WSR 19-13-073
PROPOSED RULES
BATES TECHNICAL COLLEGE
[Filed June 17, 2019, 8:29 a.m.]
Original Notice.
Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 19-10-031.
Title of Rule and Other Identifying Information: Amending chapter 495A-276 WAC to update with current state statutes regarding access to public records at Bates Technical College.
Hearing Location(s): On August 5, 2019, 1:30-3:30 p.m., at the Clyde Hupp Room, Building A, Room A329, Downtown Campus, 1101 South Yakima Avenue, Tacoma, WA 98405-4895.
Date of Intended Adoption: August 14, 2019.
Submit Written Comments to: Dr. Jean Hernandez, 1101 South Yakima Avenue, Room A332, Tacoma, WA 98405-4895, email jehernandez@batestech.edu, fax 253-680-7101, by July 22, 2019.
Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Dr. Jean Hernandez, phone 253-680-7163, fax 253-680-7101, email jehernandez@batestech.edu, by July 22, 2019.
Purpose of the Proposal and Its Anticipated Effects, Including Any Changes in Existing Rules: Amending to align with current public records rules and statutes.
Reasons Supporting Proposal: See purpose above.
Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.
Name of Proponent: Bates Technical College, governmental.
Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting: Dr. Jean Hernandez, Bates Technical College, 253-680-7163; Implementation and Enforcement: Office of the President, Bates Technical College, 253-680-7105.
A school district fiscal impact statement is not required under RCW
28A.305.135.
A cost-benefit analysis is not required under RCW
34.05.328.
This rule proposal, or portions of the proposal, is exempt from requirements of the Regulatory Fairness Act because the proposal:
Is exempt under RCW
19.85.025(3) as the rules relate only to internal governmental operations that are not subject to violation by a nongovernment party; rules are adopting or incorporating by reference without material change federal statutes or regulations, Washington state statutes, rules of other Washington state agencies, shoreline master programs other than those programs governing shorelines of statewide significance, or, as referenced by Washington state law, national consensus codes that generally establish industry standards, if the material adopted or incorporated regulates the same subject matter and conduct as the adopting or incorporating rule; rules only correct typographical errors, make address or name changes, or clarify language of a rule without changing its effect; and rule content is explicitly and specifically dictated by statute.
June 17, 2019
Dr. Jean Hernandez
Special Assistant
to the President
Chapter 495A-276 WAC
((ACCESS TO)) PUBLIC RECORDS
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 92-12-017, filed 5/26/92, effective 6/26/92)
WAC 495A-276-010Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to ensure that Bates Technical College
, District No. 28, complies with the provisions of chapter
42.17 RCW and in particular with those sections of that chapter dealing with public records.
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 92-12-017, filed 5/26/92, effective 6/26/92)
WAC 495A-276-020Definitions.
(1) "Public record" includes 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 any state or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics.
(2) "Writing" means handwriting, typewriting, printing, photostating, photographing, and every other means of recording any form of communication or representation, including letters, words, pictures, sounds or symbols, combination thereof and all papers, maps, magnetic or paper tapes, photographic films and prints, magnetic or punched cards, disks, drums, and other documents.
(3) "Bates Technical College" is an agency organized by statute pursuant to RCW
28B.50.040. Bates Technical College shall hereafter be referred to as the "district." Where appropriate, the term "district" also refers to the staff and employees of the district.
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 92-12-017, filed 5/26/92, effective 6/26/92)
WAC 495A-276-030Description of central and field organization of Bates Technical College, District No. 28.
(1) Bates Technical College is a state agency established and organized under the authority of chapter
28B.50 RCW for the purpose of implementing the educational goals established by the legislature in RCW
28B.50.020. The administrative office of the district is located ((
on))
in the downtown campus within the city of Tacoma, Washington. The downtown campus likewise comprises the central headquarters for all operations of the district. Field activities for the south campus((
, home and family life center, and business and management center branches))
and central campus of the district are administered by personnel located at those ((
branches))
campuses in Tacoma, Washington; all other field activities of the district are directed and administered by personnel located on the campus at 1101 South Yakima Avenue, Tacoma, WA 98405.
(2) The district is ((operated under the supervision and control of a))governed by the board of trustees. The board of trustees consists of five members appointed by the governor. The board of trustees normally meets at least once each month, as provided in WAC 495A-104-010. The board of trustees employs ((a president, an administrative staff, members of the faculty and other employees. The board of trustees takes such actions and promulgates such rules, and policies in harmony with the rules established by the state board for community and technical colleges, as are necessary to the administration and operation of the district.
(3) The president of the district is responsible to the board of trustees for the operation and administration of the district. A detailed description of the administrative organization of the district is contained within the Policies and Procedures Manual for Bates Technical College, a current copy of which is available for inspection at the administrative office of the district))and delegates to the president authority for all administrative and operational responsibilities.
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 92-12-017, filed 5/26/92, effective 6/26/92)
WAC 495A-276-040Operations and procedures.
(1) ((
Formal decision-making procedures))
Board policies are established by the board of trustees through rules promulgated in accordance with the requirements of chapter
34.05 RCW, the Administrative Procedure Act.
(2) ((Informal decision-making procedures at the college, as established by the board of trustees, are set forth in the Policies and Procedures Manual of Bates Technical College, a current copy of which is available for inspection at the administrative office of the district.))College policies are established by the president to address all administrative and operational activities.
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 92-12-017, filed 5/26/92, effective 6/26/92)
WAC 495A-276-050Public records available.
All public records of the district, as defined in this chapter, are deemed to be available for public inspection and copying pursuant to these rules, except as otherwise provided by RCW
42.17.310 or other statutes.
(1) Records may be reviewed in person at the district office during regular office hours at no charge. Fees for providing copies of records may apply, in accordance with WAC 495A-276-090.
(2) Requestors seeking to review records in person are asked to contact the public records officer by email, phone or by mail to schedule an appointment. Contact information for the public records officer is as follows:
Public Records Officer
Bates Technical College
1101 South Yakima Avenue
Tacoma, WA 98405
prr@batestech.edu
253-680-7174
(3) The regular business hours of the public records office are from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays and college closures.
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 92-12-017, filed 5/26/92, effective 6/26/92)
WAC 495A-276-060Public records officer.
The district's public records shall be in the charge of the public records officer designated by the ((
chief administrative officer))
president of the district. The person so designated shall be located in the district administrative office. The public records officer shall be responsible for the following: Implementation of the district's rules regarding release of public records, coordinating district employees in this regard, and generally ensuring compliance by district employees with the public records disclosure requirements in chapter
42.17 RCW.
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 92-12-017, filed 5/26/92, effective 6/26/92)
WAC 495A-276-080Requests for public records.
((
In accordance with the requirements of RCW 42.17.290 that agencies prevent unreasonable invasions of privacy, protect public records from damage or disorganization, and prevent excessive interference with essential functions of the agency, public records are only obtainable by members of the public when those members of the public comply with the following procedures:(1) A request shall be made in writing upon a form prescribed by the district which shall be available at the district administrative office. The form shall be presented to the public records officer or, if the public records officer is not available, to any member of the district's staff at the district administrative office during customary office hours. The request shall include the following information:
(a) The name of the person requesting the record;
(b) The time of day and calendar date on which the request was made;
(c) The nature of the request;
(d) If the matter requested is referenced within the current index maintained by the public records officer, a reference to the requested record as it is described in such current index;
(e) If the requested matter is not identifiable by reference to the current index, an appropriate description of the record requested.))(1) The public records officer or designee will provide assistance to any member of the public requesting to inspect the records of the district. However, a person seeking records must make a specific request for identifiable records and must clearly state that the inquiry is a public records request.
(2) In all cases in which a member of the public is making a request, it shall be the obligation of the public records officer((,)) or person to whom the request is made((,)) to assist the member of the public in succinctly identifying the public record requested.
(3) The public records officer or designee will take action on a request for public records in a timely manner. In accordance with RCW 42.56.520, the requestor will receive a response within five days of receipt of the request by the district. If the request cannot be completed within five days, the public records officer will provide a reasonable time estimate for a complete response to the request. If the request is particularly large or complex, resulting in a large number of responsive documents or requiring significant redaction, the public records officer and the requestor may enter into an agreement by which the records are made available in installments at specific intervals. (4) If the requestor fails to respond within fifteen days to a request from the public records officer for clarification of all or part of the public records request, the request or part of the request requiring clarification will be considered withdrawn and no further action will be taken.
(5) The requestor must claim or review the assembled records within thirty days of receiving notification that the records are available for inspection or copying. 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 district will close the request and refile the assembled records.
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 92-12-017, filed 5/26/92, effective 6/26/92)
WAC 495A-276-090Copying fees—Payments.
((
No fee shall be charged for the inspection of public records. The district may impose a reasonable charge for providing copies of public records and for the use by any person of agency equipment to copy public records and such charges shall not exceed the amount necessary to reimburse the district for its actual costs incident to such copying. No person shall be released a record so copied until and unless the person requesting the copied public record has tendered payment for such copying to the appropriate district official. All charges must be paid by money order, cashier's check, or cash in advance.))
(1) In accordance with RCW 42.56.070(7) and 42.56.120, the district may charge fees for providing copies of public records. The district has determined that calculating the actual costs for providing copies would be unduly burdensome. The determination is based on the large number of factors involved in calculating the actual cost and the frequency with which these factors change. Therefore, the district adopts the schedule of fees provided in RCW 42.56.120(2).(2) No fee shall be charged for the inspection of public records; however, in some cases the district will charge a fee for providing copies of public records. These fees are summarized in the fee schedule available on the district's web site at www.batestech.edu.
(a) The district may impose a customized service charge to cover its costs if the request requires the use of information technology or computer-related expertise to prepare data compilations or if such customized access services are not used by the agency for other business purposes.
(b) The district may require a ten percent deposit in advance if the fee for producing copies of responsive records will exceed one hundred dollars.
(c) All fees must be paid by credit or debit card, money order, cashier's check, or cash in advance of receiving the public records.
(d) The charge above may be combined to the extent that more than one type of charge applies to copies produced in response to a particular request.
(e) Upon request, the district will provide a summary of the applicable charges before any copies are made and the requestor may revise the request to reduce the number of copies to be made and reduce the applicable charge.
(3) If the requestor fails to pay fees incurred for copying by the specified payment date, the district will close the request. In such a case, the requestor will receive notification at least ten business days in advance that the request will be closed for nonpayment.
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 92-12-017, filed 5/26/92, effective 6/26/92)
WAC 495A-276-100Determination regarding exempt records.
(1) The district reserves the right to determine that a public record requested in accordance with the procedures outlined in WAC 495A-276-080 is exempt pursuant to the provisions set forth in RCW
42.17.310 or other statute. ((
Such determination may be made in consultation with the public records officer, president of the college district, or an assistant attorney general assigned to the district.))
(2) Pursuant to RCW
42.17.260, the district reserves the right to ((
delete))
redact identifying details when it makes available or publishes any public record when there is reason to believe that disclosure of such details would be an unreasonable invasion of personal privacy ((
or))
, impair a vital governmental interest((
: Provided, however, In each case, the justification for the deletion shall be explained fully in writing))
, or other applicable statutes.
(3) ((Response to requests for a public record must be made promptly. For the purposes of this section, a prompt response occurs if the person requesting the public record is notified within two business days as to whether his request for a public record will be honored.
(4))) All denials of requests for public records must be accompanied by a written statement, signed by the public records officer or ((his/her)) designee, specifying the reason for the denial, a statement of the specific exemption authorizing the withholding of the record, and a brief explanation of how the exemption applies to the public record withheld.
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 92-12-017, filed 5/26/92, effective 6/26/92)
WAC 495A-276-110Review of denials of public records requests.
(1) Any person who objects to the denial of a request for a public record may petition for ((prompt)) review of such decision by tendering a written request for review to the public records officer within ten business days. The written request shall specifically refer to the written statement which constituted or accompanied the denial.
(2) ((The written request by a person demanding prompt review of a decision denying a public record shall be submitted to the president of the district, or his or her designee.
(3) Within two business days after receiving the written request by a person petitioning for a prompt review of a decision denying a public record, the president of the district, or his or her designee, shall complete such review.
(4)))After receiving a written request for review of a decision denying a public record, the public records officer or designee shall refer the request for review to the president of the college. The president or designee shall consider the matter and either affirm or reverse such denial. All requests shall receive a final decision within five business days following receipt of the appeal by the district. The time for review of the denial may be extended by mutual agreement of the district and the requestor.
(3) During the course of the review the president or ((
his or her)) designee shall consider the obligations of the district to comply with the intent of chapter
42.17 RCW ((
insofar as it requires providing full public access to official records, but shall also consider the))
and exemptions provided in RCW
42.17.310 or other pertinent statutes((
, and the provisions of the statute which require the district to protect public records from damage or disorganization, prevent excessive interference with essential functions of the agency, and prevent any unreasonable invasion of personal privacy by deleting identifying details)).
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 92-12-017, filed 5/26/92, effective 6/26/92)
WAC 495A-276-130Records index.
(1) The district has available for the use of all persons a current index which provides identifying information as to the following records issued, adopted, or promulgated by the district after September 1, 1991, subject to the limits of the college's retention schedule:
(a) Final opinions, including concurring and dissenting opinions, as well as orders, made in the adjudication of cases;
(b) Those statements of policy and interpretations of policy, statute and the constitution which have been adopted by the agency;
(c) Administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that affect a member of the public;
(d) Planning policies and goals((,)) and interim and final planning decisions;
(e) Factual staff reports and studies, factual consultant's reports and studies, scientific reports and studies, and any other factual information derived from tests, studies, reports or surveys, whether conducted by public employees or others; and
(f) Correspondence((,)) and materials referred to ((therein, by and with the agency))in this chapter relating to any regulatory, supervisory, or enforcement responsibilities of the agency((, whereby the agency determines, or opines upon, or is asked to determine or opine upon, the rights of the state, the public, a subdivision of state government, or of any private party)).
(2) The current index maintained by the district shall be available to all persons under the same rules and on the same conditions as are applied to public records available for inspection.
NEW SECTION
WAC 495A-276-150Notification of affected persons.
If the requested record is not exempt from release and contains information which could identify an individual or agency, the district may notify the individual or agency thus identified that release of the record has been requested. In such cases, the district's initial response to the request will allow a reasonable time for the identified individual or agency to seek court protection from release of the record.
REPEALER
The following sections of the Washington Administrative Code are repealed:
WAC 495A-276-070 | Office hours. |
WAC 495A-276-120 | Protection of public records. |
WAC 495A-276-140 | Adoption of form. |