HB 1765 is expected to move out of committee ahead of the February 21 policy committee cutoff deadline. At the bill’s public hearing on February 12, AWC testified in support of the bill alongside Bainbridge Island City Councilmember Clarence Moriwaki and City Manager Blair King, who both testified about a situation where a PRA request for the city’s email list was used in a campaign mailer, violating the public’s trust.
Opponents argued that because most email lists include an option to unsubscribe, residents do not need their participation in a local government email list protected and the bill is unnecessary.
AWC will continue to support this commonsense policy as it moves through the process.
Dates to remember
HB 1765 is scheduled for a committee vote in the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee on February 18 at 1:30 pm.
Limited PRA exemption would protect local government email lists from exploitation
February 7, 2025
A new narrow personal information exemption to the Public Records Act (PRA) is being considered by the legislature this week. AWC supports the proposal.
HB 1765, sponsored by Rep. Tarra Simmons (D–Bremerton), exempts email addresses of individuals who have submitted their information for the purpose of subscribing to a local government’s regular communication updates, such as e-newsletters. The bill is limited to “local agencies” and would not apply to state government communication lists.
There is also a Senate companion, SB 5707, sponsored by Sen. Shelly Short (R–Addy).
AWC supports the bill as a commonsense measure to protect the public’s contact information. People subscribe to city newsletters and press releases because they want to stay informed about the activities of their local government, not to have their email taken and potentially used for other purposes. It is easy to see how a records requester could use such a list to spam city residents with unwanted emails. City residents should be able to subscribe to an official newsletter and keep track of their city without opening themselves up to unsolicited communications from third parties.
AWC encourages cities to sign in to support HB 1765. You can sign in to show your support here.
Dates to remember
HB 1765 is scheduled for a hearing in the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee on February 12 at 1:30 pm.