Washington Public Records Act – Page 2 – National Freedom of Information Coalition

WA: Auditor’s public disclosure report, a possible tool for revising state law, draws praise and skepticism

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Every year, state lawmakers propose revisions to the state Public Records Act, a law passed by initiative in 1972 and amended many times since.

Every year, open-records advocates battle those proposed revisions, with varying degrees of success.

In 2017, the eternal struggle will play out again during the legislative session, but revision-minded lawmakers will have a new weapon to wield: a survey by the Washington state auditor measuring the costs and effects of records requests on state and local governments.

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Washington: Public records remain a challenge for lawmakers

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State lawmakers continued their search Tuesday for ways to help cities, counties, school districts and other government agencies deal with increasing demands for large volumes of public records, some of those from people whose motives they question.

Lawmakers earlier this year refused to pass a bill that would have let local governments limit how much time employees spend processing requests and to prioritize the order in which they are handled. Continue...

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Washington lawmaker calls for study of public records law reforms

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From HeraldNet.com: OLYMPIA — Leaders of local governments frustrated by the growing amount of time and tax dollars spent satisfying those with a voracious demand for public records shouldn’t count on help from the state anytime soon.

A House member who sought changes in the public records law to fend off what are perceived as exorbitant requests from those with questionable motives now says the state must gather more information on the magnitude of the problem.

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Former AG McKenna favors constitutional amendment to bar govt-records ‘privilege’

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From The Olympian: Former Washington attorney general Rob McKenna says he favors a constitutional amendment as a way to counter last week’s state Supreme Court ruling that upheld a governor’s claim of executive privilege. Former governors Chris Gregoire and Gary Locke had invoked such a privilege claim in refusing to release certain sensitive public records, and Olympia-based Evergreen Freedom Foundation (now The Freedom Foundation) sued to strike down that claim.

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Peter Callaghan: A bad open government ruling 14 years in the making

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From The News Tribune: I wasn’t as shocked as some last week when the state Supreme Court found that governors have a constitutional exemption from disclosing certain documents to the public.

Since I’d been denied records by a former governor who cited executive privilege, a decision backed up by a past attorney general, I assumed there was a strong likelihood the court would side with those who felt executive privilege existed.

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NFOIC’s State FOIA Friday for September 20, 2013

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From NFOIC: A few state FOIA and local open government news items selected from many of interest that we might or might not have drawn attention to earlier in the week. While you're at it, be sure to check out State FOIA Friday Archives.

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Washington state appeals court voids $650K award to woman in public-records case

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From The News Tribune: A state appeals court panel has ruled that now-retired Pierce County Judge Frederick Fleming was wrong to award $650,000 in damages and fees to an abuse victim who sued the Department of Social and Health Services to get investigative records.

In a decision released Tuesday, the Division II panel ruled some of the records sought by Amber Wright were not subject to the state's Public Records Act and that others were not improperly withheld by DSHS because Wright's request for them was too vague.

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NFOIC’s State FOIA Friday for September 6, 2013

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Sunshine Law proponents sue city of Groveland

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NFOIC’s State FOIA Friday for August 30, 2013

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From NFOIC: A few state FOIA and local open government news items selected from many of interest that we might or might not have drawn attention to earlier in the week.

While you're at it, be sure to check out State FOIA Friday Archives.

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Battle to control public records requests heats up in Washington

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From Mercer Island Reporter: Those looking for a more transparent government are increasingly relying on public records to make it happen.

They hope the more documents they obtain, the clearer their view of what’s really going on behind closed doors in school districts, city halls and county buildings.

But there are those throughout the public sector convinced some of these Washingtonians are abusing the Public Records Act.

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