The Washington Association of Public Records Officers (WAPRO) is a non-profit corporation founded to provide education on the Public Records Act to public disclosure practitioners and to provide a forum for public records officers and those involved in responding to public records requests to discuss issues associated with the Act.
Spring Training Materials
Training materials from the April 19, 2012 WAPRO Spring Training are now available for download from the Toolkit in the Members Only section.
Heroes of Open Government
Watch WAPRO founder and Everett Assistant City Attorney Ramsey Ramerman's presentation on "Heroes of Open Government" from the Washington Association of Public Records Officers 2011 Annual Conference.
Spring 2012 Newsletter
The Executive Board of WAPRO is pleased to provide you with its 6th Edition of the WAPRO Newsletter.
Harassing Requester & Inspection of Records
Q: I have a frequent flyer that will be in soon to take a look at multiple requests made over the last two years that they never came to pick up. We have a strict protection order against this requester for harassment and a security guard will be in the room instead of me. If the requester needs to ask a question or wants to request copies, don't you think it is a good idea to have a way for this person to do so?
A. Generally yes, but there may be other circumstances that make it preferable to have any communications be in writing. Certainly any oral conversations should be documented. And personal safety is paramount.
Multi-Agency Groups
Q. Have you ever addressed a public records request asking for records created by a task force? My City is the administrative agency for a Drug Task Force and our Interlocal agreement does not address protocol for responding to public records requests. My City possesses some of the Task Force's records responsive to the request, but the remainder would have to come from each participating agency. In this scenario, is the best practice to have each agency search for records created by their own Task Force representatives?
A. I have dealt with this situation. The scope of your search depends on who “owns” or has “used” the records. Assuming the request is the City's request, the City must track down any records it owns or used. If someone from the City has seen/reviewed records that the City no longer has, those are still probably the City's records. If the City could get the task force records from other agencies that it has not seen just by asking, then the safest course would also be to treat those records as the City's records.
Going forward, you might want to consider our solution to this problem - we made one city the depository for all records and created a unified case number that all agencies use. Agencies are required to provide all records to the chosen city and just maintain a “place holder” in their own files. This way, we know what records are out there and don't have to try to track them down. We are also having each agency adopt a policy that says all records requests must go to chosen city - if they get a request they are to forward it to the chosen city and instruct the requester that future requests should go to the chosen city. This won't allow agencies to ignore requests, but it will help.
WAPRO Annual Business Meeting & Fall Training - October 2012 - stay tuned for more info
From Washington and the world
for the week of 4/30/2012
WASHINGTON STATE Government Accountability Councilman vows to press OPMA concerns on ad hoc committees Records show frustrations led to Bauer's fall from City Hall Open Government One finalist drops out, 2 left for Seattle Superintendent San Juan County retro subcommittee plan would skirt Open Public Meetings Act Council Members' Blogs Could Violate OPMA State closes public notice loophole for "special" city meetings Opinion Our future depends on open government Public should have right to see police videos Tale of Two Public Records Rulings: Dashcam & Gendler Penalties Grant County penalized $44,000 for improperly withholding public records Privacy KOMO appeals police dashcam ruling to state Supreme Court Withholding Supreme Court to hear public records "executive privilege" withholding arguments State Supreme Court: Paralyzed cyclist due Montlake Bridge records OUTSIDE WASHINGTON STATE Costs GA Chatham charged $800 by state for one-page records' request Government Accountability MA Perps on the public payroll WI Swapping emails, texts during meetings raises questions about law CA Reuters suit seeks data on universities' investiment funds WI Milwaukee Public Schools on defensive over criminal records of bus drivers NJ City fires back at Health Board Lawsuit on OPMA violation AZ Newspaper, TV station settle public records lawsuit with Sheriff's Office US EEOC warns employers using criminal records to screen out applicants MA Prosecutor defends $ spent on sports programs MA D.A. under fire for using seized drug $ to fund youth sports TX Judges' misdeeds kept secret by oversight commission Open Government NC Unsealing a challenge to the public trust OH Ohio A.G. wants JobsOhio bill, law changed on public records access AZ Tech firms win change in state's public records law MA Public health reporting system receives key electronic record certification TN Public building ad for public meeting meets public notice requirement? KOR Seoul city meetings now open to public GA OK to record council meetings NY NYC Dept of Records releases 870,000 images into database FL Court records released in George Zimmerman case IA Iowa Senate unanimously approves public information board IA New agency to enforce open government OK'd CAN Secret salary flies in the face of public's right to know KS Documents presented to officials during an open meeting are public PA Pa.: less than 30 health complaints about drilling SC SC House approves strengthening open records law CO Elbert County gadfly not a threat to safety, judge rules PA State says county must reveal hotel tax collection HI Open records advocates fear information roadblocks FL Governor launches a program to push staff emails online CA Balancing Online Privacy With Employers' Right to Know CA Labeling to go before voters US Meet the Media Companies Lobbying Against Transparency BRZ The Open Government Partnership – from eight to 54 countries CAN Ottawa releases open government action plan BRZ The Age of Open is Upon Us BRZ Hillary Clinton Lauds Global Open Government Efforts TX League of Women Voters support open government, public access MI State Court to say if fiscal review meetings are open to public TX Do open meetings penalties chill free speech of public officials? MO Bill Requires Financial Disclosure By Sports Teams Assisted with Public $ NY Volunteer Fire Company Records Ruled Quasi-Public GA Guilty After Proven Innocent? Access to Non-conviction Criminal Records at issue Opinion NC Prayer ruling defends religious liberty for all CA Commentary: Why cell-phone tracking should require a warrant Privacy UK Hampshire and City of London police reveal body part retention NY NYC Rapped in Transgender Birth Certificate Case CA Judge Grants Disclosure of Candidate's Evaluations MA Public access to birth records feeds ID theft industry SC Dodgy criminal checks hurt job-seekers' chances Withholding PA Easton Area School District keeping up fight against open records LA Shreveport public records hearing moved to July CO School district denies access to public records during open meeting HI Hawaii's Lone Public Records Voice opposes agency disclosure appeal bill VT Supreme Court rules police investigation files exempt forever
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