Rules for how public records are released, including accident reports, e-mails, memos and mundane government studies, are being updated by Snohomish County officials.
The goal is to have county rules match the state Public Records Act, a law that was changed last year, officials said.
The county estimates it spent $1.4 million responding to thousands of public document requests in 2004.
“It’s a very costly process,” County Councilman Dave Gossett said. “A request can be misused. It’s frustrating to copy a large stack of documents and then have the person never come to look at them.”
As proposed, the county rules endeavor to “provide the public full access to public records concerning the conduct of government, mindful of individuals’ privacy rights and the desirability of the efficient administration of government.”
The proposed regulations follow model rules written by state Attorney General Rob McKenna, as ordered by the state Legislature.
The model rules are examples of best practices for good government. They became effective March 3, but are nonbinding.
They suggest, among other things, that agencies appoint a public records officer. In Snohomish County, that would be Bob von Wolffradt, director of county information services.
Von Wolffradt said he and an internal committee will consider further internal county rules governing public records.
Courts and County Council legislators would still control their own public records, assistant chief civil deputy Rick Robertson said.
That’s crucial, Gossett said. Primarily, though, the changes are procedural, he said.
The Legislature unanimously changed state law last year to protect people from having their requests denied when government agencies considered them overly broad.
Agencies can respond to large requests incrementally, the law said, and also require a good-faith deposit.
Public records are regularly sought for pending lawsuits, by government watchdogs and occasionally as a nuisance, according to a 2005 audit of county public record requests.
In 2004, county staff spent more than 12,000 hours and $500,000 on 7,356 formal document requests. Nearly $1 million and 36,000 hours were spent on informal document requests.
If a request is denied, the proposed rules allow two days to appeal to another county official.
The rules appear to bar a person from filing an appeal in court for two days after a document is denied.
Reporter Jeff Switzer: 425-339-3452 or jswitzer@heraldnet.com.
For more information
More information is available on the state attorney general’s Web site: www.atg.wa.gov/records.
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