Letters - Feb. 4, 2010

Transparency

Bill Will of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association and Washington Coalition for Open Government would have us believe that House Bill 3031, giving agencies in Washington State the option of charging for staff time for excessive records requests, will lead to the downfall of open government if passed. Well stop the presses! According to information I found at the sunshinereview.org website, referencing a 2008 study conducted by the Better Government Association, nothing could be further from the truth.

Of the ten states ranked best in government transparency (with Washington State being #4), six have provisions of some kind in place to allow agencies to charge fees over and above a simple per copy charge for public records requests. It’s quite obvious to me, based on this information, that transparency in government is not adversely affected by requiring those individuals requesting excessive public records to pay for the time required by staff to compile and copy those records.

Mr. Will’s further assertion that this is a necessary financial burden, along the lines of arresting drunk drivers and suspects of domestic violence, is absurd. We are talking about people abusing the Public Records Act simply to clog up the system, either to pursue a vendetta against a public official or entity, or in hopes that the agency itself will make a mistake so the individual can sue under the Public Records Act for the unlawful withholding of public information.

I have worked for the student newspaper at WSU for over two decades and I understand the need for transparency in government and access to public records better than most. I have also seen firsthand what frivolous and excessive public records requests have done to the city clerks in my community. I believe Susan Fagan’s bill is an excellent way, at a time when communities large and small are dealing with this issue with finite fiscal resources, to handle this issue without infringing on the public’s access to information.

Tracy Milano,

Palouse