The Washington State Office of the Attorney General conducted a training session for the Lacey Commission on Equity on the rules and guidelines for the Public Records Act on Monday, June 28.
Lacey Assistant City Manager Shannon Kelley-Fong noted that it the training is important for the newly established commission, “since written communication and documents created, received or used as part of duties related to serving on a board or commission may be considered a public record under RCW 42.56 and may be subject to retention requirements and disclosure.”
Kelley-Fong explained that new board and commission members must undergo a general training within 90 days from taking office.
Lacey’s new Commission on Equity was established by Ordinance 1581 on January 21, 2021 aims to “identify and address issues of inequity.” By May 20, 2021, the city appointed its inaugural members.
What is the Public Records Act?
The Public Record Act was originally enacted in 1967 to provide citizens with full access to public records.
In a training presentation, Nancy Krier, Associate Attorney General (AGG) for open government, provided the basic guidelines for obtaining public records. Krier explained that the act covers all public records in all government agencies and divisions.
Some laws provide a narrow exception to certain public records. Courts are also not covered by the act.
What is a Public Record?
The AAG explained that public record refers to any document or writing which relates to the conduct of the government. Public record is not only limited to a paper document but also covers electronic messages such as email, text message, a photo, map, or a memo.
Public records also cover a compilation of data. Documents and data presented by citizens and private companies may also be classified as a public record as long as it is meant for public use or serves a governmental purpose.
Krier noted that even work documents stored in a public employee’s work computer, email, and cellphone are also a public record. “Emails are gonna be the big record that cities and all sorts of agencies get a hang-up on,” City Attorney Dave Schneider admitted.
The city attorney also recognized that “email had taken a very big role in communication in all walks of life.” To resolve the issue, Schneider encouraged the city to conduct more discussions regarding email use.
Schneider also cautioned the commissioners to ensure that their conversations do not include discussions that are outside of their work, “Emails are always the culprit,” the attorney noted.
Public Records Officers
To provide better services, government agencies must have a public records officer. They must also publish the name and the contact information of the officer.
Government Agencies
Generally, agencies must publish information about their organization, rules, and procedures. The agency must also categorize the information in an index of records.
Agencies can also consult with lawyers in drafting and adopting rules and regulations to allow for full public disclosure.
Requests
Any individual who wishes to obtain access to a public record must submit a request, preferably in writing. Usually, filling up an agency’s request form is the most efficient way to ask for access.
If a person does not wish to fill up a request form, they must provide sufficient notice for the agency to prepare the document. On the other hand, agencies must honor the in-person or email request under its ordinary course of business.
The agency may also rely on its own rules and guidelines on how to respond or handle a request.
Moreover, the request must be an identifiable record or may pertain to a specific document. For example, requesting for the agency’s entire record is not a proper request. It is also important to note that the act covers public records and does not apply solely to information.
If the scope of the request produces hundreds or thousands of results, the officer must inform the person of the anticipated scope of the search and seek clarification. An officer cannot deny a request for simply being too overbroad.
The agency is also not required to make a new document or compile information to satisfy the request. Scanning a copy of the document or converting a record into a different format does not create a new document.
Most importantly, a person is not required to provide the reason for the request unless a law indicates that they must do so.
Response
An agency has a maximum of five business days to respond. These responses may be in the form of an acknowledgment receipt, which indicates the reasonable time that the agency can respond to the request, or the agency may also immediately fulfill the request.
An agency may also deny a request, as long as they provide a specific reason as to why they are unable to cater to it. They may also deny a “bot request”, which is a request made by a computer-generated program.
Public records are also open for inspection or copying unless a law prohibits them.
Making the difference
Krier also explained that training is important since it might make the difference between a satisfied public and expensive litigation.
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