Fallin releases 31 documents on health exchange

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Gov. Mary Fallin has released 31 documents that her administration previously withheld involving her administration’s decision to reject a state health insurance exchange under the federal health care law.

Fallin said in a statement that even though a judge ruled she could withhold certain emails, she decided to waive that right because she is "committed to transparency."

But ACLU of Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel says if Fallin had produced the documents nearly two years ago under the Open Records Act, Oklahomans would have had more transparency and been spared unnecessary legal costs.

The ACLU filed the lawsuit last year on behalf of the satirical website The Lost Ogle which joined with several news organizations, including The Associated Press, in the request for the documents under the Open Records Act.