Title: An act relating to state publication preservation by State Library services within the office of the secretary of state.

Brief Description: Regarding preservation of state publications by the state library services.

Sponsors: Senators Rockefeller, Honeyford, Haugen, Regala and Kohl-Welles; by request of Secretary of State.

Brief History:

Committee Activity: Government Operations & Elections: 2/28/05, 3/1/05 [DPS], 1/23/06, 1/24/06 [DPS].

Ways & Means: 2/1/06, 2/6/06 [DPS(GO)].

SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS & ELECTIONS

Majority Report: That Substitute Senate Bill No. 6005 be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass.Signed by Senators Kastama, Chair; Berkey, Vice Chair; Roach, Ranking Minority Member; Benton, Fairley, Haugen, Kline, McCaslin, Mulliken and Pridemore.

Staff: Cindy Fazio (786-7405)

SENATE COMMITTEE ON WAYS & MEANS

Majority Report: That Substitute Senate Bill No. 6005 as recommended by Committee on Government Operations & Elections be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass.Signed by Senators Prentice, Chair; Fraser, Vice Chair, Capital Budget Chair; Doumit, Vice Chair, Operating Budget; Zarelli, Ranking Minority Member; Brandland, Fairley, Kohl-Welles, Parlette, Pflug, Pridemore, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rockefeller, Schoesler and Thibaudeau.

Staff: Steve Jones (786-7440)

Background: The State Library is within the Secretary of State's office. Within the State Library is the state publications distribution center. The center uses the depository library system to provide citizens with access to public documents, including state publications. The Director of Financial Management provides the executive management and control of state publications.

Summary of Substitute Bill: The State Library must maintain the state publications distribution center to provide copies of materials that are not available in electronic format to state depository libraries. An electronic repository of publications must also be maintained and made accessible. "Electronic repository" and "format" are defined. The definition of "state publication" is revised.

State agencies must submit copies of published information that qualifies as state publications to the State Library. If the publication is in print format only, the agency must provide a minimum of two copies of the publication to the library. The agency may provide more copies for the library to distribute to additional depository libraries. If the publication is available in both print and electronic format, the agency must provide an electronic copy of the publication to the library, in addition to the two print copies. Each state agency will provide the State Library with an annual list of all the publications the agency made available to the public and to state government during the preceding year. The list includes publications provided in print or electronic formats. State agencies may elect to have copies of state publications printed by the public printer delivered directly to the State Library.

Substitute Bill Compared to Original Bill: The Secretary of State will not engage in rulemaking to determine the number of copies of publications each state agency must provide to the State Library. The definition of "print" is replaced by definitions of "electronic repository" and "format." The definition of "state publication" is revised to be "information published by state agencies, regardless of format, intended for distribution to state government or the public."
State agencies are not required to provide the number of copies necessary to meet the needs of the entire depository library system.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Committee/Commission/Task Force Created: No.

Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For: Public documents appearing on agency websites may not be retained. These documents must be captured to ensure their availability to the public. Currently, agencies are required to submit printed documents to the library. This legislation brings the system into the 21st century by requiring the same treatment of electronic documents. The public expects to find a complete set of documents at the library. The King County public library system serves a very large population and we must be able to rely on the State Library to provide the electronic documents to us. A centralized system is a must in order to serve our customers. Some agencies even rely on us.

Testimony Against: None.

Who Testified: PRO: Senator Phil Rockefeller, Prime Sponsor; Sam Reed, Secretary of State; Jan Walsh, State Librarian; Winnie Boland, Friends of the Washington State Library; Linda Fredericks, King County Library System; Kay Newman, State Law Library.