Wow! Things are super busy around here right now and I wanted to let you know right away about the lawsuit we filed against Governor Gregoire this morning.
You can read all about it below, but the bottom line is this: Governor Gregoire has been denying citizens access to public records based on something she calls "executive privilege." There is no such thing mentioned in the law! (There are more than 300 exemptions which are allowed.) We decided it was about time someone called her bluff, so we are asking the court to rule on this matter. For more details, please visit the links at the bottom.
The state budget was also finally released today...at 12:15 p.m. Then the legislature held a public hearing at 3:30 p.m. (Yes, today!) So much for transparency and giving people a voice in the budget process. I don't know about you, but even a speed reader would have a hard time reading the huge budget document, preparing public comments, not to mention getting to Olympia to testify-all in just 3 hours and 15 minutes.
I'll get back to you in a couple of days when we have had time to do an analysis of what the budget says and does. If you can't wait that long, please checkout our website for updates by Amber Gunn as she reads through it (www.myfreedomfoundation.org).
Meanwhile, have a great week!
Sincerely,
Juliana McMahan
Freedom Foundation (formerly Evergreen Freedom Foundation)
P.S. If you want to donate to help with the legal costs of our lawsuit, please visit this link. Thanks!
Freedom Foundation Sues Governor
Over Executive Privilege Abuse
OLYMPIA-The Freedom Foundation this morning filed a lawsuit against the Gov. Christine Gregoire for violating the Public Records Act. The Foundation contends the governor's office frequently asserts "executive privilege"-which does not exist in statute-to hide documents from the public. Since 2007, the governor's office asserted executive privilege more than 500 times in response to 46 public records requests. 
"Government accountability means nothing if elected officials do not provide information about their actions and decisions," said Steven Maggi, Vice President of Communications for the Foundation. "When the situation is unclear, the governor should err on the side of disclosure rather than claiming a questionable exemption."
The Washington State Public Records Act (Chapter 42.56 RCW) mandates that all public records held by government agencies are to be available to the public, unless the record is specifically exempted from disclosure by law. In other words, unless a statutory exemption protects certain records or information, the record must be disclosed. Executive privilege is not among the 300-plus recognized statutory exemptions found in the Public Records Act.
Still, the governor's office insists that the constitutional theory of executive privilege entitles her to shield certain discussions and documents from public scrutiny. This questionable exemption has been cited to withhold records on the Alaskan Way Viaduct, the Columbia River hydro system, medical marijuana legislation, the state's tribal gaming compact, the sale and departure of the Seattle Sonics basketball franchise, clemency petitions of death row inmates and state employees' public e-mail accounts.
"There are legitimate exemptions in the Public Records Act that would allow the governor to deliberate with her advisors in private, but these are limited so as to provide the public information about government operations," said Michael Reitz, the Freedom Foundation's attorney.
"The governor is trying to lock some state secrets away forever," Reitz said. "The Public Records Act has been on the books for nearly 40 years, and not a single appeals court has recognized that executive privilege would allow the governor to withhold documents from the public."
The complaint was filed in Thurston County Superior Court.
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