Senator Ann Rivers (R–La Center) and Representative Larry Springer (D–Kirkland) have introduced companion bills intended to reduce the number of frivolous lawsuits pertaining to public records requests. SB 5571 and HB 1597 do not impact the ability
to request records but focus on administrative problem-solving before a requester can file a lawsuit.
AWC has heard from numerous cities about the challenges they face with repeated public records litigation that seems more intent on generating settlement payouts than uncovering public records. This type of habitual litigation waste taxpayer resources
and takes away from being able to effectively and efficiently respond to other records requests.
SB 5571/HB 1597 contain the following updates to the Public Records Act (PRA):
- If a records requester is not satisfied with the agency’s response to their records request (because their request was denied or they believe they received incomplete records), the requester would be able to petition the agency for a review
within 30 days of the denial or closure of that request.
- This bill would require cities to establish an administrative review process to handle these appeals. Agencies would have to complete the review within 20 business days of receiving the petition. If this process uncovers records that were improperly
withheld, the agency would need to provide the requester with those records.
- Requesters would have to exhaust all administrative remedies available before seeking judicial review. Courts would be required to look at whether cities acted reasonably and in good faith when determining an award and would have the option to direct
all or a portion of the award to be deposited into the local government archives account, which funds public records consultation, training, and providing local governments with resources to support records management and retention.
- If the court finds that the requester participated in civil action for an improper purpose, the court may not assess and award costs or attorney fees to the party. Improper purpose is defined as the intent to “harass, to cause an unreasonable
or a frivolous increase in the cost of government operations or delay in government action; in pursuit of an award of statutory fees, costs, or other monetary award; to cause a violation of this chapter; or for any other frivolous purpose”.
- The bill would also give agencies ten days (instead of two) to complete an internal review of denials of requests.
City officials are committed to open government and upholding the PRA. Cities expend significant resources to do both. However, we need to close the loophole that allows individuals to use the Public Records Act (PRA) for their own monetary gain at the
cost of taxpayer dollars.
Public agencies that reported public records data to the Joint Legislative 133 court claims filed in 2021 alleging a violation of the PRA, which has increased every year since 2018. These 215 agencies spent $7,214,129 on litigation costs associated with public records requests in 2021.
As an example, in the past four years a single individual has filed over 100 lawsuits against agencies across Washington, costing taxpayers millions of dollars in settlements, legal costs, penalties, and other payments.
Already the news media and open government groups are railing against this proposal claiming that it will limit access to records.
We urge you to let your Legislators know how important responsible fixes to the PRA are for cities and ask them to support these bills. You can use this handy one-page summary!
Want more?
Read AWC’s article about the JLARC Public Records Report for 2021.