BILL REQ. #: H-3479.1
State of Washington | 59th Legislature | 2006 Regular Session |
Read first time 01/10/2006. Referred to Committee on State Government Operations & Accountability.
AN ACT Relating to public records; amending RCW 42.56.120, 42.17.253, and 42.56.040; reenacting and amending RCW 42.56.550; adding a new section to chapter 42.56 RCW; recodifying RCW 42.17.253; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 42.56.120 and 2005 c 483 s 2 are each amended to read
as follows:
No fee shall be charged for the inspection of public records. No
fee shall be charged for locating public documents and making them
available for copying. A reasonable charge may be imposed for
providing copies of public records and for the use by any person of
agency equipment or equipment of the office of the secretary of the
senate or the office of the chief clerk of the house of representatives
to copy public records, which charges shall not exceed the amount
necessary to reimburse the agency, the office of the secretary of the
senate, or the office of the chief clerk of the house of
representatives for its actual costs directly incident to such copying.
Agency charges for photocopies shall be imposed in accordance with the
actual per page cost or other costs established and published by the
agency. In no event may an agency charge a per page cost greater than
the actual per page cost as established and published by the agency.
To the extent the agency has not determined the actual per page cost
for photocopies of public records, the agency may not charge in excess
of fifteen cents per page. Agency documentation of its actual costs
for copies, including photocopies, shall be subject to audit for
accuracy by the office of the state auditor. An agency may require a
deposit in an amount not to exceed ten percent of the estimated cost of
providing copies for a request. If an agency makes a request available
on a partial or installment basis, the agency may charge for each part
of the request as it is provided. If an installment of a records
request is not claimed or reviewed, the agency is not obligated to
fulfill the balance of the request.
Sec. 2 RCW 42.17.253 and 2005 c 483 s 3 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) Each state and local agency shall appoint, maintain, and
publicly identify a public records officer whose responsibility is to
serve as a point of contact for members of the public in requesting
disclosure of public records and to oversee the agency's compliance
with the public records disclosure requirements of this chapter. A
state or local agency's public records officer may appoint an employee
or official of another agency as its public records officer.
(2) For state agencies, the name and contact information of the
agency's public records officer to whom members of the public may
direct requests for disclosure of public records and who will oversee
the agency's compliance with the public records disclosure requirements
of this chapter shall be published in the state register at the time of
designation and annually every year thereafter.
(3) For local agencies, the name and contact information of the
agency's public records officer to whom members of the public may
direct requests for disclosure of public records and who will oversee
the agency's compliance within the public records disclosure
requirements of this chapter shall be made in a way reasonably
calculated to provide notice to the public, including posting at the
local agency's place of business, posting on its internet site, or
including in its publications.
Sec. 3 RCW 42.56.040 and 1973 c 1 s 25 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) Each state agency shall separately state and currently publish
in the Washington Administrative Code and each local agency shall
prominently display and make available for inspection and copying at
the central office of such local agency, for guidance of the public:
(a) Descriptions of its central and field organization and the
established places at which, the employees from whom, and the methods
whereby, the public may obtain information, make submittals or
requests, or obtain copies of agency decisions;
(b) Statements of the general course and method by which its
operations are channeled and determined, including the nature and
requirements of all formal and informal procedures available;
(c) Rules of procedure;
(d) Substantive rules of general applicability adopted as
authorized by law, and statements of general policy or interpretations
of general applicability formulated and adopted by the agency; ((and))
(e) Each amendment or revision to, or repeal of any of the
((foregoing)) documents in this subsection (1); and
(f) The name and contact information of the agency's appointed
individual responsible for overseeing the disclosure or inspection of
public records.
(2) Except to the extent that he or she has actual and timely
notice of the terms thereof, a person may not in any manner be required
to resort to, or be adversely affected by, a matter required to be
published or displayed and not so published or displayed.
(3)(a) By February 1, 2007, the attorney general shall adopt by
rule a model rule for state and local agencies addressing the following
subjects:
(i) Providing assistance to requesters;
(ii) Indexing public records;
(iii) Fulfilling large requests in a timely manner;
(iv) Fulfilling requests for electronic records; and
(v) Any other issues pertaining to public disclosure as determined
by the attorney general.
(b) The attorney general, in his or her discretion, may from time
to time revise the model rule.
Sec. 4 RCW 42.56.550 and 2005 c 483 s 5 and 2005 c 274 s 288 are
each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(1) Upon the motion of any person having been denied an opportunity
to inspect or copy a public record by an agency, the superior court in
the county in which a record is maintained may require the responsible
agency to show cause why it has refused to allow inspection or copying
of a specific public record or class of records. The burden of proof
shall be on the agency to establish that refusal to permit public
inspection and copying is in accordance with a statute that exempts or
prohibits disclosure in whole or in part of specific information or
records.
(2) Upon the motion of any person who believes that an agency has
not made a reasonable estimate of the time that the agency requires to
respond to a public record request, the superior court in the county in
which a record is maintained may require the responsible agency to show
that the estimate it provided is reasonable. The burden of proof shall
be on the agency to show that the estimate it provided is reasonable.
(3) Judicial review of all agency actions taken or challenged under
RCW 42.56.030 through 42.56.520 shall be de novo. Courts shall take
into account the policy of this chapter that free and open examination
of public records is in the public interest, even though such
examination may cause inconvenience or embarrassment to public
officials or others. Courts may examine any record in camera in any
proceeding brought under this section. The court may conduct a hearing
based solely on affidavits.
(4) Any person who prevails against an agency in any action in the
courts seeking the right to inspect or copy any public record or the
right to receive a response to a public record request within a
reasonable amount of time shall be awarded all costs, including
reasonable attorneys' fees, incurred in connection with such legal
action. In addition, it shall be within the discretion of the court to
award such person an amount not less than ((five)) fifty dollars and
not to exceed ((one)) five hundred dollars for each day that he or she
was denied the right to inspect or copy said public record.
(5) For actions under this section against counties, the venue
provisions of RCW 36.01.050 apply.
(6) Actions under this section must be filed within one year of the
agency's claim of exemption or the last production of a record on a
partial or installment basis.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5 RCW 42.17.253 is recodified as a new section
in chapter 42.56 RCW.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6 This act takes effect July 1, 2006.