6650-S

AN ACT Relating to state records; adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW; prescribing penalties; and providing an effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that:

(1) Advances in the information and telecommunication technologies have rapidly expanded the collection of personal data on individuals, and improved the speed and access with which personal data can be retrieved and disseminated;

(2) The increased use of these technologies and their related systems, channels, and services has serious implications on individual privacy that can occur from any collection, maintenance, use, or dissemination of personal information;

(3) The right to privacy is an individual and fundamental right protected by the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the state of Washington;

(4) Government records contain potentially sensitive personal information related to criminal, medical and health, insurance, education, employment and personnel, credit, banking, financial institutions, credit bureaus, telecommunications, and travel activities.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The purposes of this chapter are to:

(1) Minimize the paperwork burden for individuals, small businesses, educational and nonprofit institutions, state, local, and tribal governments, and other persons affected by the collection of information by or for state government;

(2) Ensure the greatest possible public benefit from and maximize the utility of information created, collected, maintained, used, shared, and disseminated by or for state government;

(3) Improve the quality and use of state information to strengthen decision making, accountability, and openness in government;

(4) Minimize the costs to state government of the creation, collection, maintenance, use, dissemination, and disposition of information;

(5) Provide for the dissemination of public information on a timely basis, on equitable terms, and in a manner that promotes the utility of the information to the public and makes effective use of information technology;

(6) Ensure that the creation, collection, maintenance, use, dissemination, and disposition of information by and for state government is consistent with applicable laws.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The definitions set forth in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Agency" means an executive department, government corporation, or other establishment organized under the executive branch.

(2) "Burden" means time, effort, or financial resources spent by persons to generate, maintain, or provide information.

(3) "Collection of information" means the obtaining, causing to be obtained, soliciting, or requiring the disclosure to third parties or the public of facts or opinions by or for an agency regardless of form or format calling for either:

(a) Answers to identical questions posed to, or identical reporting or recordkeeping requirements imposed on, ten or more persons; or

(b) Answers to questions posed to agencies, instrumentalities, or employees of the state of Washington that are to be used for statistical purposes.

(4) "Individual recorded information" means any information regardless of form or format that an agency collects, keeps, or uses to make determinations relative to that individual in the course of its business.

(5) "Information resources" means information and related resources, such as personnel, equipment, funds, and information technology.

(6) "Information system" means a discrete set of information resources and processes, automated or manual, organized for the collection, processing, maintenance, use, sharing, dissemination, or disposition of information.

(7) "Public information" means any information regardless of form or format, that an agency discloses or disseminates, or makes available to the public.

(8) "Recordkeeping requirement" means a requirement imposed by or for an agency on persons to maintain specific records, including a requirement to:

(a) Retain the records;

(b) Notify third parties or the public of the existence of the records;

(d) Report to third parties or the public regarding the records.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. In conjunction with any planning efforts under way under RCW 43.105.170, the head of each agency, or a designee, shall develop and maintain a strategic information resources management plan that describes how information resources management activities of the agency will:

(1) Protect privacy interests of individuals whose information is held by that agency;

(2) Establish goals for improving agency performance, protection of privacy, system security, and methods for measuring progress towards those goals, and identifying clear roles and responsibilities for achieving those goals; and

(3) Evaluate the information systems, telecommunication, and other information technologies and services of that agency in order to determine the standards and procedures in force for the protection of personal information, individual privacy, and system security.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) With respect to information collection each agency shall:

(a) Review, publish, file with the department of information services, and make available for public inspection, an annual report outlining its information resources providing:

(i) An evaluation of the need for collecting information;

(ii) A functional description of the information to be collected;

(iii) A specific, objectively supported estimate of the burden of collecting the information;

(iv) A record of the initiation, substantial modification, or termination of significant information products.

(b) Ensure that each collection of information after the effective date of this act:

(i) Displays, if appropriate, an expiration date;

(ii) Is in accordance with this chapter;

(iii) Contains a statement to inform the person receiving the request for information:

(A) The reason the information is being collected;

(B) The way the information is to be used;

(D) Whether responses to collecting the information are voluntary, required to obtain a benefit, or mandatory.

(2) With respect to dissemination of information each agency shall:

(a) Post a notice in a location visible to the public stating that information retained by that agency is handled in accordance with that agency's information resources management plan, and indicating that the agency's plan is available for public inspection;

(b) Not, except where specifically authorized by statute:

(i) Establish an exclusive, restricted, or other distribution arrangement that interferes with timely and equitable availability of public information to the public;

(ii) Restrict or regulate the use of public information by the public;

(iii) Charge fees or royalties for resale or redissemination of public information;

(iv) Establish fees for public information that exceed the cost of dissemination;

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. Upon receipt of a written request from an individual to examine or copy all or part of the individual's recorded information, an agency, as promptly as required under the circumstances, but no later than fifteen working days after receiving the request, shall:

(1) Make the information available for examination during regular business hours and provide a copy, if requested, to the individual;

(2) Inform the individual in writing if the information does not exist or cannot be found;

(3) If the agency does not maintain a record of the information, inform the individual in writing and provide the name and address, if known, of the agency that maintains the record; or

(4) If the information is in use or unusual circumstances have delayed handling the request, inform the individual and specify in writing the reasons for the delay and the earliest date, not later than twenty-one working days after receiving the request, when the information will be available for examination or copying or when the request will be otherwise disposed of.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) For purposes of accuracy or completeness, an individual may request in writing that an agency correct or amend its record of the individual's information to which the individual has access under this chapter.

(2) As promptly as required under the circumstances, but no later than ten days after receiving a request from an individual to correct or amend its record of the individual's information, the agency shall:

(a) Make the requested correction or amendment and inform the individual in writing of the action;

(b) Inform the individual in writing if the record no longer exists or cannot be found;

(c) If the agency does not maintain the record, inform the individual in writing and provide the individual with the name and address, if known, of the person who maintains the record;

(d) If the record is in use or unusual circumstances have delayed the handling of the correction or amendment request, inform the individual and specify in writing the earliest date, not later than twenty-one days after receiving the request, when the correction or amendment will be made or when the request will otherwise be disposed of; or

(e) Inform the individual in writing of the agency's refusal to correct or amend the record as requested and the individual's right to add a statement of disagreement.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. (1) In making a correction or amendment, the agency shall:

(a) Add the amending information as a part of its record; and

(b) Mark the challenged entries as corrected or amended entries and indicate the place in the record where the corrected or amended information is located, in a manner practicable under the circumstances.

(2) If the agency maintaining the record of the individual's information refuses to make the proposed correction or amendment, the agency shall:

(a) Permit the individual to file as a part of the record a statement of no more than one hundred words regarding the correction or amendment requested and the reasons therefor; and

(b) Mark the challenged entry to indicate that the individual claims the entry is inaccurate or incomplete and indicate the place in the record where the statement of disagreement is located, in a manner practicable under the circumstances.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. (1) An officer, employee, or member of an agency, who by virtue of the person's employment or position has access to or possession of records that contain individually identifiable information the disclosure of which is prohibited by this chapter, and who knowingly discloses the material in any manner to any person or agency not entitled to receive it, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars.

(2) A person who knowingly and willfully requests or obtains a record concerning an individual under false pretenses is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. (1) A person who has complied with this chapter may maintain an action for the relief provided in this section against an agency that has not complied with this chapter.

(2) The court may order the agency or responsible person to comply with this chapter. The relief may include damages, reasonable attorneys' fees, and all other expenses reasonably incurred by the prevailing party.

(3) An action under this chapter is barred unless the action is commenced within two years after the cause of action is discovered.

(4) A violation of this chapter shall not be deemed a violation of the Consumer Protection Act, chapter 19.86 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. This chapter does not restrict an agency from complying with obligations imposed by federal law or the lawful order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. This chapter shall be construed broadly to effectuate its general purpose.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. Sections 1 through 12 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. This act takes effect July 1, 1996.