WSR 14-22-100 PERMANENT RULES RECREATION AND CONSERVATION OFFICE (Recreation and Conservation Funding Board) [Filed November 4, 2014, 2:08 p.m., effective December 5, 2014] Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: The purpose of the proposal is to revise the recreation and conservation office's procedures for maintaining public records and fulfilling public records requests. The revisions incorporate procedures for electronic public records and change the costs for fulfilling public records requests. The revisions substantially follow the model rules adopted by the attorney general's office.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending chapter 286-13 [286-06] WAC, Public records.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 42.56.040.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 14-19-116 on September 17, 2014.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 8, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 8, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: October 30, 2014.
Leslie Connelly
Natural Resource Policy Specialist
Rules Coordinator
AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 14-09-074, filed 4/18/14, effective 5/19/14)
WAC 286-06-050 ((Public records available.)) Authority and purposes.
((All public records of the office, as defined in RCW 42.56.070, as now or hereafter amended, are available for public inspection and copying pursuant to this regulation, except as otherwise provided by law, including, but not limited to, RCW 42.56.050 and 42.56.210 and WAC 286-06-100, Exemptions.)) (1) RCW 42.56.070(1) of the Public Records Act requires each agency to make available for inspection and copying nonexempt "public records" in accordance with published rules. The act defines "public record" to include any "writing containing information relating to the conduct of government or the performance of any governmental or proprietary function prepared, owned, used, or retained" by the agency. RCW 42.56.070(2) also requires each agency to set forth "for informational purposes" every law, in addition to the Public Records Act, that exempts or prohibits the disclosure of public records held by that agency.
(2) The purpose of these rules is to establish the procedures the office will follow in order to provide full access to public records. These rules provide information to persons wishing to request access to public records of the office and establish processes for both requestors and the office staff that are designed to best assist members of the public in obtaining such access.
(3) The purpose of the Public Records Act is to provide the public full access to information concerning the conduct of government, mindful of individuals' privacy rights and the desirability of the efficient administration of government. The act and these rules will be interpreted in favor of disclosure. In carrying out its responsibilities under the act, the office will be guided by the provisions of the act describing its purposes and interpretation.
AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 14-09-074, filed 4/18/14, effective 5/19/14)
WAC 286-06-060 ((Responsibility.)) Agency description—Contact information—Public records officer.
((The public records shall be available through a public records officer designated by the director. The public records officer shall be responsible for: Implementation of the rules and regulations regarding release of public records, coordinating the staff of the office in this regard, and generally ensuring compliance with the public records disclosure requirements of chapter 42.56 RCW as now or hereafter amended.)) (1) The office manages grant programs to create outdoor recreation opportunities, protect the best of the state's wildlife habitat and farmland, and help return salmon from near extinction. The office also provides staff support to various boards, councils, and working groups as assigned by the governor or the legislature. The office is located at 1111 Washington Street S.E., Olympia, WA 98501. The office does not have field offices.
(2) Any person wishing to request access to public records of the office, or seeking assistance in making such a request should contact the public records officer of the office:
Public Records Officer
Recreation and Conservation Office
P.O. Box 40917
Olympia, WA 98504-0917
360-902-3000
Fax: 360-902-3026
PDandR@rco.wa.gov
Information is also available at the office's web site at www.rco.wa.gov.
(3) The public records officer will oversee compliance with the Public Records Act but another office staff member may process the request. Therefore, these rules will refer to the public records officer "or designee." The public records officer or designee and the office will provide the "fullest assistance" to requestors; create and maintain for use by the public and office officials an index to public records of the office; ensure that public records are protected from damage or disorganization; and prevent fulfilling public records requests from causing excessive interference with essential functions of the office.
AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 14-09-074, filed 4/18/14, effective 5/19/14)
WAC 286-06-070 ((Office hours.)) Availability of public records.
(1) Hours for inspection of records. Public records ((shall be)) are available for inspection and copying during ((the office's customary office)) normal business hours((. Those hours shall be consistent with RCW 42.04.060 and 42.56.090)) of the office, from 8:00 a.m. to noon and from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays.
(2) Records index.
(a) An index of public records is available for use by members of the public, including:
(i) Archived files;
(ii) Equipment inventory;
(iii) Office and board policies and procedures, including manuals;
(iv) Active project files;
(v) Publications such as brochures and special reports;
(vi) Policy statements entered after June 30, 1990, as defined in RCW 34.05.010, including grant program manuals; and
(vii) Rule-making files, as described in RCW 34.05.370, for each rule proposed for adoption in the Washington State Register and adopted.
(b) Before June 30, 1990, the office did not maintain an index of:
(i) Declaratory orders containing analysis or decisions of substantial importance to the office in carrying out its duties;
(ii) Interpretive statements as defined in RCW 34.05.010; and
(iii) Policy statements as defined in RCW 34.05.010.
(c) The following general records and files are available by reference to topic, and generally arranged alphabetically or chronologically within such topic. Due to volume, costs, and complexity; however, no master index is maintained:
(i) Administrative files;
(ii) Comprehensive park-recreation plans;
(iii) Summaries of office staff meetings;
(iv) Closed or inactive project files;
(v) General correspondence;
(vi) Attorney general opinions;
(vii) Financial records;
(viii) Summaries and memoranda of office and board meetings;
(ix) Final adjudicative proceeding orders entered after June 30, 1990, as defined in RCW 34.05.010 that contain an analysis or decision of substantial importance to the office or board in carrying out its duties (each listed alphabetically by subject with a phrase describing the issue or issues and relevant citations of law);
(x) Declaratory orders entered after June 10, 1990, that contain an analysis or decision of substantial importance to the office or board in carrying out its duties (each listed alphabetically by case name with a phrase describing the issue or issues and relevant citations of law); and
(xi) Interpretive statements as defined in RCW 34.05.010 (each indexed by the office or board program).
(3) Organization of records. The office will maintain its records in a reasonably organized manner. The office will take reasonable actions to protect records from damage and disorganization. A requestor shall not take records from the office without the permission of the public records officer or designee. A variety of records is available on the office's web site at www.rco.wa.gov. Requestors are encouraged to view the documents available on the web site prior to submitting a records request.
(4) Making a request for public records.
(a) Any person wishing to inspect or copy public records of the office should make the request in writing on the office's request form, or by letter, fax, or e-mail addressed to the public records officer and include the following information:
• Name of requestor;
• Address of requestor;
• Other contact information, including telephone number and any e-mail address;
• Identification of the public records adequate for the public records officer or designee to locate the records; and
• The date and time of day of the request.
(b) If the requestor wishes to have copies of the records made instead of simply inspecting them, he or she should so indicate and make arrangements to pay for copies of the records or a deposit.
(c) A form is available for use by requestors at the office of the public records officer and online at www.rco.wa.gov.
(d) The public records officer or designee may accept requests for public records that contain the above information by telephone or in person. If the public records officer or designee accepts such a request, he or she will confirm receipt of the information and the substance of the request in writing.
AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 14-09-074, filed 4/18/14, effective 5/19/14)
WAC 286-06-080 ((Requests for)) Processing of public records requests—General.
((Consistent with chapter 42.56 RCW, public records may be inspected or copied or copies of such records may be obtained by members of the public, upon compliance with the following procedures:
(1) A request shall be made in writing, preferably on a form prescribed by the director, which shall be available at its Olympia office or electronically. The request shall be presented to the public records officer or designee. The request shall include the following information:
(a) The name of the person requesting the record;
(b) The calendar date on which the request was made;
(c) The nature of the request;
(d) A reference to the requested record as it is described in any current index, if the matter requested is referenced within indexes; and
(e) An appropriate description of the record requested, if the requested matter is not identifiable in the indexes.
(2) Whenever a member of the public makes a request, the public records officer or designee shall ensure the request receives a "date received" stamp or equivalent notation and that assistance is provided in promptly identifying the public record requested as defined in RCW 42.56.520. The office shall assist to the maximum extent consistent with ongoing operations, and retains the authority to condition records access to prevent unreasonable invasions of privacy, access to other information protected from disclosure by law, damage/disorganization, and excessive interference with office operations and equipment.)) (1) Providing "fullest assistance." The office is charged by statute with adopting rules which provide for how it will "provide full access to public records," "protect records from damage or disorganization," "prevent excessive interference with other essential functions of the agency," provide "fullest assistance" to requestors, and provide the "most timely possible action" on public records requests. The public records officer or designee will process requests in the order allowing the most requests to be processed in the most efficient manner.
(2) Acknowledging receipt of request. Within five business days of receipt of the request, the public records officer will do one or more of the following:
(a) Make the records available for inspection or copying;
(b) If copies are requested and payment of a deposit for the copies, if any, is made or terms of payment are agreed upon, send the copies to the requestor;
(c) Provide a reasonable estimate of when records will be available;
(d) If the request is unclear or does not sufficiently identify the requested records, request clarification from the requestor. Such clarification may be requested and provided by telephone. The public records officer or designee may revise the estimate of when records will be available; or
(e) Deny the request.
(3) Consequences of failure to respond. If the office does not respond in writing within five business days of receipt of the request for disclosure, the requestor should consider contacting the public records officer to determine the reason for the failure to respond.
(4) Protecting rights of others. In the event that the requested records contain information that may affect rights of others and may be exempt from disclosure, the public records officer may, prior to providing the records, give notice to such others whose rights may be affected by the disclosure. Such notice should be given so as to make it possible for those other persons to contact the requestor and ask him or her to revise the request, or, if necessary, seek an order from a court to prevent or limit the disclosure. The notice to the affected persons will include a copy of the request.
(5) Records exempt from disclosure. Some records are exempt from disclosure, in whole or in part. If the office believes that a record is exempt from disclosure and should be withheld, the public records officer will state the specific exemption and provide a brief explanation of why the record or a portion of the record is being withheld. If only a portion of a record is exempt from disclosure, but the remainder is not exempt, the public records officer will redact the exempt portions, provide the nonexempt portions, and indicate to the requestor why portions of the record are being redacted.
(6) Inspection of records.
(a) Consistent with other demands, the office shall provide space to inspect public records. Records must be inspected at the office. No member of the public may remove a document from the viewing area or disassemble or alter any document. The requestor shall indicate which documents he or she wishes the office to copy.
(b) The requestor must claim or review the assembled records within thirty days of the office's notification to him or her that the records are available for inspection or copying. The office will notify the requestor in writing of this requirement and inform the requestor that he or she should contact the office to make arrangements to claim or review the records. If the requestor or a representative of the requestor fails to claim or review the records within the thirty day period or make other arrangements, the office may close the request and refile the assembled records. Other public records requests can be processed ahead of a subsequent request by the same person for the same or almost identical records, which can be processed as a new request.
(7) Providing copies of records. After inspection is complete, the public records officer or designee shall make the requested copies or arrange for copying.
(8) Providing records in installments. When the request is for a large number of records, the public records officer or designee will provide access for inspection and copying in installments, if he or she reasonably determines that it would be practical to provide the records in that way. If, within thirty days, the requestor fails to inspect the entire set of records or one or more of the installments, the public records officer or designee may stop searching for the remaining records and close the request.
(9) Completion of inspection. When the inspection of the requested records is complete and all requested copies are provided, the public records officer or designee will indicate in writing that the office has completed a diligent search for the requested records and made any located nonexempt records available for inspection.
(10) Closing withdrawn or abandoned request. When the requestor either withdraws the request or fails to fulfill his or her obligations to inspect the records or pay the deposit or final payment for the requested copies, the public records officer will close the request and indicate in writing to the requestor that the office has closed the request.
(11) Later discovered documents. If, after the office has informed the requestor that it has provided all available records, the office becomes aware of additional responsive documents existing at the time of the request, it will promptly inform in writing the requestor of the additional documents and provide them on an expedited basis.
NEW SECTION
WAC 286-06-085 Processing of public records requests—Electronic records.
(1) Requesting electronic records. The process for requesting electronic public records is the same as for requesting paper public records.
(2) Providing electronic records. When a requestor requests records in an electronic format, the public records officer will provide the nonexempt records or portions of such records that are reasonably locatable in an electronic format that is used by the office and is generally commercially available, or in a format that is reasonably translatable from the format in which the office keeps the record. Costs for providing electronic records are governed by WAC 44-14-07003.
(3) Customized access to data bases. With the consent of the requestor, the office may provide customized access under RCW 43.41A.130 if the record is not reasonably locatable or not reasonably translatable into the format requested. The office may charge a fee consistent with RCW 43.41A.130 for such customized access.
AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 14-09-074, filed 4/18/14, effective 5/19/14)
WAC 286-06-090 ((Copying.)) Costs of providing copies of public records.
(((1) No fee shall be charged for the inspection of public records.
(2) The director shall charge a fee of fifteen cents per page for providing copies of public records and for use of the office's copy equipment. Copying in other formats shall be subject to a fee established by the director. These charges will be the amount necessary to reimburse the office for its actual costs incident to such copying.)) (1) Costs for paper and electronic copies.
(a) There is no fee for inspecting public records in the office or e-mailing electronic records to a requestor, unless another cost applies such as a scanning fee.
(b) The office will charge an amount necessary to reimburse its costs for providing paper and electronic copies of records, including costs for electronic copies on a CD-ROM and scanning paper or other nonelectronic records.
(c) The fee amounts shall be reviewed from time to time by the office, and shall represent the costs of providing copies of public records and for use of the office's copy equipment, including staff time spent copying records, preparing records for copying, and restoring files. This charge is the amount necessary to reimburse the office for actual costs for copying. The charge for special copy work of nonstandard public records shall reflect the total cost, including the staff time necessary to safeguard the integrity of these records.
(d) Before beginning to make the copies, the public records officer or designee may require a deposit of up to ten percent of the estimated costs of copying all the records selected by the requestor. The public records officer or designee may also require the payment of the remainder of the copying costs before providing all the records, or the payment of the costs of copying an installment before providing that installment.
(e) The office will not charge sales tax when it makes copies of public records unless it uses an outside vendor to make the copies.
(2) Costs of mailing. The office may also charge actual costs of mailing, including the cost of the shipping container.
(3) Payment. Payment may be made by cash, check, or money order to the office.
AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 14-09-074, filed 4/18/14, effective 5/19/14)
WAC 286-06-100 Exemptions.
(((1) The director reserves the right to determine that a public record requested in accordance with the procedures outlined in WAC 286-06-080 is exempt under the provisions of state or federal law, or chapter 42.56 RCW.
(2) In addition, pursuant to chapter 42.56 RCW, the director reserves the right to delete identifying details when made available or published in cases when there is reason to believe that disclosure of such details would be an invasion of personal privacy, or would disclose information otherwise protected by law.
(3) All denials of requests for public records, in whole or part, will be accompanied by a written statement specifying the reason for the denial, including a statement of the specific exemption authorizing the withholding of the record (or part) and a brief explanation of how the exemption applies to the record withheld.)) (1) The Public Records Act provides that a number of types of documents are exempt from public inspection and copying. In addition, documents are exempt from disclosure if any "other statute" exempts or prohibits disclosure. Requestors should be aware of the following exemptions that restrict the availability of some documents held by office for inspection and copying. Exemptions may include:
• Archaeological site records: Maps or other information identifying location of site or sites (RCW 42.56.300);
• Preliminary documents: Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations, and intra-agency memorandums in which opinions are expressed or policies formulated or recommended unless cited publicly or within an official public record (RCW 42.56.280);
• Personal information: Information not related to disciplinary action or performance as a state employee (e.g., payroll records, examination questions, medical condition information, Social Security number, residence address, personal phone numbers, and personal e-mail addresses) (RCW 42.56.230, 42.56.250, 42.56.210(1));
• Real estate appraisals: Real estate appraisals relative to the acquisition of property, until the prospective sale is abandoned or completed (RCW 42.56.260); and
• Farm plans: Farm plans developed by conservation districts, unless permission to release the farm plan is granted by the landowner or operator, and farm plans developed under chapter 90.48 RCW and not under the federal Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et seq. (RCW 42.56.270).
(2) The office is prohibited by statute from disclosing lists of individuals for commercial purposes.
AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 14-09-074, filed 4/18/14, effective 5/19/14)
WAC 286-06-110 Review of denials of public records.
(((1) Any person who objects to the denial of a request for a public record may petition the director for review by submitting a written request. The request shall specifically refer to the written statement which constituted or accompanied the denial.
(2) After receiving a written request for review of a decision denying inspection of a public record, the director, or designee, will either affirm or reverse the denial by the end of the second business day following receipt according to RCW 42.56.520. This shall constitute final action.)) (1) Petition for internal administrative review of denial of access. Any person who objects to the initial denial or partial denial of a records request may petition in writing (including e-mail) to the public records officer for a review of that decision. The petition shall include a copy of or reasonably identify the written statement by the public records officer or designee denying the request.
(2) Consideration of petition for review. The public records officer shall promptly provide the petition and any other relevant information to the director. The director will immediately consider the petition and either affirm or reverse the denial within two business days following the office's receipt of the petition, or within such other time as the office and the requestor mutually agree to.
(3) Review by the attorney general's office. Pursuant to RCW 42.56.530, if the office denies a requestor access to public records because it claims the record is exempt in whole or in part from disclosure, the requestor may request the attorney general's office to review the matter. The attorney general has adopted rules on such requests in WAC 44-06-160.
(4) Judicial review. Any person may obtain court review of denials of public records requests pursuant to RCW 42.56.550 at the conclusion of two business days after the initial denial regardless of any internal administrative appeal.
REPEALER
The following sections of the Washington Administrative Code are repealed:
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