A judge ordered Tuesday that Louisville must turn over to the Courier Journal the full proposal it offered Amazon to build its second headquarters here.
The order was issued the day after Mayor Greg Fischer doubled down on the decision to hide details of the proposal from the public, saying it would be “business malpractice” to share.
Louisville’s proposal was one of 238 submitted across the United States. The city’s bid cost about $170,000. Louisville was not selected as one of 20 finalists for its new HQ2.
Background: Louisville won’t share what it offered Amazon in failed attempt to land HQ2
The Courier Journal sued the city in March, claiming the city had willfully violated Kentucky’s open records law by refusing to disclose its entire offer to Amazon. The city’s economic development corporation had said there would be an “economic disadvantage” if the city publicly shared the details. Eventually, the city provided a heavily redacted copy.
The city has 10 days to provide the full proposal to the Courier Journal.
“The Proposal has been rejected by Amazon and it is now not possible that Louisville will be the site of Amazon’s HQ2,” Judge Susan Schultz Gibson wrote in Tuesday’s decision. “Accordingly, the redacted portions of the Proposal are not exempted from disclosure …” (Read more…)