Washington Open Records Office Bill Dies in Committee

A Washington Office of Open Records won't happen this year.

A bill to create a dispute resolution center for open government issues died in committee last Friday. It carried a $1.3 million price tag at a time when the state government faces a budget deficit.

Read more about it here.

Washington Open Records Office Gains Gubernatorial Support

Washington Governor Chris Gregoire says she supports the creation of a new Office of Open Records, but doubts that it can happen this year given the state's $2.6 billion budget deficit. The proposed Office of Open Records would serve as a dispute resolution center for open government issues. While Gregoire said the proposed office's $1.3 million price tag is too steep for the state now, she said state and local governments should be given more training on open government laws.

Read more here.

Pennsylvania Enjoys Signal Improvement on its Right-to-Know Law Anniversary

As the one-year anniversary of Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law approaches, open records advocates are hailing the improvements the Commonwealth has made under the new law.

The new law provides a first-stage appeal with the taxpayer-funded open records office, whose lawyers issue binding opinions. It also established a new presumption in the law that almost all records are open unless the government proves otherwise.

While the improvements are being praised, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes there have also been criticism of some rulings the office acknowledged as mistakes, tensions with the Governor's administration, budget cut fears, and concerns that the new process is bogging down instead of speeding up the process.

Learn more here.

State Task Force Recommends Office of Open Records for Washington

A task force created by Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna and Democratic state Auditor Brian Sonntag unanimously recommended the Washington Legislature create a new Office of Open Records to handle public records disputes out of court. The state office would be modeled after the offices created in Pennsylvania and Connecticut.  

Although the task force unanimously recommended the new state office, they disagreed on issues of management and leadership for a new office and any appellate procedures after the state office's decision. The cost of a new office also remains unknown, and could create a large hurdle for the state legislature. Washington faces a budget shortfall of up to $1.7 billion in January.  

Get more information here.

Washington Task Force to Consider an Open Records Board

The Washington state attorney general and state auditor launched a task force to consider how to create a publicly-funded open-records board or commission to decide open-records and open-meetings quickly and outside of court.   The task force includes representatives from the state legislature, government, unions, lawyers and citizen activists.  The task force will craft a recommendation for lawmakers to consider in January.  

For more information about the task force and the Pennsylvania and Connecticut models being considered, click here.  

County sued for possibly overcharging for records

California Public Records Research Inc. filed suit against Monterey County Clerk's Office after the office charged $2 per page for records rather than actual copying costs, estimated at 10 cents per page, The Monterey County Herald reported. "County Counsel Charles McKee and Clerk-Recorder Steve Vagnini, who is named in the suit, said when it comes to copying public documents, records in the clerk's and assessor's offices fall under different statutes than the Public Records Act." Similar suits have been filed in all 58 California counties.

If you've been paying $2 per page for records at the Monterey County Clerk's Office, you're due a refund, according to Southern California attorneys who are suing the county for allegedly violating the state Public Records Act.

Attorneys for California Public Records Research Inc. say state law allows local agencies to charge only the actual costs of copying public records, including real estate records maintained by county clerks.

In their class action lawsuit, filed Thursday in Monterey County Superior Court, Clifton Hodges and Donald Ricketts maintain those costs amount to no more than 10 cents per page.

More here.

New Penn. Office of Open Records already overworked

Some citizens don't understand the purpose of the Office of Open Records and have requested help for things like getting the address of an old classmate. Despite some misunderstanding, the office is nevertheless busy sifting through appeals filed by citizens who have had records requests denied and providing "advisory opinions" on certain questions. Lawyers are also trying to "fine-tune the boundaries of Pennsylvania's new law."

As with anything new, Pennsylvania's fledgling Office of Open Records is experiencing some growing pains.

Created Jan. 1 as a result of last year's open-records reform legislation, the office has encountered some interesting cases in its first month of operation.

The challenges include navigating the road between the public's right to know and what people just want to know.

More here.