HOUSE BILL REPORT

SHB 244

BYHouse Committee on Constitution, Elections & Ethics (originally sponsored by Representatives Madsen, Walker, Fisch, May, Holm, Brough and Todd)

Exempting employment applications and employees' and volunteers' names and addresses from public disclosure.

House Committe on Constitution, Elections, & Ethics

Majority Report:     The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.  (6)

     Signed by Representatives Fisher, Chair; Pruitt, Vice Chair; Amondson, Barnes, Leonard and Sanders.

House Staff:Kenneth Hirst (786-7105)

AS PASSED HOUSE MARCH 12, 1987

BACKGROUND:

The state's public records law governing access to the records of public agencies is contained in the public disclosure statutes.  Included among those statutes are provisions requiring agencies to make public records available for public inspection and copying as well as provisions exempting certain information and records from this requirement.

SUMMARY:

The following are exempt from the provisions of law permitting public inspection and copying of the records of public agencies:  (1) an agency's records of the residential addresses and telephone numbers of its employees and of persons performing duties as volunteers for the agency; (2) a public utility's records of the residential addresses and telephone numbers of its customers; and (3) the names of applicants, and related application materials, for public employment positions except for certain executive positions.  These executive positions are the heads of agencies and positions in which a person regularly directs the work of five or more employees. The applications and resumes of persons who apply for such executive positions shall be available for public inspection and copying unless the agency: has adopted a policy requiring it to prepare a list of applicants from which the final selection will be made; and makes the list, with applications and resumes, available for public inspection at least five days before it makes its final selection.  Except where fewer than three people apply for such an executive position, the list must contain at least three names.  These exemptions shall not affect the duty of an agency, under other laws, to disclose or withhold information.

EFFECT OF SENATE AMENDMENT(S):  The exemptions from public inspection and copying provided for records in the substitute House bill are replaced in the Senate amendments with a provision concerning the disclosure of the name and address of the owner of a motor vehicle under the motor vehicle statutes.  Current law permits a county auditor or agency to notify such an owner that the disclosure of his or her address has been requested (by someone other than a person who routinely makes such requests in the normal course of the person's business or occupation).  The Senate amendments require the disclosing agency to notify the owner of such a request.

Fiscal Note:    Not Requested.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:     Mark Brown, Washington Federation of State Employees; Sam Kinville, Washington State Council of County and City Employees; Gordon Conable, Fort Vancouver Regional Library; Peter King, Washington Association of Cities and Washington State Association of Counties; David Henry, Department of Social and Health Services.

House Committee - Testified Against: Mike Killeen, Seattle Times; Mark Lyon, Washington Public Employees Association; Paul Conrad, Allied Daily Newspapers; Mark Allen, Association of Washington Broadcasters.

House Committee - Testimony For:     (1)  The safety of some employees in very sensitive positions, such as those in prisons, could be jeopardized if their home addresses were available to the public. (2) Concerns for privacy are such that the names of 70 percent of the employees of a regional library system are not listed in the area's telephone books.  (3) Confidentiality of the names of applicants for public employment is needed; without confidentiality, many highly qualified candidates may be missing from the pool of applicants available to an agency to fill a high-level position. (4) The "public" aspect of a person's public employment should end when the person goes home.

House Committee - Testimony Against: (1) The public records law does not grant access to a library of information; a requestor must identify the specific record sought and may not require the agency to compile information. (2) The public has a legitimate interest in knowing who has applied for certain public jobs; the disclosure interest is higher than the agency's interest in confidentiality. Public input in the selection process is needed before the final candidate has been selected and appears in confirmation hearings. (3) A library lost in its attempt to keep the home addresses of its employees confidential because it could not demonstrate to the court that there is harm involved in releasing those addresses; however, the addresses of prison employees would probably be kept confidential without the bill.

VOTE ON FINAL PASSAGE:

     Yeas 92; Absent 3; Excused 3

Absent:    Representatives Braddock, Holland and Meyers

Excused:   Representatives Hankins, Nealey and Schoon