Booze

What comes next in Oregon’s fight against alcohol addiction and prevention? New alcohol taxes? A state task force on the matter is keeping secrets from you.

There is a draft of the state’s task force plans that may include recommendations for new taxes on alcohol to provide additional treatment and prevention. The draft has gone through different versions. It’s been discussed in public meetings. But when we made a public records request for the latest version, our request was declined.

“We have reviewed your request and worked with the HB 3610 Task Force to assess the request,” an email from Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission said. “Currently, the Task Force is asking that we exempt the release under ORS 192.355(1) as the report is in draft form and is considered an “Internal advisory communication that is preliminary to a final decision on policy or action.” That said, the Committee does plan to release the report by the end of the month. The final version of the report will be posted to the House Bill 3610 Task Force webpage. This completes our response to your public records request.”

There is indeed such an exemption under public records law in Oregon. But consider what the law says about this exemption: “This exemption shall not apply unless the public body shows that in the particular instance the public interest in encouraging frank communication between officials and employees of public bodies clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure.”

The OLCC provided no such justification. We did send the OLCC a request for that additional information, because it is handling the task force’s public records requests. We have not received a response as of the deadline for this editorial.

We made a second public records request after the denial. It was for any emails concerning the records request to or from the OLCC, thinking that would round up the discussion with any members of the task force about denying our records request. We are waiting on that, too.

What’s at stake is more than a kerfuffle over Oregon’s laws on public records. The public does have a right to know what state officials and others might be recommending for taxation and alcohol.

It’s — shall we say — a most interesting practice to discuss a document in a public meeting that may include new taxes but refuse to let the public see the document that officials are discussing. It’s an uncanny level of lack of transparency.

It’s not how open government in Oregon is supposed to work. The presumption under the law is openness, not secrecy. It’s a choice to keep the plan secret. There is nothing that requires the secrecy.

The internet is, of course, a deep mine. We did happen to uncover a draft “Task Force Report” in the Oregon state archives. The report includes a summary of existing alcohol taxes and treatment in Oregon and the process that the task force has used to consider what to do. As of that draft, the task force as a whole apparently does not have recommendations. Individual task force “members provided valuable insight and affirmed their individual policy recommendations for legislators to consider when drafting future legislation.” The recommendations are not listed.

Another apparently earlier draft report obtained by The Oregonian did contain some contradictory recommendations for increased taxes on beer and wine by members of the task force. That article concluded that the task force as a whole was not going to make recommendations. The bill creating the task force, House Bill 3610, does not require the task force to provide recommendations. It “may include recommendations for legislation.”

In the good old days, we would call up a lawyer and get them to help us in a fight over public records to get hold of the latest draft. The Bulletin is not in those days. Maybe this editorial will be enough to give the task force a nudge. If you were to write an email to the task force chair, Rep. Tawna Sanchez, D-Portland, and politely ask her to release the document, we bet that would help. Her email is Rep.TawnaSanchez@oregonlegislature.gov.

Sanchez introduced a bill in 2021, proposing to increase the taxes on beer and cider in Oregon from over $2.60 per barrel to more than $70. But she has said since that time that it was never her intention to raise taxes by that much. She wanted to get people talking. It would be nice to know what is in the latest draft report her task force is talking about.