Hiding Policy from the Public with a Private Sector Ploy – Continued

I blogged on an Ohio anti-government transparency trick yesterday.

Already, the fruits of these shenanigans are coming to light.

Today the Cincinnati Enquirer reports Ohio’s special education community is up in arms about the education budget that resulted from conducting the work in a private company immune from Ohio’s open records laws.

Some of the charges from the special-ed folks include using one-time federal stimulus money to fund programs that need long-term, multi-year commitments and possible violation of federal laws.

The Ohio governor’s office reportedly is already backtracking, which just means more time will now be wasted because of this clear violation of the concept of government transparency.

Kentucky legislators – please pay attention. We don’t want this sort of deep secret budget stuff going on down here. With rumors of a special session already flying everywhere, you may face Ohio-like temptations sooner than you think.