Lawsuit aims at Commerce Department’s culture of secrecy
Yet that's not what
"If I had found industry doing those type of destruction of records in order to avoid potential negative fallout from an action, I would start an enforcement action,"
In a statement last month, Rothman described
But Legislative Auditor
Commerce is not an agency that most citizens deal with on a daily basis. But it has a massive job: keeping banks, insurance companies, real estate agencies and other industries honest. It's supposed to protect consumers from renegade debt collectors, unscrupulous real estate professionals, unjustified insurance rate hikes and other transgressions.
Commerce has long been one of the most secretive and combative state agencies when it comes to giving up its records or requests for media interviews. O'Connor, when she was the department spokeswoman, demanded that reporters not name her in stories. She has since been promoted.
"I've always felt that one of the most effective regulatory tools is transparency," he said. "That's what we have that creates our strongest defense for protecting the public."
But according to
"When the focus is on only releasing information that puts Commerce into a positive light, you've really defeated the purpose of what we're doing there," he said.
In a statement Friday, the
The department also said it's "committed to full compliance with the state's data practices requirements, both to ensure access to public information and to protect information that the law classifies as private or confidential. The department welcomes and will fully cooperate with any examination of the department's data practices procedures that the Legislative Auditor thinks is appropriate."
No matter how
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