“Knowledge is power.”
So the old saying
goes. We know that often, the difference between a good decision and a bad one
is how much we know beforehand. Should you buy a car from the dealership in
your town or the next one over? If one has been the subject of numerous
consumer complaints and the other is a sterling example of good business
practices, the choice is clear. But only if you know.
In the Legislature, the
same is true. The 35 members of the Senate and 151 members of the House of
Representatives are charged with making lots of decisions on behalf of Maine’s
people — judgment calls about wide-ranging topics from law enforcement to
fisheries management to tax policies.
Every lawmaker gets a vote,
but we break apart into committees to do the deep digging, the nitty-gritty of
research, debate and policymaking. And there, information about our government
is crucial.
For the most part, the legislature
is made up of dedicated people who care about their constituents and work
diligently researching the issues. It's well known that most of the
information in state government exists in the vast bureaucracy of the executive
branch and needs to be shared with the legislature, media and public. The
only way this information can be obstructed is if the governor prohibits his
department heads and staff from releasing it.
I’ve had the privilege to
work with six different governors — Democrats, Republicans and independents
alike and throughout that time, the executive and legislative branches have
worked together. The two don’t always agree, and they shouldn't. But they
maintained a professional relationship for the benefit of the state as they
worked together to solve critical problems.
For the past couple of
years that has all changed for the worse. For some reason the governor has
refused to allow his department heads and staff to testify and work with the
various committees of the legislature. At times he’s ruled that no senior
member of his administration may attend a committee meeting to answer
lawmakers’ questions about state business. At other times, he’s allowed answers
to be made only in writing. Unfortunately, the “answers” provided are often
vague and unhelpful. They lead only to more questions. Most agree that such a
shortsighted policy is counterproductive and lacks any semblance of sound
thinking.
The net effect is crucial
information about the state’s finances, its work to treat mentally sick
patients, its law enforcement efforts, and more have all been kept from
lawmakers. This is contradictory to what's consistently happened with
previous governors and most unfortunately, this policy obstructs legislative
efforts to find solutions to serious problems. The most frustrating
aspect of the governor's policy regarding his refusal to allow his department
heads to work with the legislature is simple - it flies in the face of
commonsense and keeps important information about state government from the
public.
The only reason given by
the governor for prohibiting the sharing of critical information is because he
says his government employees don't have time. Many believe such a reason
doesn't pass the straight face test. Obviously, this also sets a dangerous
precedent of obstructionism that the public, once told, will find totally
unacceptable. After all, if only the executive branch is privy to information
about the state’s business, the legislature is hamstrung in its efforts to
write budgets and craft policy and public input is severely limited.
The legislature, and
especially the public, needs to insist that this unreasonable policy needs to
stop. When elected officials are kept in the dark, their ability to
represent their constituents' best interests is diminished. More importantly,
it cannot become the norm for any branch of government to restrict information
from the public regardless of who gives the order.
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