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Rodne named to Sunshine
Committee
5th District
lawmaker part of group reviewing public records exemptions
Rep. Jay Rodne, R-North
Bend, participated in the first Public Records Exemptions Accountability
Committee meeting today. Better known as the “Sunshine Committee,” the
appointed 13-member group will make recommendations to the Washington
State Legislature to repeal or amend exemptions to the Public Disclosure
Act.
Voters approved the Public Disclosure Act by initiative in 1972. At the
time, it included only 10 exemptions from disclosure. Today, there are
around
300 exemptions.
“The guiding priority of the Public Disclosure Act is open and
transparent government. The people’s right to access public documents is
critical to the health of our democracy. I am concerned the three
hundred or so exemptions have weakened the goals of the Public
Disclosure Act,” said Rodne. “I applaud the efforts of Attorney General
Rob McKenna in helping create the Sunshine Committee. I look forward to
working with my fellow committee members as we begin the process of
evaluating the legitimacy of each and every exemption and promoting
transparency in government.”
Rodne made his comments at the conclusion of the first committee meeting
in Olympia.
The committee was established by
Senate Bill 5435 during the 2007 legislative session. The measure
was introduced by McKenna and supported by Rodne. The committee will
review all exemptions to the Public Disclosure Act on an annual basis
and make recommendations to the Legislature by Nov. 15 of each year.
Members include six appointments by the governor, two by the attorney
general, one by the state auditor, and four by the Legislature. Terms of
the members are four years and staggered beginning Aug. 1, 2007.
Rodne can be contacted at (360) 786-7852 or
rodne.jay@leg.wa.gov.
# # #
For more information, contact:
John
Handy, Assistant Director: (360) 786-5758
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