Attorney General Rob McKenna works to promote open government

Mr. McKenna was the Eastside’s and Renton’s King County Councilman for many years prior to winning his State Attoney General post. Here is an article about his work to further open access to government records.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

McKenna proposes ‘Sunshine Committee’ to keep records open

By DAVID AMMONS
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OLYMPIA — Attorney General Rob McKenna urged the Legislature on Wednesday to create a “Sunshine Committee” to promote disclosure of public records.

McKenna, who has made public disclosure and press freedom a signature issue, introduced a package of open-government bills for the upcoming legislative session, including the proposed “Sunshine Committee” to question ever-expanding exemptions from disclosure of public records.

The Republican attorney general also joined forces with Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire in proposing stronger public notice requirements whenever local government is invoking eminent domain to condemn private property for a public project.

McKenna said that when voters approved a strong disclosure law by initiative in 1972, there were only 10 tightly drawn exceptions to the general policy that all public records should be readily available to the public. Over the past 30-plus years, more and more exemptions have been approved by the Legislature, making it harder to get government information, he said.

He quoted an Associated Press project last spring that showed that more than 300 exemptions are now on the books in Washington state. He said they range from the clearly defensible to the oddball — such as a disclosure ban for business records on sale of the herb ginseng.

Some of the exemptions are “stealth” additions quietly added to legislation with little attention, McKenna said. Once in place, they are never independently reviewed, he said.

“They build up like a coral reef over time — slow to accrete, but hard to get rid of,” McKenna said.

He proposes a nine-member panel to comb through those scores of exemptions every year and make suggestions for repeal or tightening. The panel would include representatives of state and local government, the auditor, Attorney General’s Office, the four legislative caucuses and the media.

The process will have the added benefit of showing the public how much is off limits, he said.

“The committee will be a forum to wrestle with disclosure issues,” he said. “My guess is that there will be a Top 10 list” of exemptions that lawmakers should repeal.

McKenna also proposed cleanup legislation to strengthen the disclosure law, restoring, for instance, a clear statement that the state supports a generous Public Records Act.