Washington state citizens passed an initiative in 1973 that required government to let the people know what government was doing. The new Public Disclosure Law's preamble declared: “The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know.”

Since the initiative's passage, there has been a steady supply of new bills changing and often weakening the public disclosure laws. The number of changes to the law and the exemptions for what information can be made public are now so numerous that the Governor appointed a special committee to make sense of the hundreds of existing exemptions. Some of these changes may have been needed, but many others have made getting information more difficult.

Government records may contain information about individuals that can and should not be available to anyone, so most of these exemptions make good sense. In a few cases, however, legislators, acting for their constituencies, cities, school districts, small jurisdictions or public agencies, have proposed to weaken the public disclosure law, finding it onerous or at least inconvenient.

A few legislators are arrogant enough to have said some of the information is none of the public’s business. Other legislators don’t want their dirty laundry aired or their screw-ups made public. Regrettably, there are always guys like Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich getting elected, who need the media and the public looking over their shoulders all the time.

Many legislators seeking changes wish to preserve the full intent of the law, but see the need to clarify legal questions that have arisen through the years. But legislators need to be judicious with their changes because a carelessly added or subtracted comma or word can completely change the intent of the law. A case in point: there are 11 new bills relating to our Public Disclosure Act before the Legislature now, one of which, HB 1317, though attempting to protect people from harassment, is so poorly crafted that it would significantly weaken the Public Disclosure Law, not to mention cost an enormous amount to implement.

The committee assigned to sort out the complexity and number of existing exemptions is called the “Sunshine Committee" and it is the target of a few who are fearful that the public can learn too much. This group has proposed SB 5119, which would have the Sunshine Committee abolished.

Other bills, HB 1181 and HB 1317, while intended to protect prosecutors, jurors, police, and prison guards by preventing inmates in prisons from getting records, are well-intended, but so badly written that they open the door to changes in the disclosure law that would lead to weakening the right for any citizen’s legitimate inquiry into government.

Currently, convicted felons in prison can access by letter or the Internet public records including the personal information of the cops who arrested them; the name of the prosecuting attorney, their address and the names of their children; as well as the names of the jurors who convicted them. Scary stuff. It should not happen. But the problem is that the proposed legislation not only keeps convicted felons from discovering information, but it also seriously hampers the ordinary law-abiding citizen from discovering aspects of our government’s performance that we should all know about.

The Washington Coalition of Cities and other jurisdictions such as public schools, fire districts, and water districts are arguing for passage of HB 1181 and HB 1317. While they could have backed a bill that focused on the very narrow problem issues, they opted instead for a very broad interpretation. One might argue they are throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Those who favor new restrictive legislation also appear unaware that much of what they want already exists in the exemptions already on the books. All it needs is enforcement.

The Washington Coalition of Open Government is a nonprofit watchdog group composed of citizens, attorneys, legislators, and judges dedicated to defending the principals of the Public Disclosure Act. This organization is well-qualified to analyze legislation concerning the public disclosure law. Their work has revealed that many governmental employees simply don’t understand the public disclosure law, and their responsibility to comply with it.

For detailed information on all the current legislation and proposed bills concerning the public disclosure laws check out the Washington Coalition of Open Government .