AUGUSTA, Maine — Media members and others testified Thursday before a legislative committee in opposition to a proposal from the governor that would exempt all of his “working papers” from Maine’s Freedom of Access Act.
The bill, which was approved in December by a majority of the Legislature’s right-to-know advisory committee, essentially would grant Maine’s executive branch the same exemption that has been afforded to the legislative branch for more than 50 years.
Michael Cianchette, deputy counsel to Gov. Paul LePage, was the only person to speak in favor of LD 1805 during its public hearing before the Judiciary Committee. He said the proposal is needed to ensure that decisions can be weighed and considered candidly before they go public. Without that exemption, Cianchette said, the governor and his staff likely would stop creating records for fear that they might go public.
A number of people who spoke Thursday said that the proposal is far too broad and that the people of Maine have a right to know how LePage and any other governor makes policy decisions.
Longtime State House reporter Mal Leary, who reports on a freelance basis for the Bangor Daily News, was among the minority on the right-to-know advisory committee. Leary said the proposed law would put Maine “far outside the norm for access to records of state governors.” Only six other states have this type of exemption.
Already, state law provides certain exemptions and Leary argued that the exemptions should apply to the record itself, not the custodian of that record.
He also shared a quote Thursday from a campaign interview he conducted with LePage prior to the 2010 election.
“If I’m elected governor, we’re going to be so open, even you will be amazed,” the governor said.
Leary then added, “I’m amazed, but not in the way the governor thought I would be.”
The exemption was first proposed last summer in a letter sent by LePage to members of the right-to-know advisory committee. In it, the governor said he believed that “an open government is an honest government.” However, the governor also said he had concerns about what constitutes government business.
“We have received [FOAA] requests for all grocery receipts from the Blaine House,” he wrote. “The staff of the Blaine House conducts the shopping — it is not something I involve myself in. I understand that taxpayers have a legitimate right to know the amount of money being spent in their house, but the intimate details of our diet goes far beyond funds and into the private details of my family’s life.”
LePage also said he believes some people have been abusing Maine’s FOAA for political purposes and that concern is what prompted the recent request.
But Leary said the governor’s proposal goes far beyond the nuisance associated with complying with FOAA requests. He also pointed out that the past four governors, including two Republicans, one Democrat and an independent, all complied with the law as it exists.
Shenna Bellows, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine and a member of the right-to-know advisory committee, said exempting the governor’s working papers would take the state backward in government transparency.
“This language is so broad and so vague that the governor could keep virtually anything secret if he proposed that he was intending legislation or a report to come from that information,” she said. “Secrecy breeds public distrust in government and potential corruption.”
Cianchette did say Thursday that the governor was open to amending the bill to clarify some of the language.
But the opposition was about more than just the language.
George Smith, former director of the Sportman’s Alliance of Maine, said he has been coming to the State House for 40 years and has “never experienced anything like the secrecy of this administration.”
“What is the governor hiding? And why? After promising the most transparent government in history, Gov. Paul LePage has delivered the most secretive,” Smith said.
“The governor does not need the encouragement of this legislation to hide from us all that he is doing,” Smith continued. “Shame on any legislator who helps the governor keep this information from the people he and they work for.”
Michael Dowd, editor in chief of the Bangor Daily News and president of the Maine Press Association’s board of directors, offered written testimony in opposition to the bill.
“The power of the governor and his ability to set the legislative agenda require that his work be subject to public scrutiny under the bright light of Maine’s sunshine laws,” Dowd said, reading his testimony at a press conference three hours prior to the hearing. “I believe the public has an absolute right to know how the governor’s legislative agenda is developed.”
Dowd said the timeline spelled out in the proposed legislation would be “too little, too late.”
“Instead of a well-informed citizenry being able to affect legislation before it becomes law, they will instead have to react after the fact,” he said.
Under Maine statute, official records of the Legislature itself are subject to the Freedom of Access Act. However, all legislative papers and reports, working papers, drafts, internal memoranda and similar works in progress are not public until signed and publicly distributed in accordance with rules of the Legislature.
By comparison, records of the executives, such as governor, mayor or commissioner of a department, are subject to the FOAA if the records have been received or prepared for use in connection with the transaction of public or government business or if they contain information relating to the transaction of public or governmental business.
Some think the legislative exemption should be repealed, including Sen. Cynthia Dill, D-Cape Elizabeth, who said Thursday that she plans to offer an amendment to LD 1805 that would eliminate both the governor’s and Legislature’s exemptions.
Sen. David Hastings, R-Fryeburg, one of two legislators on the right-to-know committee and a co-chair of the Judiciary Committee, said in December that he supports an exemption both for lawmakers and the governor.
“I’ve never really given this a lot of thought, but no one has ever asked me for anything I would consider a working paper,” Hastings said. “The exemption has never been a problem that I know of … Everything will become public eventually.”
Neither portion of Maine’s FOAA related to the executive and legislative branch has been litigated, according to Portland-based attorney Sigmund Schutz, who specializes in media law.
A work session on LD 1805 has been scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 29.
Paul doesn’t want the public to know what’s going on in his office until he’s left it (In 2014 no doubt). He’s also hired on extra help (State Police Officer) to guard him and his office. And let us not forget that he needs his daughter to be on the taxpayers dime so that he always has “someone” close to him that he can trust (Or is that dominate?). What is this man so darn afraid of? Little old us? Just wait until November Paul. Only moderation and success can protect politicians from voters and you clearly haven’t shown anyone much of either of those qualities.
{has “someone” close to him}
Some one has to be nearby at a moments notice to run the shredder!
Yes I aso agree with you – I would like to know if, in fact, his daughter received an increase in her salary (i read some tid-bit some time ago to that effect). I wonder if the Gov. would give a straight answer if I were to e-mail him at Maine.gov?
Don’t waste your time, applescruff. This (mis)administration is not known for giving straight answers. Ask Brucie Poliquin.
Let’s just exempt Governor LePage from complying with any law, Constitution, regulation, by-law, or ethical code of conduct. It would be our recognition that he is incorrigible and irredeemable.
You know, sadly, that is just about the most disrespectful, vile thing one could say about a Governor and it fits.
Chanard, you convinced me.
He is toast.
I will raise a toast to that!
I think the media should have his papers. I voted for Our Great Governor Paul LePage, yet oversite keeps even the Best intentions honest and and above Board,,, What happens when a Dem gets in there in 20/25 years and we want to see his papers… Open them up baby!!!!
we won’t be waiting 20 to 25 yrs for a Democratic Governor.
There has never been a governor that has ever denied access to their papers, never. So as long as this bill fails, open em up baby! What’s good for our very first governor, and all the way up to this governor should be no different for this guy. I say the same thing to LePage……open em up baby!
This legislation needs to be killed. There is absolutely no reason to have the Governor’s papers secret.
Absolutely right. Government transparency, and nothing to hide? Doesn’t sound like it to me. One of his excuses is that his office gets too many freedom of access documents requests and they’re too busy to deal with it. Come on LePage you are (unfortunately) the State’s governor, didn’t you anticipate that the taxpayers might want to know how you were spending our money? What a joke.
Why is he even proposing this? He must know that it would automatically bring suspicion and doubt on an administration that is ridiculed with suspicion and doubt?
If the governor was so apt, and obviously able to interrupt the Appropriations Committee’s deliberation, not once….but twice, then I feel it would be fair for the Judiciary Committee to call the governor HIMSELF to testify as to what prompted this proposal.
He seems to want to be able to equalize his papers with those of the Legislature. The Legislature has Legislative Horse blankets. These are day by day, transcriptions of what is said, exactly said during any daily session of either branch. Each day, pages must enter the last day or days pages into the horse blankets. These are available upon request, to anyone.
A Legislative committee’s proceedings are public, any notes made by a specific legislator belong to that legislator, not the committee. And one legislator does not have an equal impact as one governor. Legislator’s pass notes to and from each other many, many times during a day’s session, most of them are meaningless, some are not. But the outcome is certainly reported to the public, with the voting tallies, the horse blankets, and committee reports.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he simply doesn’t want his potential opponent’s to know his expenses while governor, among many other things.
I will be contacting every state legislator and urging them to vote no. Since our very first executive, Governor William King, no one has ever questioned this executive responsibility, until now.
The point of asking about grocery receipts could be to see if they really are grocery receipts and not hiding something else. What LePage apparently (?) doesn’t understand is that FOAA requests are by nature broad because the requesting party doesn’t know what’s in the documents.
{LePage also said he believes some people have been abusing Maine’s FOAA for political purposes and that concern is what prompted the recent request.}
Whats the Matter Lepage?
Did you really think that you where elected King?
Naw, he’s the “Govner” not dictator, every thing SHOULD be in the open. No REAL reason to hide anything.
Oh my God ! Cynthia Dill proposed that the Legislature and the Governor both be subject to the same law ? There is hope for Augusta. Transparency in government is what was called for in both The Constitution and both side’s of the Federalist Paper’s. It’s also required for due process. The only exceptions are in a criminal trial, in the jury deliberations, which come out anyway, and under the Fed’s Privacy Act, which VERY CLEARLY define the 3 Federal exception’s (National Security, on-going Criminal Investigation and Personal Information required for compliance) that are provided for. That Mainer’s are requiring their Government to actually work openly, without any outside influence’s being provided a way to hide their influence, speaks well of Mainer’s. That there is so much resistance to this move toward transparency is also a little more than troubling.
Open Gov’ts require that all parts of government to work openly. We all have seen the result’s of secret government, more so now since we all have seen the result’s of Bush 2 and his supposedly hunt for the Saddam Bomb. People’s career’s destroyed, the public’s trust in their elected official’s more than a little compromised, our Government’s abiltiy to work with other countries and the private sector crippled, and more importantly, the public’s respect for it and what it represents more than a little tarnished. An Open Government in a time of increasingly seen backroom deals and ‘Chicken Little’ press releases is desperately needed. There is no reason that Maine can’t lead the way. So why are so many oppossed ? That there are so many should make us all wonder why and who ? It should give us all serious cause to start asking those question’s, and not just in private. The Constitution, and what it represent’s, requires nothing less.
LePage could be inspired by the example set by Romney. When leaving the Massachusetts governorship due to expiration of his term Romney purchased the hard drives of all computers of his major cabinet appointments. Otherwise they would have be part of the public record. It seems to be a virus afflicting these right wing “saviors” of the American dream.
Wow, I usually disagree with George Smith ( he can be as much of a blowhard as LePage) but he nailed it this time.
I’m not a big fan of George’s either, BUT I’m sure he does recall the governor forcing his sister out as spoke’s person for Inland Fisheries not so long ago. And she was a member of his own party, but George wasn’t so nice to him, so he canned her! That’s real nice Paul.
http://bangor-launch.newspackstaging.com/2011/12/24/politics/maine-warden-service-spokeswoman-resigns/
Let’s be honest, all except LePage’s most hard core supporters and the MHPC and it’s ilk are opposed to this bill. To lay it on “the media and others” is understating the opposition to this.
“Without that exemption, Cianchette said, the governor and his staff likely would stop creating records for fear that they might go public.”
In other words he’s going to hide his actions from the people no matter what we say…
Does he think that by hiding everything nobody will be able to see that he’s following the script given him by ALEC and MHPC, or the ties with the Kochs and their national agenda of screwing the working people over? What a little Koch puppet he is.
ALEC and MHPC are just the tip of the iceberg for the Koch brothers. Another group they support or ‘own’, Americans for Prosperity is helping Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin. David Koch recently admitted to the Palm Beach Post that that he and his brother have been helping Walker…
“We’re helping him, as we should. We’ve gotten pretty good at this over the years,” he says. “We’ve spent a lot of money in Wisconsin. We’re going to spend more.”
There is even a picture I saw of Walker holding a bumper sticker that said “Wisconsin, open for Business”. He must of seen Paulie’s sign in Kittery, or maybe it’s just co-incidence.
The word “candidly” implies honesty and truthfulness. Why should honest and truthful behavior in public office be hidden? In everyday life I expect people I deal with (employees, employers, business people, medical providers) to be honest and forthcoming. Why should politicians be treated diferently?
What is the problem? Tear the pages out of the governor’s coloring book and hang them on the refrigerator. Tell him how proud we are that he stayed between the lines, as best he could. Why does this have to become an issue?
Because he can’t stay inside the lines, (pun intended).
Hey, everyone gets a trophy these days just for trying.
Of course the media is against this, it would be one less piece of drama or controversy for them to report on. If the media actually reported the news, instead of reporting the drama, then the Gov wouldn’t be pushing for this. Freedom of Access was lobbied by the media, and they are the only ones who care about it.
I’m sure Fox News doesn’t care about facts.
If ever there was a political figure who deserved to be more closely scrutinized, I can’t imagine who it would be. And of course he wants less scrutiny. WHY??
Must be part of all that government transparency LIEpage promised to bring with him. Same ol’ same ol’
Are they going to try and convince us that historically transparency has been bad? What a joke.
So much for being the “most open governorship” ever, huh?
A very wise person once told me, “Secrecy is the breeding ground for
dysfunctional behavior.”
….
“For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”
Only dirty deals are made under cover of darkness….LePage is trying to become Maine’s dictator. He is already a proven liar and my thought is that his “papers” should be scrutinized with a fine tooth comb…do not trust this crook ! Recall LePage !!!
… I cannot believe the conversation did not take place, where someone advised LePage to consider not asking for this bill, precisely because of the reaction it would get. I would like to FOIA that conversation.
I do not trust of the GOP leadership. They have lied, bold faced, about too many issues. The whole Voter Registration nonsense was one trumped up lie after another. The lies about the Mural-Gate issue… the lies of “I will have most open government, ever!”
I wonder how McKane would defend this bill?
Trust is a huge thing… hope is powerful… event hose that did not vote for LePage hoped he would do well…. yet here we are..
Jobs… not partisan politics.. Jobs.. not hiding papers… or changing voting laws… or any other “stacking the deck” effort… if the people like what you GOP people do, you will get elected.. if we do not, you will not… changing the law is a poor way to get back into office…
Given the way LePage has behaved over the last year, the thought of him being bale to hide everything he does is truly frightening.
I’m sure The Press is calling for the Legislature to open their working papers, too, right?