Editor's note: Mike Doogan is an Alaska State House Representative, author and former newspaper columnist. This commentary appeared in his legislative e-newsletter on Feb. 10.

Dermot Cole, the columnist for the Fairbanks News-Miner, has been doing a bang-up job writing about how poorly the state is doing in extracting information from the oil companies and releasing it to the public.

If that sounds like a discussion that would put you to sleep so fast you’d get a concussion when your head hit the table, here are a couple of things to consider.

First, as you are no doubt tired of hearing, oil revenue makes up between 85 and 90 percent of state income. Amazingly, we – and by that I mean legislators, the press and the general public – know as much about what the oil companies are doing as I do about low temperature physics. We should know a lot more, particularly when the companies and their legislative allies are using production claims to bludgeon us out of billions of dollars.

Second, the state makes no real effort to let the public know what is going on in the oil patch, in fact helping the companies to keep things secret. Cole quotes from a question asked by a lawyer, Robin Brena, during a recent court case, about the policies of the state Department of Revenue:

“He asked whether a McDonald's menu could be submitted as an oil company document and stamped confidential. Would it be treated by the Department of Revenue as a confidential document?

“‘It’s an extreme hypothetical. If they stamped ‘taxpayer confidential’ on it, you know, I’m not sure that would pass muster, but again, that’s not part of my purview,’ State Assessor James Greeley said.”

Plain language answer: Maybe, maybe not, but it’s not my job.

I could go on and on. You know me. I can. Instead, here are the URLs for Cole's coverage.

It’s worth reading.

A tale of two ConocoPhillips presentations with Alaska comments

Should a McDonald’s menu get the same treatment as a secret oil document?

Finance analyst says next budget plan ‘critical to Alaska’s future’

Gleason oil tax decision should not be dismissed as ‘distraction’

Conflicting numbers in oil reports will play part in tax debate

Alyeska low-flow oil study looks more like political document

Paskvan says court ruling shows bright future for Alaska oil development

Alaskans need straight talk on life expectancy of trans-Alaska pipeline

BP attempt to divest billions renews speculation about Alaska