Maine - Mills Administration Held Secret Meetings on Pandemic with State Lawmakers
Officials in the administration of Governor Mills briefed large groups of Maine legislators privately and without public notice multiple times, in apparent violation of state law.
Extended Coverage:
Mills administration holds 8 briefings with lawmakers in secret during pandemic, Bangor Daily News
Bill Nemitz: Careening down the road of unintended consequences, Portland Press Herald
An Excerpt
The secret meetings violate the spirit and possibly the letter of Maine’s Freedom of Access Act, which protects the right of citizens to know what their government is doing. . . . Sigmund Schutz, an attorney who represents the Press Herald, called the pattern of unnoticed and undocumented meetings of elected officials, “very troubling. . . . The FOAA is supposed to be interpreted broadly in favor of the public’s right to know and a deliberate attempt to subvert public access is highly suspect and possibly illegal.”