Task force: WA Legislature should be more transparent

public-records

A task force created after Washington lawmakers attempted to exempt themselves from the state’s Public Records Act says the Legislature should be more transparent about its workings.

The group, which includes lawmakers and news media representatives, approved several guidelines for how the Legislature should handle the issue of public records at its final meeting Friday. Members agreed that disputes over whether specific records are public should be handled by an independent body, and that privacy protections already in the Public Records Act should cover communications that people have with lawmakers.

But they could not reach consensus about the extent to which documents reflecting lawmakers’ deliberative process should be blocked from disclosure.

News organizations sued the Legislature last year for failing to release emails, schedules, and reports of sexual harassment. After a Washington judge ruled that the Public Records Act does apply to lawmakers’ offices, legislators hastily tried to change the law early this year by overriding normal legislative procedures, prompting public outrage and a veto from the governor. The judge’s ruling has been appealed, and the case awaits arguments at the state Supreme Court.

The task force comprises eight lawmakers, three media representatives, three members of the public, and an open government advocate.

Among the other points on which the group unanimously agreed were that privacy protections for whistleblowers should be extended to any communications they have with lawmakers, and that it should be possible to obtain an independent advisory opinion about whether records are releasable. (AP)

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