Scenes from Gov. Baker's first State of the Commonwealth address
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker acknowledges applause before delivering his State of the State address at the Statehouse in Boston, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016. (Michael Dwyer)
(AP)
A conservative think tank is asking Gov. Charlie Baker to make the governor's office subject to the state's public records law.
Baker has said previously that he will abide by current law, which exempts the governor's office, and is not looking to change it.
The Pioneer Institute -- which Baker directed in the 1980s -- wrote a letter to Baker asking him to use an executive order or gubernatorial memo to make his office subject to public records requests.
"This bold act would set a high bar for transparency and good government and serve as a model for future governors and, more immediately, the state legislature," wrote the Pioneer Institute's Mary Connaughton, director of government transparency, and John Sivolella, senior fellow of law and policy.
The governor's exemption from the public records law is the result of a 1997 ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Lambert v. Judicial Nominating Council. Open government advocates have for years urged the governor and Legislature to change the law. But every subsequent governor has taken advantage of the exemption.
Massachusetts generally has some of the weakest public records laws in the nation, although the Legislature this past session did pass the first update in 40 years. That update did not change the exemptions enjoyed by both the governor's office and the Legislature.
Baker has instituted his own standards for executive branch agencies to respond to records requests, which were meant to give guidelines for time frames and fees.
The Pioneer Institute letter, dated last Wednesday and released publicly Monday, asks Baker to use his gubernatorial power to override the Lambert decision and make his office subject to public records requests. Connaughton and Sivolella wrote that this would be "an additional step toward transparency and accountability."
"We recognize your office has generally been responsive to public records requests," they wrote. "That said, fulfilling requests still remains voluntary and, as such, reversible at any time without public explanation." The Pioneer Institute officials noted that 30 states have few or no exceptions to public records requests submitted to their governors' offices. Only a handful of states have exemptions as broad as Massachusetts', Sivolella said.
Sivolella, in an interview, said the Pioneer Institute, which promotes government transparency, is happy with the public records reform law, but believes it does not go far enough. "The reform bill affects a lot of the agencies and does a nice job there, but the governor's office remains cloaked behind Lambert," Sivolella said.
Baker has been asked about the Lambert exemption in the past and never called for it to be repealed. "We basically follow the law," Baker told The Republican in December. "If the law changes on this stuff, we'll change with the law."
Baker said similarly in June, when he signed the public records update into law, "We'll comply with whatever rules are established by the Legislature and the courts."
But Sivolella noted that Baker has evolved his position on other issues, as he learns more about them. He hopes Baker will consider opening up the governor's office further. "He always seems to keep an open mind on things and consider the merits," Sivolella said.