BILL REQ. #:  H-4502.1 

Read first time 01/20/10.   Referred to Committee on State Government & Tribal Affairs.

     AN ACT Relating to the cost of public records requests; amending RCW 42.56.120; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that some individuals use the public records act in such a way that it burdens the government entity without providing a balancing benefit to the people of Washington. The act was not put in place so that individuals could use it to monopolize employees' time to the detriment of other citizens. The intent of this act is to create balance between those that desire public information and the competing obligations of government employees.

Sec. 2   RCW 42.56.120 and 2005 c 483 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) 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)) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, an agency may not 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. 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.
     (2) If the production of records for one requester in a calendar month exceeds five person-hours, the public agency may require the requester to pay the personnel costs for the request during the month to complete the search and copying tasks. The personnel costs may not exceed the actual salary and benefit costs for the personnel required to perform the search and copying tasks. The requester shall pay the fee before the records are disclosed, and the public agency may require payment in advance of the search.