How open is Vermont Government? The Public Records Act (PRA) provides that all records maintained by the State are public, unless there is a specific exemption. There are now over 100 exemptions. (When I wrote the law in 1973 there were 18). One of them provides that "lists of names compiled or obtained by a public agency when disclosure would violate a person's right to privacy or produce public or private gain" aren't "public" and need not be disclosed.

Kim Sawyer runs a business recovering unclaimed assets. She asked the Vermont State Treasurer for "copies of fiscal records, concerning undeliverable, stale, or outdated checks a year old for $1,000 or more issued by the State to non-individuals." Treasurer Spaulding refused to provide the data. He said providing the information would amount to giving a list of names for private gain and so the information wasn't public. He also objected to using state personnel to get information for a private business.

Sawyer appealed to the Supreme Court. She argued that the requested information would only be a "list of names" once it was compiled. If the Treasurer's position were adopted anytime more than one name appeared on requested information it would be a "list of names" and would never be disclosed.

The Supreme Court agreed with Sawyer. It relied on the strong public policy favoring access to public records in the PRA. Therefore, any legal provision excluding documents would be interpreted in a way that favored disclosure of information.

So was the request for a "list of names?" No, the Court said. It agreed with Sawyer that the Treasurer's interpretation would effective prevent disclosure. Further the Treasurer could release the underlying documents and then Sawyer could make her own list, so the request was not for a list.

Next the court ruled that since the requested information was not a "list of names" the "private gain" provision did not apply. The Court was clear that the motive a person has in seeking information is not relevant to a request for public information. If it were, of course, government could restrict the flow of information to people it favored.

Finally, the Court rejected the claim that compliance with the request would take up too much valuable staff time in searching masses of data for a commercial purpose. The PRA permits the Agency to charge for the cost of copies and staff time in compiling information in order to foster free and open examination of records.

A good decision for people who want open government. Sawyer v. Office of State Treasurer 2008 VT 63.