Ashley M. Pratte
Cornerstone Action
PO Box 4683
Manchester, NH 03108
Office (603) 228-4794
Mobile (603) 361-5057
(via electronic email to listed state
email addresses and postal mail)
July 9, 2013
Nick Toumpas, Commissioner
Department of Health and Human Services
129 Pleasant Street
Concord, NH 03301
Re: Right To Know Request For Documentation Pertaining To The Effective Start Date for Attorney State Employee Dawn Touzin, Salary, and Correspondence Relative To Family Planning And Medicaid Managed Care
Dear Commissioner:
This communication is made pursuant to RSA 91-A for the inspection[1] and copying of public documents and records.
It This request for public documents and records is made in the context of a recent discovery that Ms. Dawn Touzin, also known as Dawn M. Touzin, is now serving as an attorney at the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
Her relationship with the DHHS was revealed
I recently read in a recentn article in the Concord Monitor titled, “Medicaid Managed Care Plan Gets Boost as NH Hospitals Sign Up”[2]. In the newspaperhis article there was a quote from Ms. Dawn Touzin regarding the matter and her position as an attorney at DHHS was noted.
Ms. Touzin’s Her employment with DHHS is of interest to me many because of her previous employment affiliation in many political advocacy roles, such as, most recently, Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs, at Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (PPNNE), and because of her strong partisan advocacy for that and similar organizations. ).
If As it is an inescapable concern that her role as attorney at DHHS may in anyway correlates with her previous position at PPNNE and may well constitute a continuation of that and other public advocacy she has undertaken on behalf of liberal organizations and causes, it is the right ofin the public interest to request accessthat documents relevant to the documents regarding correspondence and her hiring, duties and activities be made public so that the all members of the community, and not just those seeking to use government to advocate liberal causes, can evaluate whether her advocacy continues and the public is being properly served.
I am therefore formally requesting access for inspection and copying to all notes, written, printed, electronic, database entries, and other documents and records, and correspondence, such as but not limited to e-mails produced on behalf of the State of New Hampshire, and associated with, arising out of, concerning, related to, or constituting any of the following:
1. The documentation constituting or reflecting the hiring of hiring Ms. Dawn Touzin as an attorney at the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as effective start date, such as but not limited to, documents reflecting or constituting the creation of the position, announcements of an open position, all applications and résumés submitted for the position, Ms. Touzin’s application and résumé, the employment offer letter (document) submitted to Ms. Touzin, Ms. Touzin’s acceptance letter (document).
2. The salary that Ms. Dawn Touzin accepted on behalf of her employment at the Department of Health and Human Services.
3.
4. The state’s payroll records for Ms. Touzin.
5.
6. The personnel file of Ms. Touzin.
7. The job description for each and all positions held by Ms. Touzin including projects that Ms. Dawn Touzin performs on behalf of her employment at DHHS.
8. Each item of email correspondence, including without limitation letters, emails, instant message, twitter and similar postings, sent or received by Ms. Touzin (including from and to third party organizations) relative to the topic of family planning and, Medicaid managed care, and Medicaid expansion.
9. CDirect correspondence, including without limitation letters, emails, instant message, twitter and similar postings, between Ms. Dawn Touzin and Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (PPNNE).
10.
11. Press releases (media statements) of the state, or any of its agencies, referencing Ms. Touzin.
12.
13. All tangible work product of Ms. Touzin produced since her date of employment.
14.
15. All assignments of work to Ms. Touzin since her date of employment.
As outlined in RSA 91-A:4, IV, I will be responsible for actual copying costs and will tender payment upon invoice. If costs are to exceed that amount specified in RSA 654:31$50.00, please contact me to discuss the amounts of material. In that regard, I would direct your attention to the language of RSA 91-A and RSA 654:31, IV for purposes of determining the fee or reimbursable cost or fee. A prior response from your office appeared to base a fee for some voter history records on some sort of equivalent amount that would have to be paid for these records to be obtained from each of the individual municipalities. That measure of reimbursement is obviously not correct under RSA 654:31, IV. Also, please note that as used in this request,
The term “documents and records” is intended to have its broadest possible meaning under RSA 91-A and is not in any manner intended to limit the identification, disclosure, inspection or copying allowed by RSA 91-A pursuant to the descriptions set forth in this letter
, and
(ii) The word “identities” is intended to have its broadest possible meaning and shall include, as a minimum, and not as a limitation, the names, addresses, telephone numbers, and voting history of each described person, as well as all information held by the Secretary of State and/or any supervisor of the checklist with regard to such person.
I would appreciate your contacting me to acknowledge receipt of this request and to inform me when the requested materials will be available.
Please note that this request is of a continuing nature, but only to the extent it designates documents and records that exist now and are responsive to this request, but are not currently available due to one or more of the statutory exemptions from disclosure. With regard to such documents and records, this request is intended to be effective as of the lapsing of any such exemption.
With regard to any such claimed exemption, you are requested to fully describe and state the basis of such claim to a degree sufficient to both identify the documents and records claimed to be subject to the exemption and to allow a court to decided whether the State has met its burden to establish such exemption.
If you have any questions about the nature of this request, please feel free to contact me at or (603) 361-5057.
There is no principled reason whatsoever that these records should not be made available and I ask you to maintain transparency in your official matters.
Thank you for your attention and assistance in this matter.
Sincerely,
Ashley M. Pratte
Executive Director
Cornerstone Action
2
[1] Even though RSA 91-A makes no reference to a limitation on the availability of public documents and records based upon copyright law, and the New Hampshire Department of Justice’s February 8, 2007 published memorandum on the Right to Know Law likewise references no such restriction, such a limitation has been at times asserted in open court by a representative of the DOJ as a defense for an agency not complying with RSA 91-A. To the extent that any such claim is or may be valid and to avoid confusion, please note that this request covers both inspection and copying and that the request for inspection is not intended to be limited by any federal restriction on copying a public document or record available for inspection.
[2] Leubsdorf, Ben. “Medicaid Managed Care Plan Gets Boost as NH Hospitals Sign Up”. Concord Monitor. 2 Jul. 2013.