((REGULATIONS ASSURING COMPLIANCE BY THE STATE TREASURER'S OFFICE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF CHAPTER 1, LAWS OF 1973, SUBCHAPTER IV—))PUBLIC RECORDS

The purpose of this chapter ((shall be to ensure compliance by))is to provide rules for the office of the state treasurer(('s office with))to implement the provisions of chapter ((1, Laws of 1973 (Initiative 276), Disclosure—Campaign finances—Lobbying—Records; and in particular with sections 25 - 32 of that act, dealing with)) 42.56 RCW relating to public records.

(1) ((State treasurer's office.)) The office of the state treasurer(('s office is a state office))is established by section 1, Article III of the Washington state constitution, headed by an elected official, and ((is)) empowered to perform all duties prescribed by law. The office of the state treasurer shall throughout this chapter, unless context clearly indicates otherwise, be referred to as the "office." The office also manages the administration of the state finance committee and the public deposit protection commission. More information about the office is available at https://www.tre.wa.gov.

(2) The administrative office((s)) of the state treasurer(('s office and its staff are located in the state treasurer's office))is in the Legislative Building, Olympia, Washington. The contact information is:

(1) The public records ((of the state treasurer's office shall be in the charge of the public records)) officer is designated by the ((agency. The person so designated shall be located in the administrative office of the agency. The public records officer shall be))office pursuant to RCW 42.56.580 and is responsible for the ((following: The)) implementation of the office's rules ((and regulations regarding release of public records, coordinating the staff of the office in this regard, and generally insuring))and ensuring compliance ((by the staff)) with the public records disclosure requirements of chapter ((1, Laws of 1973)) 42.56 RCW.

(2) The public records officer may choose one or more designees to carry out the responsibilities of this chapter including, but not limited to, processing and responding to public records requests.

The office of the state treasurer's public records ((shall be))are available for inspection and copying during ((the)) customary office hours ((of the state treasurer's office. For the purpose of this chapter, the customary office hours shall be from 9:00 a.m. to noon and from 1:00 p.m. to)). Absent an emergency or other unforeseen, exigent circumstances, records may be available at the administrative office without an appointment from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., or with an appointment from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. To allow for the identification and retrieval of responsive records, a scheduled appointment is strongly advised.

(1) The state general records retention schedule and the office of the state treasurer's specific records retention schedule, as established and approved by the state records committee, serve as the index for the identification and location of the office's records, including those described in RCW 42.56.070(5).

(2) The office of the state treasurer maintains an index, as described in subsection (1) of this section, and other records available to the public, on its website at https://tre.wa.gov/public-records-index.

((In accordance with requirements of chapter 1, Laws of 1973 that agencies))(1) This procedure for requesting public records ensures the office can provide the fullest assistance to requestors; prevent unreasonable invasions of privacy((,)); protect public records from damage or disorganization((,)); and prevent excessive interference with essential functions of the ((agency, public records may be inspected or copied or copies of such records may be obtained, by members of the public, upon compliance with the following procedures:

(2) In all cases in which a member of the public is making a request, it shall be the obligation of the public records officer or staff member to whom the request is made, to assist the member of the public in appropriately identifying the public record requested))office.

(d) Communications seeking office records, but which are sent or provided to unauthorized locations, addresses, or staff may not be accepted as or processed as Public Records Act requests. The office may process such communications as constituent correspondence or general requests for information, as appropriate. Requestors are strongly encouraged to submit their request to the public records officer as directed in (b) and (c) of this subsection.

(1) Upon receipt of a public records request, it will be recorded in the office's public records tracking system and will be assigned a tracking number.

(2) The public records officer will evaluate the request to determine the availability and potential volume of requested records.

(3) Acknowledging receipt of request. Following the initial evaluation of the request under subsection (2) of this section, and within five business days of receipt of the request, the public records officer will do one or more of the following:

(a) Make the records available for inspection or retrieval, including:

(i) If copies are available via the internet, provide an internet address to specific records requested;

(ii) If copies will be provided without a fee or deposit for the copies, send the copies to the requestor;

(b) Acknowledge receipt of the request and provide a reasonable estimate of when records or an installment of records will be available, in which the estimate may be revised from time to time;

(c) Acknowledge receipt of the request and ask the requestor to provide clarification for a request that is unclear or unduly burdensome, providing, to the greatest extent practicable, the office's interpretation of the request and a reasonable estimate of time to respond based on such interpretation:

(i) Clarification may be requested and provided by telephone and memorialized in writing;

(ii) If the requestor fails to respond to a request for clarification and the office cannot reasonably interpret the request to be sufficient pursuant to chapter 42.56 RCW, the office of the state treasurer need not respond to it; or

(d) Deny the request.

(4) Providing records in installments. When the request is for a large number or size of records, the public records officer may provide copies or access for inspection and copying in installments. If, within 30 days, the requestor fails to inspect or take delivery of the entire set of records or any one or more installments, the request will be deemed abandoned as described in subsection (5) of this section.

(5) Closing withdrawn or abandoned request. When the requestor either withdraws the request or fails to amend or clarify an unclear request, take delivery of or inspect the records, pay the deposit, pay the required fees for an installment, or make final payment for the requested copies, the public records officer may deem the request abandoned, administratively close the request, and notify the requestor of such closure.

(1) ((The following copy fees and payment procedures apply to the office's copying of records on or after the effective date of this rule.

(2) Pursuant to RCW 42.56.120 (2)(b), the office is not calculating all))There is no fee to inspect public records. The office may impose a charge for providing copies of public records.

(2) The office does not calculate the actual costs for copying records because ((to do))doing so would be unduly burdensome for the following reasons:

(((i)))(a) The office does not have the resources to conduct a study to determine all its actual copying costs;

(((ii)))(b) To conduct such a study would interfere with other essential ((agency))office functions; and

(((iii)))(c) Through the 2017 legislative process, the public and requesters have commented on and been informed of authorized fees and costs, including for electronic records, provided in RCW 42.56.120 (2)(b) and (c), (3), and (4). ((Therefore, as authorized in RCW 42.56.120, the agency shall implement a fee schedule consistent with the Public Records Act, as it is more cost efficient, expeditious and in the public interest for the agency to adopt the state legislature's approved fees and costs for most of the agency's records.))

(3) The office ((will))may:

(a) Charge for copies of records pursuant to ((the default fees in))RCW 42.56.120 (2)(b) and (c);

(b) Charge for customized services pursuant to RCW 42.56.120(3)((. Under RCW 42.56.130, the office may));

(c) Charge other copy fees authorized by statutes outside of chapter 42.56 RCW((. The office may))pursuant to RCW 42.56.130; or

(d) Enter into an alternative fee agreement with ((a requester))the requestor under RCW 42.56.120(4).

(4) The charges for copying methods used by the office are summarized in the fee schedule available on the office's website at ((www.tre.wa.gov))https://tre.wa.gov.

(((4) Requesters are required))(5) Before producing public records, the public records officer may require the requestor to pay ((for copies)):

(a) The entire cost in advance of receiving records((. Fee waivers are an exception and are available for some small requests under the following conditions.

(5) The public records officer may require an));

(b) An advance deposit of ((ten))10 percent of the estimated fees ((when the copying fees for)); or

(c) The payment of the costs of providing an installment ((or an entire request, or customized service charge, exceeds twenty-five dollars))before providing that installment.

(6) ((All required fees must be paid in advance of release of the copies or an installment of copies, or in advance of when a deposit is required. The office))The public records officer will notify the ((requester of))requestor if fees will be charged and when payment is ((due))required.

(7) The office will deem abandoned and administratively close a request as described in WAC 474-01-085(5) when a requestor fails by the payment date to pay in the manner prescribed.

(8) Payment should be made by check or money order to the office of the state treasurer. The office prefers not to receive cash((. For cash payments)), and it is within the public records officer's discretion to determine the denomination of bills and coins that will be accepted.

(((8) The office will close a request when a requester fails by the payment date to pay in the manner prescribed for records, an installment of records, or a required deposit.))

(((1) The office reserves the right to determine that a public record requested in accordance with the procedures outlined in WAC 474-01-080 is exempt under the provisions of section 31, chapter 1, Laws of 1973.

(3) All denials of requests for public records must be accompanied by a written statement specifying the reason for the denial, including a statement of the specific exemption authorizing the withholding of the record and a brief explanation of how the exemption applies to the record withheld.))(1) Records exempt from disclosure. Some records are exempt from disclosure, in whole or in part. If the office believes that a record is exempt from disclosure and should be withheld, the public records officer will state the specific exemption and provide a brief written explanation of why the record, or a portion of the record, is being withheld. If only a portion of a record is exempt from disclosure, but the remainder is not exempt, the public records officer will redact the exempt portions, provide the nonexempt portions, and indicate to the requestor why portions of the record are being redacted.

(1) Requestors are encouraged to communicate with the public records officer regarding denials of public records requests.

(2) Petition for internal administrative review. Any person who objects to the denial or partial denial of a request for a public record may petition for prompt review of such decision by ((tendering))submitting a written request for review to the public records officer at any of the methods of contact provided in this chapter. The written ((request shall))petition must specifically ((refer to the))include the office-assigned request number and a copy of any written statement by the public records officer or other staff member which constituted or accompanied the denial.

(((2)))(3) Consideration of petition for review. Immediately after receiving a written ((request))petition for review of a decision denying a public record, the public records officer or other staff member denying the request shall refer it to the state treasurer, or ((his))the treasurer's designee, who shall consider the matter and either affirm or reverse such denial. In any case, the ((request))petition shall be returned with a final decision((,)) within two business days following the ((original denial.

(3) Administrative remedies shall not be considered exhausted until the system has returned the petition with a decision or until the close of the second business day following denial of inspection, whichever occurs first))receipt of the petition for review, or within such other time as the office and the requestor mutually agree.

(5) Judicial review. Requestors may obtain court review of denials of their public records requests pursuant to RCW 42.56.550.