Many Washingtonians were surprised when the state Legislature agreed to the formation of the Sunshine Committee, which is charged with reviewing the rapidly expanding number of exemptions to public records law. After all, it was lawmakers who had tacked on more than 300 exemptions to the original 10 when voters resoundingly passed an initiative aimed at opening up government and making it more accountable.

Then things turned cloudy when an irony-challenged Gov. Chris Gregoire initially refused to reveal the identities of some of the committee members and chose as chairman a Seattle attorney who had a history of enforcing government secrecy. They turned downright dark when, after a couple of public meetings during the summer – one in Spokane – it looked as if the status quo would prevail.

Said one headline: “Open meeting exemptions likely to stand”.

Well, prepare to be surprised again, because on Wednesday the committee voted 7-3 to back a proposal that would rescind the wider secrecy powers bestowed upon government by the state Supreme Court in 2004 and 2007. Those two cases gave public officials more latitude to say no by citing attorney-client privilege and attorney work product.

The 2004 ruling, known as Hangartner, arose from a citizen’s request to review financial data related to a proposed monorail project in King County. The Monorail Commission rejected the request, citing the possibility of lawsuits and attorney-client privilege. The court backed the commission, which, by the way, no longer exists because the project is dead. But the records remain secret.

The 2007 ruling, known as Soter, arose from the peanut-allergy death of a Spokane Public Schools student. The Spokesman-Review wanted to see investigative reports after a civil lawsuit was settled, but the district said it could keep that information from the public because it was the product of an investigating attorney.

The court backed the district, which means the public will never know important details surrounding that tragedy.

Keying off those two decisions, government officials have been emboldened to say no to public records requests. The committee recommends a return to the days when those two privileges were more reasonably balanced against the public’s right to know. That will require legislative action.

Two important people are among the majority that voted to redress the effects of these court rulings. The state’s top legal official, Attorney General Rob McKenna, and House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam. Since this is the Legislature’s own panel and a member of leadership has endorsed the proposal, state lawmakers will have even fewer excuses to block the sunlight.

But if history is any judge, they will try. That’s why the public needs to keep up the pressure.