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EmailWhat tax hike proposals are Washington lawmakers running the numbers on? Good question. Wish I could tell you.
Several weeks back I filed a public disclosure request with the Washington Department of Revenue. I asked for information on any tax increase proposals the Department has analyzed for members of the Legislature and the Governor since January 1st. It took awhile, but I finally got the information on communications with the Governor’s office. There were some emails about tax breaks, but not tax hikes. Not surprising since Governor Chris Gregoire has been beating the no-new-taxes drum since before the November election.
But getting information on what tax proposals lawmakers are cooking up is proving much more difficult. I keep getting apologetic emails from the very nice public disclosure designee at Revenue saying it will take a bit longer to fulfill my request.
The latest email confirmed what I suspected. The email reads in part: “…more time will be needed to finish our response to your public records request. The remaining records consist of communications between the Department of Revenue and the State Legislature. The Department and the Legislature are currently evaluating whether any exemptions or privileges apply to the documents that are responsive to your request.”
Translation: The Legislature maintains it can invoke “legislative privilege” when it doesn’t want to make public certain documents. This includes emails. It also apparently includes when lawmakers ask a taxpayer funded state agency to analyze a potential piece of legislation.
So while Revenue and the Legislature hash out what can and can’t be released — the clock is ticking. The Legislature is only in session for 105-days. We’re almost at the midpoint. This bureaucratic delay is convenient for lawmakers who don’t want me (or you) to know what tax increases they’re pondering.
Revenue is now promising me an answer to my request by March 9th — but I’ve been warned that what I may get is an explanation of why my request has been denied. Stay tuned; I’ll let you know what happens.
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Comments:
Posted Tue, Mar 3, 10:27 p.m. Inappropriate
What did you expect from the democrats ?
What did you expect from the governor of king county ?
Posted Wed, Mar 4, 7:22 a.m. Inappropriate
Austin you will know the same time the rest of us do when they send out the press release...only your copy will be stamped "INFORMATION REQUEST COMPLIANCE".
Posted Wed, Mar 4, 10:42 a.m. Inappropriate
Pretty disappointing that a basic threshold of openness and responsiveness is being actively avoided by the Legislature/DOR. It it so dangerous to share w. the public what policies are being deliberated?
Posted Wed, Mar 4, 11:35 a.m. Inappropriate
Gosh, Austin, have you lost your phone? Forgotten how to walk the halls of
the Capital Office buildings? Have all the Admn. Assistants and Committee staff people stopped talking to you? What did you do? Poop in the punch bowl? No wonder you've taken to beating up on mid-level bureaucrats and whining about their non-response. Question: Have you thought about using shoe leather? Have you ever heard of the House Appropriations Committee?
What a garbage article. Kind of thing that might get written by a high school sophomore living in Othello.
Ross Kane
Posted Wed, Mar 4, 2:28 p.m. Inappropriate
Boy Ross, that's harsh. To begin with, I have no idea what you have against Othello. It's a great place. The best reporters I know use public records laws to shine light on government and the legislative process. That's what I'm trying to do here. You would be surprised how many people in Olympia fear their jobs if they speak to a reporter. Believe me I burn plenty of shoe leather in the halls of government. Furthermore, I'm not beating up on bureaucrats. In fact I went out of my way to say that the public disclosure contact at DOR is very nice to work with. What I am doing is drawing attention to a roadblock to getting public information. Let me just add ... there's a rule in the legislature that members can't impune the motives of one another. They can attack the idea, but not the person. Comment threads like these would be much better if people stuck to that rule. By the way, I would admire any Othello High School student reporter who filed a public records request. I would say he/she has a bright future in journalism. Cheers.
Posted Wed, Mar 4, 3:41 p.m. Inappropriate
Ross Kane hates Othello? You would think he had enough to worry about up in Stanwood to be a hater, but his response indicates his own insecurity.