IDAHO RURAL COUNCIL WINS 2001 MAX DALTON OPEN GOVERNMENT AWARD
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The Idaho Rural Council has been named to receive the 2001 Max Dalton Open Government Award.
The award, sponsored by the Idaho Newspaper Foundation, is an annual
recognition of Idaho citizens who have advanced the cause of open government
in Idaho in a meaningful way. Lee Halper and Don Cogger of Jerome, representing the IRC, will receive
a piece of commemorative artwork and a check for $1,000 from the Idaho
Newspaper Foundation during an awards ceremony on Thursday, March 8, at
The Basque Center in Boise. The ceremony will be held in conjunction with a
tribute to Secretary of State Pete Cenarrusa and a celebration of
Idaho's Basque Heritage. Halper and Cogger became suspicious the way the Idaho State Department
of Agriculture distributed fees from milk processed from Magic Valley dairy
farms that had their operating permits suspended by the state.
Rather than dump the milk from suspended dairies, the ISDA allowed the
milk to be processed, and the dairies were allowed to designate charities to
receive the processing fees, which sometimes totaled thousands of
dollars. Halper and Cogger wanted to know the names of these charities and the
amounts they received, but were repeatedly blocked by the ISDA despite repeated
legitimate requests made under the Idaho Public Records Law. They
persisted in their requests, even to the point of having to go to the Boise
offices of ISDA to retrieve the information.
Halper and Cogger found many of the so-called "charities" that received
processing fees were not legitimate. One check was donated to a
processor's golf tournament and several contributions were made to a social hall of
which two of the suspended dairymen sat on the board of directors.
As a result of their findings, a bill was introduced and passed in the
2000 Idaho Legislature to change the distribution of the processing fees so
they now go directly into the general fund of the county in which the dairy
farm is located. The Max Dalton Open Government Award is named after Max D. Dalton, who
was killed, at age 78, by squatters on his ranch in Costa Rica in November
1997. He had spent most of his life in Idaho where he operated a Meridian milk-testing business.
In 1981, as a resident of Meridian, Dalton filed a public records lawsuit
that resulted in a 1984 landmark Idaho Supreme Court ruling, Dalton vs.
Idaho Dairy Products Commission, that reinforced the right of every
Idaho citizen to have swift, convenient access to state records.
The Idaho Newspaper Foundation, founded in 1983, is chartered to advance
the public understanding of a newspaper journalism and a free press in Idaho.
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HONORABLE MENTIONS FOR 2001 MAX DALTON OPEN GOVERNMENT AWARD
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In addition to the awarding of the 2001 Max Dalton Open Government Award to
the Idaho Rural Council, the nominating committee selected three finalists for honorable mention:
Idaho Democratic Party: This year the Idaho Democratic Party declared it would open all of its legislative caucuses. The action by the party for
the first time swings open to the public the doors to these important briefing and strategy sessions.
Chuck Broscious: Broscious, of Troy, is the founder and executive director of the Environmental Defense Institute, a watchdog group of the Idaho
National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory in southeast Idaho. He
has sought, fought for and obtained many records from the site that have
shaped public policy toward INEEL.
Idaho Wildlife Federation: During 2000, this group tenaciously sought
to obtain information from the Idaho Department of Agriculture concerning
management of commercial captive elk and deer programs in Idaho. The
group's prompting led to a proposed rule on preventing the spread of disease
among these commercial herds.
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MAX DALTON OPEN GOVERNMENT AWARD
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The Max Dalton Open Government Award was started by the Idaho Newspaper Foundation for two reasons. 1) To recognize citizens who have worked to
advance the cause of open meetings and open records in Idaho. 2) To
enhance public awareness of the extent of secrecy in Idaho government and the
need for reform in the state’s open meeting and open records law.
The award was conceived after the murder of Max Dalton in 1997 by
squatters on his ranch in Costa Rica.
His tragic death reminded us of the many contributions he made during
his life, including being a dogged advocate for openness in government,
said Bob Hall, executive director of the INF.
In 1981, as a resident of Meridian, Dalton filed a public records
lawsuit that resulted in a 1984 landmark Idaho Supreme Court ruling, Dalton vs.
Idaho Dairy Products Commission, that reinforced the right of every
Idaho citizen to have swift, convenient access to state records.
The ruling was an historic affirmation of the nation’s simplest, best
public records law, Hall said. Unfortunately, it shocked secrecy-prone state
bureaucrats. They swiftly scrambled for special exemptions to the law
that closed off their own corners of government.
In the 15 years since the 'Dalton decision,' the law has become so
undermined, with over 50 loopholes, that it is now one of the nation’s
weakest and most confusing tools for citizens to use when they need to
swiftly copy and study records paid for by their taxes and fees, Hall
said. We hope that, by honoring those who emulate Max Dalton’s example, more
citizens will take personal action against needless government secrecy
in Idaho, Hall said. The fourth Max Dalton Open Government Award winner will be announced in
February 2002. Nominations may be made at any time. Nomination letters
may be sent to Idaho Newspaper Foundation, 6560 Emerald St., Suite 124, Boise,
ID 83704 or via e-mail to bobchall@aol.com.
Members of the 2001 nominating committee were Hall; A.L. Alford Jr.,
publisher of the Lewiston Morning Tribune and Moscow-Pullman News
Review; Boise attorney Allen Derr; Debora Kristensen of the Boise law firm of
Givens Pursley; Tom Grote, publisher of The Star-News in McCall; Ada County
Commissioner Sharon Ullman, the 1999 award winner; and Jesse West of
Richfield, the 2000 award winner.
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BIOGRAPHY OF MAX DALTON
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In 1981, Max D. Dalton operated a milk-testing business in Meridian. He
filed a public records lawsuit that resulted in a 1984 landmark Idaho Supreme
Court ruling to reinforce the right of every Idaho citizen to have swift,
convenient access to state records.
In his lawsuit, (Dalton v. Idaho Dairy Products Commission, 107 Idaho 6,
684 P.2d 983) Dalton sued to have a list of the names and addresses of all
Idaho dairy farmers so he could do a mailing. Dalton was refused by the
commission, which claimed the list was confidential.
In its decision, the Supreme Court upheld Idaho’s public records law
that said records must be opened to public view on any citizens request,
unless specifically closed by law.
In 1984, Idaho’s law contained only a few precise exception provisions
that were necessary to protect the public security, fair trial procedures and
sensitive personal privacy areas in medical condition documents in
government files.Stung by the threat of the Dalton decision to their control over public
information, Idaho government agencies have since rammed exemptions for
their own records and meetings into Idaho’s law. More than 50 exemptions to
the public records law are now on the books.
Today, prompt, inexpensive citizen access to most pre-Dalton public
records files is difficult or impossible. Use of vague executive session
privileges to weaken open meetings access also has increased sharply since the 1984
decision. The Max Dalton Open Government Award aims to reward aggressive citizen
actions that advance open government in Idaho. The award also promotes
public awareness of the dangerous trend toward government secrecy in Idaho.
Dalton was killed, at age 78, in November 1997 by squatters on his ranch
in Costa Rica. The murderers were never brought to justice. After his
death, then-U.S. Sen. Dirk Kempthorne introduced a Sense of the Senate
Resolution condemning the government of Costa Rica for their handling of the murder case.
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THE IDAHO NEWSPAPER FOUNDATION
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The Idaho Newspaper Foundation, founded in 1983, is chartered to advance
the public understanding of a newspaper journalism and a free press in
Idaho. The INF believes reform is needed to correct the many barriers in state
law that result in barring citizens from the meetings of public officials
they have elected and being refused access to the public documents that have
been paid with their tax dollars.
The foundation publishes “Idaho Press” which reports regularly on
newspaper government affairs and general newspaper trade issues. INF also
contributes grants to newspaper information seminars and workshops.
The INF is overseen by a board of directors and an executive director,
Bob C. Hall, who also serves as executive director of the Idaho Newspaper
Association. Contributions to the foundation may be made to Idaho Newspaper
Foundation, 6560 Emerald St., Suite 124, Boise, ID 83704. For information, call
(208) 375-0733.
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