from disclosure to take effect.

Comments

[Josef K]

Oh and BTW, the Senator's e-mail is fairley-DOT-darlene-AT-leg-DOT-wa-DOT-gov

I assume most readers of this blog are smart enough to work around my anti-spam efforts.

[johnbarnald]

Public record is define as a record, in which complete information related with all aspects of about the people including any documents, devices, photographs etc. It also includes other records, which are necessitating by the law to be kept by the government offices.

[Holly]

Your information is muchu interesting! Thank you!

[uina]

There was much interetsing =)