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Governor says ignoring open-records requests is not acceptable; offers to assist
Summary
When asked whether his communications staff had instructed agencies to ignore a reporter's open-records request, the governor said ignoring such requests is unacceptable and directed that FOIA/records procedures be followed.
A reporter told the governor that three state agencies had said the governor’s communications staff instructed them to ignore an open-records request. The reporter asked whether the governor was aware of those instructions.
The governor replied that ignoring an open-records request is not acceptable and that there is a FOIA process to obtain state records. “Of course, I don't think it's acceptable to ignore an open records request,” he said, and added, “So if there's an open record request, there's a FOIA process that, you should be able to get all state data and all records.”
He said the administration would cooperate and that the reporter should be able to obtain the requested records. The governor did not identify which communications staff member or agency gave such instructions, and the reporter named in the question (David Chastenoff) said three agencies told him they had been told to ignore the request.
The governor offered to help get the records for the reporter, but the transcript does not record follow-up actions or specific timelines for compliance.
