Associated Press Newswires
Copyright 2003. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, March 6, 2003

State rejects FOI request for smallpox plans

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Citing security concerns, state officials have
rejected a request under Connecticut's Freedom of Information Act to
make public all documents related to smallpox prevention and response
plans.

The Journal Inquirer of Manchester submitted the request Jan. 2,
asking to review smallpox plans that the Department of Public Health
submitted to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in
December.

The newspaper specifically asked to see the Public Health
Department's "pre-event" and "post-event" plans - terms that refer to a
potential bioterrorist act involving smallpox - as well as any
supplemental information contained in appendices to those documents.

The documents were prepared under the Bush administration's
anti-smallpox initiative.

But Department of Public Works Commissioner Theodore Anson, who was
given authority last year to decide on disclosure of security-related
documents at all executive branch agencies, rejected the newspaper's
request.

The decision apparently was the first one Anson has made using the
new authority, said Mitchell Pearlman, executive director and general
counsel of the state Freedom of Information Commission.

The Public Works and Public Health departments have declined to say
why releasing the smallpox documents would pose a security risk.

The health department formally denied the Journal Inquirer's request
Monday, two months after the request. The FOI law requires the "prompt"
handling of requests for public records.

The newspaper reported that releasing the documents would allow the
public to compare the state's plans, as well as their cost, to plans
made by at least nine other states that have publicly released their
smallpox documents, including Georgia, Indiana and Washington.

Gov. John G. Rowland's new budget proposal includes $10 million to
purchase a state-of-the-art mobile hospital and to build 65 filtered
isolation rooms across Connecticut to respond to any bioterrorism acts.

Public Works Department officials could not be reached for comment.
Calls to Anson's home in Bridgewater and the department spokesman's
office were not immediately returned Thursday night.

Bill Gerrish, spokesman for the Public Health Department, said his
agency followed state law when it forwarded the newspaper's FOI request
to Public Works.

Gerrish said the documents "contained information that could
compromise our smallpox response plan."

He noted that the department has discussed key parts of the response
plan, held an information session for the media earlier this year and
made other presentations.