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PRESS RELEASE March 23, 2004 EFF asks judge for penalties in public records suit Attorney General seeks to limit EFF's ability to obtain public information OLYMPIA – The Evergreen Freedom Foundation (EFF) today filed a request for fees and penalties in its public records lawsuit against the state, charging that documents related to the governor's deal with Boeing were "wrongfully withheld from [EFF] until after [EFF] filed [legal] action." EFF filed its lawsuit February 6 after state officials refused to release key public information related to the contract. The state initially turned over 85 pages of documentation, and was forced by subsequent follow-up and legal action to release a total of nearly 900 pages. The state also filed a motion this week, which seeks to limit EFF's ability to obtain public information related to the Boeing deal. The attorney general's motion asks the judge to require that:
"EFF spent a lot of time and resources to get information released that should have been readily available to anyone who asked," said Jason Mercier, EFF's budget research analyst. "Legislators didn't even get the information until EFF forced it into the open, and now the Attorney General is trying to make special rules to prevent one organization—our organization—from having access in the future to information about the Boeing contract without the approval of state attorneys. They want immunity from EFF." Thurston County Superior Court Judge Christine Pomeroy will hear both motions this Friday, March 26, at 9:00am in Building 2, Room 229. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Contact: Marsha Richards | Communications Director | 360.956.3482
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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..." |
