Fagan pitches bill for public records fee

State Rep. Susan Fagan, R-Pullman, introduced a bill Jan. 26 on public records requests after a handful of Palouse citizens lobbied her in light of what they believe are excessive requests to their city.

The proposed bill gives cities in Washington the option of charging for any time over five hours city staff must spend researching public records requests. Citizens who submit those requests would be responsible for paying for that fee.

“In a number of instances, there are times when individuals clog the system with multiple requests, sometimes even thousands of requests,” Fagan said in a phone interview with the Gazette after introducing the bill. “When staff is busy filling a request from someone who has excessive requests, it denies others the opportunity because staff is already very busy.”

The bill flies in the face of basic freedom of speech rights for citizens and has little chance of passing, according to one board member of the Washington Coalition for Open Government (WCOG) who listened to testimony on requests the same day in Olympia.

“It should be as unlimited as is feasible,” said Bill Will, board member of the WCOG, commenting on rights for citizens turning in requests.

When asked about the Palouse situation, where only two city staff members have had to respond to an onslaught of requests from a pair of citizens, Will said the financial burden placed on the city to fulfill requests is no different than any other city expense.

“It’s a financial burden to arrest all domestic violence issues. It’s a financial burden to arrest drunken drivers. It’s part of a functioning government. It’s keeping citizens informed about what a government is doing. It’s a key part of their mission,” said Will, who is executive director of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association.

“They need to find more efficient ways of doing their job than running to the legislature to make it easier,” he said.

Palouse citizen Connie Newman pitched the idea to Fagan last month, suggesting a city should be able to charge for staff time spent on requests.

Newman raised the issue after discovering Palouse city clerks Ann Thompson and Joyce Beeson were working over-time responding to dozens of requests from Palouse citizens Jim Farr and Steve McGehee.

Both men have told the Gazette they are working to hold Palouse city government accountable, as they feel the city’s financial dealings and politics are suspect.

Along with lobbying Fagan, Newman has been passing a petition for the bill around Palouse. As of Jan. 26, more than 60 people, most of them from Palouse, had signed the petition.