EFF's Election Report ·
Gonzales Letter ·
Welfare Reform ·
Boeing Contract ·
Budget & Taxes ·
Business Climate ·
K-12 Fact Sheet ·
EFF Health Study ·
Paycheck Protection ·
Transportation ·
Unemployment Ins. ·
Receive Updates ·
Bookmark EFF ·
Contribute ·
EFF in the News ·
How Can I Help? ·
Join EFF ·
Media Center ·
PRESS RELEASE
 August 12, 1998
AG, PDC refuse court order to release public documents Three weeks have passed since Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard D. Hicks ordered the Washington state Attorney General’s Office and the Public Disclosure Commission to release documents to Evergreen Freedom Foundation regarding the AG’s settlement of campaign-finance violations with the Washington Education Association. The AG and the PDC, however, are refusing to honor the court order. The two agencies said they will not hand over any documents without an in-camera review of the items specified in Hicks’ order. "But it seems to me, my ruling is going to require some further production of documents than has been provided so far without an in-camera ruling," Hicks said in his ruling. Ironically, the PDC and the AG have been penalized earlier this year for not releasing documents in two other cases, both unrelated to EFF’s case against the PDC. In one case, the PDC was fined for unnecessary delays in turning over documents to the Building Industry Association of Washington. The PDC is scheduled to meet 1 p.m. tomorrow, Aug. 13, to consider whether to appeal fines it received for withholding documents from the BIAW. EFF will ask the court for penalties to be levied against the AG and the PDC for violation of the state’s public records law. EFF requested the documents on March 6. Washington courts historically have awarded between $50 and $100 each day an agency refuses to release documents in accordance with the state’s public records law. EFF President Bob Williams said he is perplexed at the PDC’s refusal to honor Judge Hick’s order. "What is there in ‘public disclosure’ that the Public Disclosure Commission does not understand?" Williams asked. Contact: Marsha Richards, Communications Director, (360) 956-3482
|
1 Part Honesty; 2 Parts Arrogance At a March 23, 2005, House Appropriations hearing on a bill to gut the voter-approved I-601 spending limit, Rep. Jim McIntire (D) asked a supporter of I-601’s two-third supermajority requirement for the legislature to raise taxes the following question: "Can you name a time when we [legislators] have actually not just set it [supermajority requirement] aside by majority vote? I mean, this is in many respects a procedural motion that has no bearing. It’s a statutory constraint that cannot constrain any legislature that chooses as a majority to set it aside . . . have we ever used a supermajority [to raise taxes]?" - Rep. Jim McIntire (D - 46) Despite the arrogance of some state officials, Washington's constitution is clear: "All political power is inherent in the people..." |
