Taking the 'Gotcha!' out of public records requests

When Washington’s voters adopted the state’s Public Records Act under Initiative 276 in 1972, they wanted to make sure that state, county, and city governments operate openly and are transparent to the people. They recognized the best way to ensure transparency and accountability to the citizens of Washington is to require that most government records are made available to the public.

The PRA, however, was never intended to help some make money at the expense of governments or other Washington citizens. Unfortunately, there are a few bad actors, also known as “vexatious requesters,” who have l...