Just how much does Public Records Act compliance cost cities and towns? This new JLARC brief brings the state one step closer to finding out.

The Joint Legislative Audit & Review Committee (JLARC) recently published a briefing on new public records data reporting required by Washington’s public agencies. In 2017, the Legislature passed ESHB 1594, which directed certain state and local government agencies to report annually on metrics related to public records retention, management, and disclosure.

JLARC’s brief includes context about the data collection process, highlights of the statewide data, and suggestions to improve future reporting accuracy. 21 percent of Washington’s cities and towns reported public records data and 73 percent indicated that their city did not meet the reporting threshold. Only 6 percent of cities and towns did not report any information to JLARC.

Are you interested in seeing how your city compared? The Public Records Briefing Report, including interactive data dashboards, can be found on the JLARC webpage.

The 2018 public records reporting cycle ran from January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2018. Cities that spent $100,000 or more fulfilling public records request in 2018 will be required to submit their 2018 data to JLARC by July 1, 2019 through the JLARC Public Records Reporting System.