Back to Square One in Minnesota

There was a bill to open records in Minnesota. But Friday, Governor Tim Pawlenty put an end to it. From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune...

Pawlenty vetoes bills on sick-leave use, surrogacy contracts:

Pawlenty also vetoed a bill that would remove the presumption of confidentiality for adoptions occurring before 1977. 'Breaching the promise of confidentiality previously given to these birth parents is not appropriate,' Pawlenty wrote in his veto message.

The bill was not a clean bill: It contained a disclosure veto. So I'm glad it's dead.

But the fact that Pawlenty buys into the "promise of confidentiality" nonsense is disheartening. Not surprising. But disheartening. With that sort of veto message, unless we can change his mind, Minnesota is not likely to see open records for the next two years. (Or longer, if he runs again and is reelected in 2010.)

I'm glad we didn't get saddled with a bad bill. But I find myself wishing we didn't have such an ignorant attitude in the governor's mansion.