McKenna and Sonntag call for legislative transparency reforms

Attorney General Rob McKenna and State Auditor Brian Sonntag, two of the state’s strongest advocates for transparent and accountable government, have written a letter to legislators encouraging them to adopt the Washington Policy Center’s (WPC) proposal for a constitutional amendment to improve legislative transparency.

Their letter reads:

“In the spirit of open and accountable government, we support a proposed constitutional amendment to create greater legislative transparency.  The attached proposal, recommended by the Washington Policy Center, would prohibit blank bills from being introduced or voted on by the legislature.  While the use of ‘title only bills’ is a rare procedure, the public concern substantially justifies eliminating their use entirely.  The proposal would also require a minimum time for public notice of bills before a legislative hearing or action on the bill. 

These basic reforms will build the public trust and ensure that government is open and accountable to the public.  Please give your support to this proposed constitutional amendment.”

During the 2010 Session lawmakers routinely waived legislative rules requiring five-day notice before holding a bill hearing; provided inadequate notice of the time, location and topic of public hearings; held hearings on bills with no text; and voted on bills the same day details were made publicly available. The rush to vote on the budget and tax bills without allowing meaningful public comment or adequate review time by lawmakers led to mistakes in the bills.

To address these problems WPC recommends the following constitutional reforms: Require 72-hour public notification before any bill could receive a public hearing; prohibit title only bills (no public hearing or vote should occur on a “ghost bill”); and prohibit votes on final passage until the final version of the bill to be approved has been publicly available for at least 24 hours.

McKenna and Sonntag offered the following comments about their support for WPC’s proposal:

"Now more than ever, the people of Washington demand access and accountability from their government—and I’m happy to support the Constitutional Transparency Amendment as one important way to give it to them,” McKenna said.

“Government has a responsibility – and citizens expect it – to be open, accessible and transparent. That’s how I define accountability. The effort for a Constitutional Transparency Amendment begins to shine a very bright light on the critical importance of open government,” said Sonntag.

Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-5th) has also endorsed WPC’s constitutional legislative transparency amendment. Last week under the Congresswoman’s leadership as Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference, the U.S. House adopted governing rules that include many of the transparency recommendations proposed by WPC for the state.

“Whether at the state or national level, Americans expect their elected officials to act in a transparent way and should be provided every opportunity to participate in the legislative process,” said Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference. “Having had the privilege of serving both in the Washington State Legislature and the U.S. Congress, I understand the importance of allowing those we represent to fully participate in the legislative debate which is why I support the Washington Policy Center’s proposal for a constitutional transparency amendment.”

Many thanks to McKenna, Sonntag and Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers for their support of this important reform. The people’s legislative business should be conducted in a manner that facilitates the participation of every Washingtonian that wants to be involved. If lawmakers are serious about providing legislative transparency they should adopt these common-sense protections to enable the public to be part of the legislative process in a meaningful way.

Additional Information
Letter to lawmakers from Attorney General and State Auditor
2010 Session Marked by Secrecy and Closed-door Agreements
U.S. House poised to adopt transparency reforms