Are state officials above the law?

EFF’s Bob Williams (president) and Jason Mercier (deputy communications director) went to State Treasurer Mike Murphy’s office recently to follow up on a public records request and view public documents. They were stopped in the lobby by an Assistant Attorney General and the Deputy Treasurer who refused access to the records. This happened on two separate occasions.

After weeks of being denied the public records EFF was (and still is) seeking, the Treasurer’s stonewalling finally culminated in a startlingly snide and childish letter from Murphy and his assistant, Mike Colleran. It reads in part:

"We are sorry if this cash deficiency did not come to [EFF’s] attention until Treasurer Murphy’s letter to the Governor of February 18, 2002 was made public. I realize that lapses like that can be embarrassing to "watchdogs" like yourselves, but quite frankly, that is not our fault. Your multiple and shifting "public records requests" . . . seem to us to be designed to draw attention away from the fact that you had been unaware of the deteriorating cash position of the state for more than six months, during which time that information was mailed free to anyone who asked for it. . . . This office has a long history of being most responsive to public records requests. . .

"As a result, we respectfully request that you separate your bona fide public records requests from your political posturing . . . This will spare us the difficulty of trying to distinguish your legitimate requests from your rhetoric. We will continue to respond to those requests in a timely fashion. If you would care to share the reason for the "immediacy" of your need for specific records, we will oblige to the extent we can. You are welcome to submit your views on any topic in any other form and we will respond as we deem appropriate. . . ."

What would motivate the State Treasurer to engage in this kind of defensive and immature behavior? In writing, no less.

It started on February 19, 2002, when Treasurer Murphy wrote a letter to Governor Locke informing him that "At close of business last Friday, the General Fund was $812 million in the red . . . ." Murphy predicted the state’s cash shortage would grow to $1.75 billion by the last day of the biennium.

The magnitude of this cash deficit, and the fact that it had been made public only after it was allowed to grow to such proportions, stunned EFF. After all, according to the state’s Budget and Accounting Act, it is illegal to run an unauthorized or non-temporary cash deficit, and the governor is required to order immediate across-the-board cuts when an actual or projected deficit occurs.

The law was revised by EFF’s own Bob Williams (with the help of the Attorney General and the Office of Financial Management) in 1981 when he was a state legislator. It is intended to prevent the very kind of fiscal crisis we now face. By mandating across-the-board cuts, which no one really likes, it acts as a hammer that forces legislators to immediately find a more responsible solution.

Former Governor John Spellman complied with the law twice, in 1981 and 1982, to successfully prevent cash deficits. Both times he called a special session of the legislature and was able to rescind his Executive Order when they agreed on a new budget and made more targeted cuts to eliminate the shortage.

But Governor Locke, despite being informed of an actual cash deficit last August, has refused to comply with the law. Instead of making the necessary spending freezes and cuts to nip the problem in the bud, he allowed the state to continue spending beyond its means.

Now, the governor and other state officials repeatedly try to blame the resulting fiscal crisis on the terrible events of September 11. But most of the shortages occurred long before September 11. The blame is their own for out-of-control spending, obvious mismanagement, and violations of state law.

EFF’s whistleblowing has sparked a desperate scramble on the part of our top state officials to cover up their harmful activity. The Governor, State Treasurer, and staff in the office of the Attorney General have pointed fingers at each other, contradicted themselves, offered sham reinterpretations of the law that render it meaningless, and openly misrepresented the facts on public radio talk shows and in letters and e-mails sent to citizens of this state.

The State Treasurer has also failed to comply with EFF’s request for public documents, as required by law. This is unacceptable. The right to obtain public documents is crucial to the ability of citizens to monitor what state officials are doing with taxpayer dollars. As Thomas Jefferson so aptly stated, "Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves, therefore, are its only safe depositories."

But our top state officials have thumbed their noses at the people.

That is why, in the face of repeated refusals by Governor Locke and Treasurer Murphy to comply with state law and responsibly address the deficit they fostered, EFF requested that the Securities and Exchange Commission and the bond rating firms of Moody’s, Standard & Poor, and Fitch conduct an investigation of our state’s budget and questionable accounting practices.

It was reported in the Seattle Times on March 20 that Standard & Poor has put Washington on its "credit watch" list. This is regrettable, but necessary.

Washington’s current fiscal crisis should never have happened. The only acceptable solution is to rein in out-of-control spending and hold officials accountable. Unaccountable government will never limit itself. It is up to citizens to keep government in bounds and we have a powerful tool if we choose to use it wisely: our vote.

It is our both our privilege and duty as citizens to elect state officials who will preserve our freedom and respect the rule of law. And that means unelecting those who will not. As events unfold, remember that duty come November.

Living Liberty is the Evergreen Freedom Foundation's monthly newsletter. It provides updates on the issues and projects EFF is currently working on. You will also find commentary on state and sometimes federal government issues.

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Contact: Marsha Richards, Communications Director, (360) 956-3482

Evergreen Freedom Foundation P.O. Box 552, Olympia, WA 98507 Phone: (360) 956-3482, Fax: (360) 352-1874 Email: effwa@effwa.org