Today the state legislature passed ESB 6617, which made several changes to the state’s Open Records Act. Among those changes, it exempts the legislative branch from the Open Records Act — an action that has been broadly decried. To make matters worse, the legislature rushed the bill through, with no committee hearings. After the vote, I emailed Sen. Jamie Pedersen, my representative in the state Senate, to complain about the bill and the process. Here is his complete response. I make no claims about the veracity of what he says, nor do I necessarily agree with him, but I appreciate …
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