There aren’t a lot of legal provisions enacted in 1789 still on the books today. But the ones that are have stood the test of time because they absolutely serve the public interest.
One such provision is that the government be obligated to publish its bill, orders, resolutions and votes in a publicly available newspaper — a requirement dating back to the first Congress.
The purpose was to compel government to report its actions to its citizens in a medium independent of government influence.
Publishing public notices in a newspaper of record ensures decisions related to public debt, laws, policy, taxation and quality of life are made in the open.
It empowers the public to get involved. And it contributes to a reservoir of archived material in a form that cannot be altered, changed, hacked, hidden or manipulated after the fact.
Those principles will be compromised, however, if the state Legislature adopts SB-5360 and HB-1478, which would permit local governments to post notices only to their own self-maintained Web sites rather than a designated newspaper.
Simply put, the objective of transparency in government is ill-served by a law that would make public officials the gatekeepers of their own information.
Advocates point to the convenience and cost savings of posting the notices online rather than in print. The problem is, there are still those who lack access to the Internet; meanwhile, newspapers such as this one publish legals online for free in addition to the paid in-print version. So for a nominal fee, governments currently get twice the exposure they would if the new laws were passed.
This isn’t about saving money. It’s about preserving public access to the legislative process and continuing to provide a service without which fewer — rather than more — would know what their elected leaders are up to.
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Protect Your Right To Know: Proposed legislation closes door on open government (Tacoma Daily Index) — http://www.tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=1915744&more=0
Editorial: Raid on public rights (Pt. Townsend Leader) — http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=5&SubSectionID=5&ArticleID=28554
A commitment to open government is not negotiable (Lake Chelan Mirror) — http://www.lakechelanmirror.com/main.asp?SubSectionID=10&ArticleID=3428&SectionID=10
A commitment to open government is not negotiable (Cashmere Valley Record) — http://www.cashmerevalleyrecord.com/main.asp?SectionID=10&SubSectionID=10&ArticleID=4084
Legislature could make info less accessible (Issaquah Press) — http://www.issaquahpress.com/2011/01/25/press-editorial-legislature-could-make-info-less-accessible/
Duly notified? (Methow Valley News) — http://www.methowvalleynews.com/opinion.php
Our Voice: Newspaper notice is part of open government (Ferndale Record) — http://ferndalerecord.com/our-voice-p1408-87.htm
Editorial: No legal notices in newspapers lessens resident access (The Daily News) — http://tdn.com/news/opinion/article_2299b0d0-2c0a-11e0-9ae0-001cc4c002e0.html
Move would widen communication gap with government (Yakima Herald-Republic) — http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2011/01/29/move-would-widen-communication-gap-with-government
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*****PIERCE COUNTY LEGISLATORS*****
— DISTRICT 2 —
Senator Randi Becker (R)
P. O. Box 40402
Olympia, WA 98504
(360) 786-7602
becker.randi@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Jim McCune (R)
P. O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504
(360) 786-7824
mccune.jim@leg.wa.gov
Rep. J. T. wilcox (R)
P. O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504
(360) 786-7912
wilcox.jt@leg.wa.gov
— DISTRICT 25 —
Senator Jim Kastama (D)
P. O. Box 40425
Olympia, WA 98504
(360) 786-7648
kastama.jim@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Bruce Dammeier (R)
P. O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504
(360) 786-7948
dammeier.bruce@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Hans Zeiger (D)
P. O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504
(360) 786-7968
zeiger.hans@leg.wa.gov
— DISTRICT 26 —
Senator Derek Kilmer (D)
P. O. Box 40426
Olympia, WA 98504
(360) 786-7650
kilmer.derek@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Jan Angel (R)
P. O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504
(360) 786-7964
angel.jan@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Larry Seaquist (D)
P. O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504
(360) 786-7802
seaquist.larry@leg.wa.gov
— DISTRICT 27 —
Senator Debbie Regala (D)
P. O. Box 40427
Olympia, WA 98504
(360) 786-7652
regala.debbie@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Laurie Jinkins (D)
P. O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504
(360) 786-7930
jinkins.laurie@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Jeannie Darneille (D)
P. O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504
(360) 786-7974
darneille.jeannie@leg.wa.gov
— DISTRICT 28 —
Senator Mike Carrell (R)
P. O. Box 40428
Olympia, WA 98504
(360) 786-7654
carrell.mike@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Troy Kelley (D)
P. O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504
(360) 786-7890
kelley.troy@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Tami Green (D)
P. O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504
(360) 786-7958
green.tami@leg.wa.gov
— DISTRICT 29 —
Senator Steve Conway (D)
P. O. Box 40429
Olympia, WA 98504
(360) 786-7656
conway.steve@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Connie Ladenburg (D)
P. O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504
(360) 786-7906
ladenburg.connie@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Steve Kirby (D)
P. O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504
(360) 786-7996
kirby.steve@leg.wa.gov
— DISTRICT 31 —
Senator Pam Roach (R)
P. O. Box 40431
Olympia, WA 98504
(360) 786-7660
roach.pam@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Cathy Dahlquist (R)
P. O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504
(360) 786-7846
dahlquist.cathy@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Christopher Hurst (D)
P. O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504
(360) 786-7866
hurst.christopher@leg.wa.gov
