Really?!? If This is Transparency, Beware of Opacity

Monday, March 8, 2010 12:20 PM

Last week, we highlighted the last-minute "public" hearing held by the Washington State legislature.

Jason Mercier at the Washington Policy Center picked up on this gem of a quote from Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, who said, when asked whether the public had had enough opportunity to weigh in on the latest tax increase proposal:

I think our processes are much more transparent than when I entered the Legislature (...) I don't think members are somehow secluded from outside influence.

Really?!?

As Mercier points out, there are quite a few people who don't share her assessment of the situation:

Safe to say some don't share Brown's assessment of the Legislature being transparent:

• State government clings to double standard, News Tribune

• Public input? Who cares?, Everett Herald

• A taxing situation, with time running out, Longview Daily News

• Keep the Sunshine Committee in business, Seattle Times 

• The Ghost Bill: Oly Lawmakers Push Tax-Break Reform With A Blank Law, Seattle Weekly

Way to legislate under the watchful eye of the public.

H/T Jason Mercier

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