PERMANENT RULES
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: Clarify the process to be followed to request disclosure of public records from the agency.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 137-08-060 and 137-08-090.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 72.01.090.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 08-01-040 on December 11, 2007.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: January 29, 2008.
Eldon Vail
Secretary
OTS-1178.1
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 07-12-073, filed 6/5/07,
effective 7/6/07)
WAC 137-08-060
Public records available.
(((1) Requests
for any identifiable public record may be initiated at any
office of the department during normal business hours.
(2))) The department shall at all times take the most timely possible action on requests for disclosure, and shall be required to respond in writing within five working days of receipt of the request for disclosure. The department's failure to so respond shall entitle the person seeking disclosure to petition the public disclosure officer pursuant to WAC 137-08-140.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 72.01.090. 07-12-073, § 137-08-060, filed 6/5/07, effective 7/6/07. Statutory Authority: RCW 10.97.080 and 42.17.320. 86-10-010 (Order 86-05), § 137-08-060, filed 4/29/86. Statutory Authority: RCW 10.97.080, 42.17.250 and 72.01.090. 85-13-020 (Order 85-06), § 137-08-060, filed 6/10/85. Statutory Authority: RCW 42.17.250. 82-04-023 (Order 82-3), § 137-08-060, filed 1/26/82.]
(a) The name of the person requesting the record and their contact information;
(b) The ((time of day and)) calendar date on which the
request is made((,)); and((;))
(c) The ((nature of the request)) records requested.
Incarcerated offenders under the authority of the department of corrections shall submit requests to inspect their own health record or central file to the records manager at the facility in which, they are currently incarcerated.
(2) A request for disclosure shall be made during customary business hours.
(3) If the public record contains material exempt from disclosure pursuant to law, including those laws cited in WAC 137-08-150, the department must provide the person requesting disclosure with a written explanation for the nondisclosure, pursuant to WAC 137-08-130.
(4) Any person continuing to seek disclosure, after having received a written explanation for nondisclosure pursuant to WAC 137-08-130, may request a review under the provisions of WAC 137-08-140.
(5) When a person's identity is relevant to an exemption, that person may be required to provide personal identification.
(6) Nothing in this section or elsewhere in this chapter shall be construed to require the department to compile statistics or other information from material contained in public records, where doing so would unduly interfere with other essential functions of the department and is not required for litigation by rules of pretrial discovery.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 42.17.250. 82-04-023 (Order 82-3), § 137-08-090, filed 1/26/82.]