I was mildly amused at Upper Valley resident Narain Batra’s My Turn “The right to know makes us equal to the powerful,” highlighting the Pentagon Papers case while ignoring Article 8 of the New Hampshire Constitution adopted June 2, 1784; Accountability of Magistrates and Officers; Public’s Right to Know. The late Caroline Gross used to joke about New Hampshire having founding fathers but no founding mothers, but these guys got it spot on.
While Right to Know laws and Freedom of Information laws buttress our rights in New Hampshire, Article 8 was a starting point which should not be ignored. In a misguided attempt to rectify abuses to FOIA requests, the New Hampshire legislature mistakenly made changes to add fees to such requests rather than fix the problem. It remains to be seen if this statue change will be sustained when faced with constitutional challenge.
Robert C. Washburn
Concord