AN
ACT Relating to exemptions from disclosure of public records for domestic
security purposes; reenacting and amending RCW 42.17.310; and creating a new
section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec.
1. RCW
42.17.310 and 2001 c 278 s 1, 2001 c 98 s 2, and 2001 c 70 s 1 are each
reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(1)
The following are exempt from public inspection and copying:
(a)
Personal information in any files maintained for students in public schools,
patients or clients of public institutions or public health agencies, or
welfare recipients.
(b)
Personal information in files maintained for employees, appointees, or elected
officials of any public agency to the extent that disclosure would violate
their right to privacy.
(c)
Information required of any taxpayer in connection with the assessment or
collection of any tax if the disclosure of the information to other persons
would (i) be prohibited to such persons by RCW 84.08.210, 82.32.330, 84.40.020,
or 84.40.340 or (ii) violate the taxpayer's right to privacy or result in
unfair competitive disadvantage to the taxpayer.
(d)
Specific intelligence information and specific investigative records compiled
by investigative, law enforcement, and penology agencies, and state agencies
vested with the responsibility to discipline members of any profession, the
nondisclosure of which is essential to effective law enforcement or for the
protection of any person's right to privacy.
(e)
Information revealing the identity of persons who are witnesses to or victims
of crime or who file complaints with investigative, law enforcement, or
penology agencies, other than the public disclosure commission, if disclosure
would endanger any person's life, physical safety, or property. If at the time
a complaint is filed the complainant, victim or witness indicates a desire for
disclosure or nondisclosure, such desire shall govern. However, all complaints
filed with the public disclosure commission about any elected official or
candidate for public office must be made in writing and signed by the
complainant under oath.
(f)
Test questions, scoring keys, and other examination data used to administer a
license, employment, or academic examination.
(g)
Except as provided by chapter 8.26 RCW, the contents of real estate appraisals,
made for or by any agency relative to the acquisition or sale of property,
until the project or prospective sale is abandoned or until such time as all of
the property has been acquired or the property to which the sale appraisal
relates is sold, but in no event shall disclosure be denied for more than three
years after the appraisal.
(h)
Valuable formulae, designs, drawings, computer source code or object code, and
research data obtained by any agency within five years of the request for disclosure
when disclosure would produce private gain and public loss.
(i)
Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations, and intra-agency memorandums in
which opinions are expressed or policies formulated or recommended except that
a specific record shall not be exempt when publicly cited by an agency in
connection with any agency action.
(j)
Records which are relevant to a controversy to which an agency is a party but
which records would not be available to another party under the rules of
pretrial discovery for causes pending in the superior courts.
(k)
Records, maps, or other information identifying the location of archaeological
sites in order to avoid the looting or depredation of such sites.
(l)
Any library record, the primary purpose of which is to maintain control of
library materials, or to gain access to information, which discloses or could
be used to disclose the identity of a library user.
(m)
Financial information supplied by or on behalf of a person, firm, or
corporation for the purpose of qualifying to submit a bid or proposal for (i) a
ferry system construction or repair contract as required by RCW 47.60.680
through 47.60.750 or (ii) highway construction or improvement as required by
RCW 47.28.070.
(n)
Railroad company contracts filed prior to July 28, 1991, with the utilities and
transportation commission under RCW 81.34.070, except that the summaries of the
contracts are open to public inspection and copying as otherwise provided by
this chapter.
(o)
Financial and commercial information and records supplied by private persons
pertaining to export services provided pursuant to chapter 43.163 RCW and
chapter 53.31 RCW, and by persons pertaining to export projects pursuant to RCW
43.23.035.
(p)
Financial disclosures filed by private vocational schools under chapters 28B.85
and 28C.10 RCW.
(q)
Records filed with the utilities and transportation commission or attorney
general under RCW 80.04.095 that a court has determined are confidential under
RCW 80.04.095.
(r)
Financial and commercial information and records supplied by businesses or
individuals during application for loans or program services provided by
chapters 43.163, 43.160, 43.330, and 43.168 RCW, or during application for
economic development loans or program services provided by any local agency.
(s)
Membership lists or lists of members or owners of interests of units in
timeshare projects, subdivisions, camping resorts, condominiums, land
developments, or common-interest communities affiliated with such projects,
regulated by the department of licensing, in the files or possession of the
department.
(t)
All applications for public employment, including the names of applicants,
resumes, and other related materials submitted with respect to an applicant.
(u)
The residential addresses or residential telephone numbers of employees or
volunteers of a public agency which are held by any public agency in personnel
records, public employment related records, or volunteer rosters, or are
included in any mailing list of employees or volunteers of any public agency.
(v)
The residential addresses and residential telephone numbers of the customers of
a public utility contained in the records or lists held by the public utility
of which they are customers, except that this information may be released to
the division of child support or the agency or firm providing child support
enforcement for another state under Title IV-D of the federal social security
act, for the establishment, enforcement, or modification of a support order.
(w)(i)
The federal social security number of individuals governed under chapter 18.130
RCW maintained in the files of the department of health, except this exemption
does not apply to requests made directly to the department from federal, state,
and local agencies of government, and national and state licensing,
credentialing, investigatory, disciplinary, and examination organizations; (ii)
the current residential address and current residential telephone number of a
health care provider governed under chapter 18.130 RCW maintained in the files
of the department, if the provider requests that this information be withheld
from public inspection and copying, and provides to the department an accurate
alternate or business address and business telephone number. On or after
January 1, 1995, the current residential address and residential telephone
number of a health care provider governed under RCW 18.130.040 maintained in
the files of the department shall automatically be withheld from public
inspection and copying unless the provider specifically requests the
information be released, and except as provided for under RCW 42.17.260(9).
(x)
Information obtained by the board of pharmacy as provided in RCW 69.45.090.
(y)
Information obtained by the board of pharmacy or the department of health and
its representatives as provided in RCW 69.41.044, 69.41.280, and 18.64.420.
(z)
Financial information, business plans, examination reports, and any information
produced or obtained in evaluating or examining a business and industrial
development corporation organized or seeking certification under chapter 31.24
RCW.
(aa)
Financial and commercial information supplied to the state investment board by
any person when the information relates to the investment of public trust or
retirement funds and when disclosure would result in loss to such funds or in
private loss to the providers of this information.
(bb)
Financial and valuable trade information under RCW 51.36.120.
(cc)
Client records maintained by an agency that is a domestic violence program as
defined in RCW 70.123.020 or 70.123.075 or a rape crisis center as defined in
RCW 70.125.030.
(dd)
Information that identifies a person who, while an agency employee: (i) Seeks
advice, under an informal process established by the employing agency, in order
to ascertain his or her rights in connection with a possible unfair practice
under chapter 49.60 RCW against the person; and (ii) requests his or her
identity or any identifying information not be disclosed.
(ee)
Investigative records compiled by an employing agency conducting a current
investigation of a possible unfair practice under chapter 49.60 RCW or of a
possible violation of other federal, state, or local laws prohibiting
discrimination in employment.
(ff)
Business related information protected from public inspection and copying under
RCW 15.86.110.
(gg)
Financial, commercial, operations, and technical and research information and
data submitted to or obtained by the clean Washington center in applications
for, or delivery of, program services under chapter 70.95H RCW.
(hh)
Information and documents created specifically for, and collected and
maintained by a quality improvement committee pursuant to RCW 43.70.510 or
70.41.200, or by a peer review committee under RCW 4.24.250, regardless of
which agency is in possession of the information and documents.
(ii)
Personal information in files maintained in a data base created under RCW
43.07.360.
(jj)
Financial and commercial information requested by the public stadium authority
from any person or organization that leases or uses the stadium and exhibition
center as defined in RCW 36.102.010.
(kk)
Names of individuals residing in emergency or transitional housing that are
furnished to the department of revenue or a county assessor in order to
substantiate a claim for property tax exemption under RCW 84.36.043.
(ll)
The names, residential addresses, residential telephone numbers, and other
individually identifiable records held by an agency in relation to a vanpool,
carpool, or other ride-sharing program or service. However, these records may
be disclosed to other persons who apply for ride-matching services and who need
that information in order to identify potential riders or drivers with whom to
share rides.
(mm)
The personally identifying information of current or former participants or
applicants in a paratransit or other transit service operated for the benefit
of persons with disabilities or elderly persons.
(nn)
The personally identifying information of persons who acquire and use transit
passes and other fare payment media including, but not limited to, stored value
smart cards and magnetic strip cards, except that an agency may disclose this
information to a person, employer, educational institution, or other entity
that is responsible, in whole or in part, for payment of the cost of acquiring
or using a transit pass or other fare payment media, or to the news media when
reporting on public transportation or public safety. This information may also
be disclosed at the agency's discretion to governmental agencies or groups
concerned with public transportation or public safety.
(oo)
Proprietary financial and commercial information that the submitting entity,
with review by the department of health, specifically identifies at the time it
is submitted and that is provided to or obtained by the department of health in
connection with an application for, or the supervision of, an antitrust
exemption sought by the submitting entity under RCW 43.72.310. If a request
for such information is received, the submitting entity must be notified of the
request. Within ten business days of receipt of the notice, the submitting
entity shall provide a written statement of the continuing need for
confidentiality, which shall be provided to the requester. Upon receipt of
such notice, the department of health shall continue to treat information
designated under this section as exempt from disclosure. If the requester
initiates an action to compel disclosure under this chapter, the submitting
entity must be joined as a party to demonstrate the continuing need for
confidentiality.
(pp)
Records maintained by the board of industrial insurance appeals that are
related to appeals of crime victims' compensation claims filed with the board
under RCW 7.68.110.
(qq)
Financial and commercial information supplied by or on behalf of a person,
firm, corporation, or entity under chapter 28B.95 RCW relating to the purchase
or sale of tuition units and contracts for the purchase of multiple tuition
units.
(rr)
Any records of investigative reports prepared by any state, county, municipal,
or other law enforcement agency pertaining to sex offenses contained in chapter
9A.44 RCW or sexually violent offenses as defined in RCW 71.09.020, which have
been transferred to the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs
for permanent electronic retention and retrieval pursuant to RCW
40.14.070(2)(b).
(ss)
Credit card numbers, debit card numbers, electronic check numbers, card
expiration dates, or bank or other financial account numbers supplied to an
agency for the purpose of electronic transfer of funds, except when disclosure
is expressly required by law.
(tt)
Financial information, including but not limited to account numbers and values,
and other identification numbers supplied by or on behalf of a person, firm,
corporation, limited liability company, partnership, or other entity related to
an application for a liquor license, gambling license, or lottery retail
license.
(uu)
Records maintained by the employment security department and subject to chapter
50.13 RCW if provided to another individual or organization for operational,
research, or evaluation purposes.
(vv)
Individually identifiable information received by the work force training and
education coordinating board for research or evaluation purposes.
(ww)
Those portions of records ((containing)) assembled, prepared, or
maintained to prevent, mitigate, or respond to criminal terrorist acts, which
are acts that significantly disrupt the conduct of government or of the general
civilian population of the state or the United States and that manifest an
extreme indifference to human life, the public disclosure of which would have a
substantial likelihood of threatening public safety, consisting of:
(i)
Specific and unique vulnerability assessments or specific and unique
response or deployment plans, ((either of which is intended to
prevent or mitigate criminal terrorist acts as defined in RCW 70.74.285, the
public disclosure of which would have a substantial likelihood of threatening
public safety)) including compiled underlying data collected in
preparation of or essential to the assessments, or to the response or
deployment plans; and
(ii)
Records not subject to public disclosure under federal law that are shared by
federal or international agencies, and information prepared from national
security briefings provided to state or local government officials related to
domestic preparedness for acts of terrorism.
(xx)
Commercial fishing catch data from logbooks required to be provided to the
department of fish and wildlife under RCW 77.12.047, when the data identifies
specific catch location, timing, or methodology and the release of which would
result in unfair competitive disadvantage to the commercial fisher providing
the catch data. However, this information may be released to government
agencies concerned with the management of fish and wildlife resources.
(yy)
Sensitive wildlife data obtained by the department of fish and wildlife.
However, sensitive wildlife data may be released to government agencies
concerned with the management of fish and wildlife resources. Sensitive
wildlife data includes:
(i)
The nesting sites or specific locations of endangered species designated under
RCW 77.12.020, or threatened or sensitive species classified by rule of the
department of fish and wildlife;
(ii)
Radio frequencies used in, or locational data generated by, telemetry studies;
or
(iii)
Other location data that could compromise the viability of a specific fish or
wildlife population, and where at least one of the following criteria are met:
(A)
The species has a known commercial or black market value;
(B)
There is a history of malicious take of that species; or
(C)
There is a known demand to visit, take, or disturb, and the species behavior or
ecology renders it especially vulnerable or the species has an extremely
limited distribution and concentration.
(zz)
The personally identifying information of persons who acquire recreational
licenses under RCW 77.32.010 or commercial licenses under chapter 77.65 or
77.70 RCW, except name, address of contact used by the department, and type of
license, endorsement, or tag. However, the department of fish and wildlife may
disclose personally identifying information to:
(i)
Government agencies concerned with the management of fish and wildlife resources;
(ii)
The department of social and health services, child support division, and to
the department of licensing in order to implement RCW 77.32.014 and 46.20.291;
and
(iii)
Law enforcement agencies for the purpose of firearm possession enforcement
under RCW 9.41.040.
(aaa)
Information regarding the infrastructure and security of computer and
telecommunications networks, consisting of security passwords, security access
codes and programs, access codes for secure software applications, security and
service recovery plans, security risk assessments, and security test results to
the extent that they identify specific system vulnerabilities.
(2)
Except for information described in subsection (1)(c)(i) of this section and
confidential income data exempted from public inspection pursuant to RCW
84.40.020, the exemptions of this section are inapplicable to the extent that
information, the disclosure of which would violate personal privacy or vital
governmental interests, can be deleted from the specific records sought. No
exemption may be construed to permit the nondisclosure of statistical
information not descriptive of any readily identifiable person or persons.
(3)
Inspection or copying of any specific records exempt under the provisions of
this section may be permitted if the superior court in the county in which the
record is maintained finds, after a hearing with notice thereof to every person
in interest and the agency, that the exemption of such records is clearly
unnecessary to protect any individual's right of privacy or any vital
governmental function.
(4)
Agency responses refusing, in whole or in part, inspection of any public record
shall include a statement of the specific exemption authorizing the withholding
of the record (or part) and a brief explanation of how the exemption applies to
the record withheld.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. No
later than September 1, 2004, the joint legislative audit and review committee
shall review the effect of RCW 42.17.310(1) (ww) and (aaa) on state agency
performance in responding to requests for disclosure of records under chapter
42.17 RCW. In conducting this review the joint legislative audit and review
committee shall select a representative sample of requests for public
disclosure, and the agencies' responses to those requests, from up to five
state agencies. The joint legislative audit and review committee shall report
its findings to the legislature no later than November 30, 2004.
