Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Local Government Committee

HB 1189

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Background:

The Public Records Act.

Under the Public Records Act (PRA), all state and local agencies must make available for public inspection and copying all public records, unless a record falls within the specific exemptions set forth in the PRA, or other statute prohibits the disclosure of specific information or records. Agencies governed by the PRA include all state offices, departments, divisions, bureaus, boards, or commissions, and every county, city, town, or special purpose district, as well as their associated offices, departments, divisions, bureaus, boards, or commissions. The PRA's provisions requiring disclosure must be interpreted liberally and its exemptions must be narrowly construed to effectuate a general policy favoring disclosure.

Availability of Public Records.

Public records must be available for inspection and copying during the customary office hours of an agency, the Office of the Secretary of the Senate (Senate), and the Office of the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives (House) for a minimum of 30 hours per week, with the exception of weeks that include state holidays. A requestor and the agency or office subject to the request may agree on a different time. Agency facilities must also be made available for the copying of public records, except when doing so would unreasonably disrupt the operations of the agency. Customary business hours must be posted on the agency or office's website and made known by other means designed to provide the public with notice.

Upon receiving a request for identifiable public records, agencies must make them promptly available to any person, including on a partial or installment basis as records that are part of a larger set of responsive records are assembled or made ready for inspection or disclosure. Requests received by mail for identifiable public records must be honored.

Agency Responses to Public Record Requests.

Responses to requests for public records must be made promptly by agencies, the Senate, and the House. Within five business days of receiving a public record request, an agency must respond by:

providing the record;
providing an internet address and link on the agency's website to the specific record request, unless the requestor is unable to access the record online, in which case the agency must provide a copy of it or allow the requestor to use an agency computer to view the copy;
acknowledge that the request has been received and provide a reasonable estimate of time when the agency or office will be able to respond; or
deny the request.

Additional time required to respond to a request may be based on the need to clarify the request, locate and assemble responsive records, notify affected third persons or agencies, or determine whether any exemptions apply and whether denial of part or all of the request is appropriate.

Summary of Bill:

Cities, towns, and special purpose districts that customarily do not maintain office hours for a minimum of 30 hours per week are not required to maintain a minimum number of office hours under the Public Records Act. If a city, town, or special purpose district does not maintain office hours for a minimum of 30 hours per week, it is required to post on its headquarters location and website, if any, directions on how to contact agency personnel to inspect or copy public records.

Contacting agency personnel includes: (1) any contact that results in agency personnel actually knowing that a request to inspect or copy public records is being made; or (2) proof that delivery of a certified letter, return receipt requested, was made or attempted upon the agency.

At the city, town, or special purpose district's next regularly scheduled meeting following a public record requestor's contact with agency personnel, the request must be included in the business of the meeting and the agency must respond promptly to the request. Specifically, the agency must respond to the request within five days of the date of the meeting in accordance with provisions of the PRA.