HOUSE BILL REPORT

HB 324

BYRepresentatives Fisher, Madsen, Vekich, Pruitt and Fisch

Revising public disclosure exemptions.

House Committe on Constitution, Elections & Ethics

Majority Report:     The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.(7)

     Signed by Representatives Fisher, Chair; Pruitt, Vice Chair; Amondson, Barnes, Fisch, Leonard and Sanders.

House Staff:Kenneth Hirst (786-7105)

AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON CONSTITUTION, ELECTIONS & ETHICS

FEBRUARY 17, 1987

BACKGROUND:

The state's public records law governing access to the records of public agencies is contained in the public disclosure statutes.  Included among those statutes are provisions requiring agencies to make public records available for public inspection and copying as well as provisions exempting certain information and records from this requirement.

SUMMARY:

SUBSTITUTE BILL:  Exceptions are established to the provisions of law requiring public agencies to permit public inspection and copying of public records.  Exempted from those requirements is proprietary information supplied by a business when the business requests confidentiality for certain reasons and the agency having custody finds that the information is of a type which businesses normally keep confidential in order to compete effectively in the market place.

SUBSTITUTE BILL COMPARED TO ORIGINAL:  The original bill exempted from disclosure financial and commercial information submitted by a business to the Department of Trade and Economic Development or the Department of Community Development when applying for certain loans or services.  The substitute applies the exemption to certain proprietary information submitted by a commercial enterprise to any public agency.

Fiscal Note:    Not Requested.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:     Mary Bergstrom, Department of Community Development; and Paul Conrad, Allied Daily Newspapers.

House Committee - Testified Against: None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:     Proprietary information submitted to government should not be available to others.  If a program is established to assist businesses, the threat of the business's proprietary information becoming public will discourage businesses from using the program.

House Committee - Testimony Against: None Presented.