February 19, 2007

"State Government Should Crack Open Like a Pinata..."

The Nashville City Paper rips into Tennessee Department of Revenue Commissioner Reagan Farr in one of the best editorials about government openness, and bureaucrats who try to avoid it, that I have ever read. The paper first recaps the details, which the paper reported last week, of how the Revenue Department deliberatly refused a public information request from the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, based on a dislike of TCPR's political agenda:

Revenue department staff refused to respond to the TCPR staff, deeming them not a legitimate group that apparently didn't deserve a response from state bureaucrats in exchange for their tax dollars as residents of Tennessee. Still fairly new Revenue Commissioner Reagan Farr stood behind the revenue staff, saying TCPR did not pursue the information they requested through the correct channels. The TCPR disputes this, noting they originally called the department's public information officer for information - the person Farr said should have been contacted.

A direct quote from the department's public information officer's e-mail to other revenue staffers: "The Tennessee Center for Policy Research has called several people in the department, including me, re: unauthorized substances tax. As you know, this is Drew Johnson's group. We are not responding to the calls."

The key words here are, "including me." Clearly, the protocol under which the TCPR was denied the information as stated by Farr was actually followed.

It is true; the TCPR is not a group without an agenda. They are interested in low taxes, smaller government and government accountability. Ironically, that sounds a great deal like many of the values Gov. Phil Bredesen has campaigned on successfully during both of his re-election bids.

Quite frankly, it should not really matter how far off the mainstream any group is when dealing with state government. Whether it is a blogger in their pajamas, a special interest group or just Joe Citizen, state government should crack open like a pinata when asked for otherwise public information.

Update: Other bloggers weighing in include A.C. Kleinheider at VolunteerVoters.com, Martin Kennedy, and Ben Cunningham. Also: Ned Williams, and the Knoxville News Sentinel's blogger Michael Silence.

Update: Monday morning I emailed Gov. Phil Bredesen's spokesperson, Lydia Lenker, seeking a statement from the administration regarding the Department of Revenue's refusal to answer TCPR's public-information request, and Commissioner Reagan Farr's subsequent dishonesty about what really happened. By late Monday there was no response.