BILL REQ. #:  H-3610.1 

Read first time 01/10/2006.   Referred to Committee on State Government Operations & Accountability.

     TO THE HONORABLE GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED:
     We, your Memorialists, the Senate and the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:
     WHEREAS, The state of Washington is resolved that the public confidence in government at all levels is essential and must be promoted by all possible means; and
     WHEREAS, The state of Washington is resolved that full access to information concerning the conduct of government on every level must be assured as a fundamental and necessary precondition to the sound governance of a free society; and
     WHEREAS, The people of the state of Washington, in delegating authority to act to their public servants, do not give those public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know; and
     WHEREAS, The people of the state of Washington insist on remaining informed of the conduct of government at every level; and
     WHEREAS, The people of the state of Washington rely upon the ability to obtain judicial review of an agency's determination that information should not be released to the public; and
     WHEREAS, The Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. Sec. 552 et seq., preserves the right of the people to stay informed about the conduct of federal government agencies; and
     WHEREAS, The Freedom of Information Act further preserves the right to judicial review of an agency's decision to withhold information from the public; and
     WHEREAS, The Freedom of Information Act applies to all federal agencies, including agencies such as the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Defense, which handle sensitive information; and
     WHEREAS, The Freedom of Information Act contains exemptions that adequately protect information essential to national security and other sensitive information; and
     WHEREAS, The Washington state legislature affirms its commitment to open government on all levels as a fundamental precondition to the sound governance of a free society;
     NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the United States Congress reject section 3(f) of S. 1873, the Biodefense and Pandemic Vaccine and Drug Development Act of 2005, which provides that information that relates to the activities, working groups, and advisory boards of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Agency (the "BARDA") shall not be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act unless the Secretary or Director determines such disclosure would not pose a threat to national security; and that any decision of the Secretary or Director regarding the disclosure of information would not be subject to judicial review.
     BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.