6426-S2.E

AN ACT Relating to public electronic access to government information; amending RCW 42.17.370; adding a new section to chapter 42.17 RCW; creating new sections; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that government information is a strategic resource and needs to be managed as such and that broad public access to nonrestricted public information and records must be guaranteed. The legislature further finds that reengineering government processes along with capitalizing on advancements made in digital technology can build greater efficiencies in government service delivery. The legislature further finds that providing citizen electronic access to presently available public documents will allow increased citizen involvement in state policies and empower citizens to participate in state policy decision making.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 42.17 RCW to read as follows:

By January 1, 1995, the public disclosure commission shall design a program for electronic access to public documents filed with the commission. The program may include on-line access to the commission's magic and electronic bulletin board systems, providing information for the internet system, fax-request service, automated telephone service, electronic filing of reports, and other service delivery options. Documents available in the program shall include, but are not limited to, public documents filed with the public disclosure commission, including, but not limited to, commission meeting schedules, financial affairs reports, contribution reports, expenditure reports, and gift reports. Implementation of the program is contingent on the availability of funds.

Sec. 3. RCW 42.17.370 and 1986 c 155 s 11 are each amended to read as follows:

The commission is empowered to:

(1) Adopt, promulgate, amend, and rescind suitable administrative rules to carry out the policies and purposes of this chapter, which rules shall be adopted under chapter 34.05 RCW;

(2) Appoint and set, within the limits established by the committee on agency officials' salaries under RCW 43.03.028, the compensation of an executive director who shall perform such duties and have such powers as the commission may prescribe and delegate to implement and enforce this chapter efficiently and effectively. The commission shall not delegate its authority to adopt, amend, or rescind rules nor shall it delegate authority to determine whether an actual violation of this chapter has occurred or to assess penalties for such violations;

(3) Prepare and publish such reports and technical studies as in its judgment will tend to promote the purposes of this chapter, including reports and statistics concerning campaign financing, lobbying, financial interests of elected officials, and enforcement of this chapter;

(4) Make from time to time, on its own motion, audits and field investigations;

(5) Make public the time and date of any formal hearing set to determine whether a violation has occurred, the question or questions to be considered, and the results thereof;

(6) Administer oaths and affirmations, issue subpoenas, and compel attendance, take evidence and require the production of any books, papers, correspondence, memorandums, or other records relevant or material for the purpose of any investigation authorized under this chapter, or any other proceeding under this chapter;

(7) Adopt and promulgate a code of fair campaign practices;

(8) Relieve, by rule, candidates or political committees of obligations to comply with the provisions of this chapter relating to election campaigns, if they have not received contributions nor made expenditures in connection with any election campaign of more than one thousand dollars;

(9) Adopt rules prescribing reasonable requirements for keeping accounts of and reporting on a quarterly basis costs incurred by state agencies, counties, cities, and other municipalities and political subdivisions in preparing, publishing, and distributing legislative information. The term "legislative information," for the purposes of this subsection, means books, pamphlets, reports, and other materials prepared, published, or distributed at substantial cost, a substantial purpose of which is to influence the passage or defeat of any legislation. The state auditor in his regular examination of each agency under chapter 43.09 RCW shall review the rules, accounts, and reports and make appropriate findings, comments, and recommendations in his examination reports concerning those agencies;

(10) After hearing, by order approved and ratified by a majority of the membership of the commission, suspend or modify any of the reporting requirements of this chapter in a particular case if it finds that literal application of this chapter works a manifestly unreasonable hardship and if it also finds that the suspension or modification will not frustrate the purposes of the chapter. The commission shall find that a manifestly unreasonable hardship exists if reporting the name of an entity required to be reported under RCW 42.17.241(1)(g)(ii) would be likely to adversely affect the competitive position of any entity in which the person filing the report or any member of his immediate family holds any office, directorship, general partnership interest, or an ownership interest of ten percent or more. Any suspension or modification shall be only to the extent necessary to substantially relieve the hardship. The commission shall act to suspend or modify any reporting requirements only if it determines that facts exist that are clear and convincing proof of the findings required under this section. Any citizen has standing to bring an action in Thurston county superior court to contest the propriety of any order entered under this section within one year from the date of the entry of the order; and

(11) Revise, at least once every five years but no more often than every two years, the monetary reporting thresholds and reporting code values of this chapter. The revisions shall be only for the purpose of recognizing economic changes as reflected by an inflationary index recommended by the office of financial management. The revisions shall be guided by the change in the index for the period commencing with the month of December preceding the last revision and concluding with the month of December preceding the month the revision is adopted. As to each of the three general categories of this chapter (reports of campaign finance, reports of lobbyist activity, and reports of the financial affairs of elected and appointed officials), the revisions shall equally affect all thresholds within each category. Revisions shall be adopted as rules under chapter 34.05 RCW. The first revision authorized by this subsection shall reflect economic changes from the time of the last legislative enactment affecting the respective code or threshold through December 1985.

(12) Develop and provide to filers a system for certification of reports required under this chapter which are transmitted by facsimile or electronically to the commission. Implementation of the program is contingent on the availability of funds.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The public information access policy task force is created, with membership to include the office of financial management, the department of information services, the state library, the state law library, the public disclosure commission, the division of archives and records management, the superintendent of public instruction or his or her designee, the executive director of the higher education coordinating board or his or her designee, the legislature, local governments, and the information services board. By September 30, 1994, the task force shall develop and report to the legislature a comprehensive information access policy designed to ensure that information collected, created, used, and disseminated by agencies of the state of Washington will be managed, protected, and used effectively and responsibly for the public good. The task force shall include in its recommendations alternative methods to address continuing and future issues of public information content policy. The task force shall cease to exist on June 30, 1995, unless otherwise reauthorized by the legislature.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. By September 30, 1994, the task force shall develop and report to the legislature the design for a program for public electronic access to government information, which shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, the following:

(1) Documents produced by or in the possession of state agencies, in all formats, including state voters' pamphlets;

(2) Publicly available documents produced by or in the possession of all political subdivisions of the state.

The task force may consider on-line access to electronic bulletin boards; fax-request services; the internet and similar electronic systems; contracting the provision of documents; automated telephone service; the feasibility of providing public access terminals at publicly funded Washington libraries, schools, school districts, and institutions of higher education; the benefit and feasibility of electronic mail systems in public schools to provide increased communication between parents, teachers, and students; and other service delivery options. The task force shall examine and recommend minimum standards for technology compatibility; associated costs including, but not limited to, hardware, software, and delivery costs; training; and alternative funding sources for the program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.