Public records task force

AN ACT Relating to establishing the legislative task force on 1
public records act modernization consisting of eight voting members 2
and four nonvoting legislators; creating new sections; and providing 3
an expiration date. 4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds the public records 6
act was enacted as part of a voter initiative and is the cornerstone 7
of transparency and accountability in state and local government. The 8
legislature reaffirms that broad public access to government records 9
strengthens accountability, promotes civic engagement, and fosters 10
confidence in public institutions. The legislature further finds that 11
misuse of the public records act for frivolous, retaliatory, or 12
harassing purposes strains limited public resources, delays access to 13
records for individuals who use the public records request process 14
for legitimate purposes, and does not advance the public interest in 15
governmental transparency. The legislature therefore finds that it is 16
necessary to establish a legislative task force on public records act 17
modernization to examine ways to improve the functionality of the 18
public records act that will increase efficiency, reduce the 19
financial burden on state and local agencies, maintain transparency 20
in government, and deter abuse of the public records request process.21
H-3078.1
HOUSE BILL 2661
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representative Rude
Read first time 01/26/26. Referred to Committee on State Government
& Tribal Relations.
p. 1 HB 2661
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1)(a) The legislative task force on 1
public records act modernization is established, consisting of eight 2
voting members as follows:3
(i) One representative from the Washington association of public 4
records officers; 5
(ii) One representative from allied daily newspapers of 6
Washington; 7
(iii) One representative from the coalition for open government;8
(iv) One representative from the association of Washington 9
cities; 10
(v) One representative from the Washington schools risk 11
management pool; 12
(vi) One representative from the Washington state association for 13
justice; 14
(vii) The attorney general or the attorney general's designee; 15
and 16
(viii) One representative from the Washington association of 17
school administrators. 18
(b) The following are nonvoting advisory members:19
(i) Two senators, one from each of the two largest caucuses, with 20
the majority leader and the minority leader of the senate each 21
appointing one member; and 22
(ii) Two members of the house of representatives, one from each 23
of the two largest caucuses, with the speaker of the house of 24
representatives and the minority leader each appointing one member.25
(2) The voting membership must select one chair and one vice 26
chair of the legislative task force on public records act 27
modernization at the initial meeting, which must take place no later 28
than August 1, 2026. 29
(3) All meetings of the legislative task force on public records 30
act modernization must be held virtually and the task force must hold 31
at least four meetings. 32
(4) Meeting facilitation and related services for the task force 33
shall be provided by the William D. Ruckelshaus center.34
(5) Staff support for the task force must be provided by the 35
senate committee services and the house of representatives office of 36
program research. 37
(6) The legislative task force on public records act 38
modernization shall examine: 39
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(a) The nature and impact of frivolous, retaliatory, or harassing 1
public records requests on state and local agencies and employees;2
(b) Strategies to deter frivolous, retaliatory, and harassing 3
public records requests such as preventing anonymous requests and 4
eliminating financial motivation that results in bad faith requests;5
(c) The role that enhanced judicial discretion can have in 6
preventing or stopping frivolous, retaliatory, or harassing requests;7
(d) Approaches other states have taken to address requests that 8
are made in bad faith or that otherwise abuse the public records 9
request process such as frivolous, retaliatory, or harassing 10
requests; and 11
(e) Other tools, safeguards, or statutory or policy 12
clarifications that could be implemented by state and local agencies 13
to reduce the level of abuse of the public records request process 14
while preserving transparency and broad public access to public 15
records. 16
(7) The legislative task force on public records act 17
modernization may: 18
(a) Hold virtual work sessions to hear from agencies and 19
individuals with demonstrated knowledge and expertise in the area of 20
public records to inform the work of the task force; and21
(b) Hold virtual public hearings. 22
(8) The legislative task force on public records act 23
modernization shall report its findings and recommendations to the 24
governor and appropriate committees of the legislature no later than 25
October 1, 2027. 26
(9) This section expires October 15, 2027. 27
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p. 3 HB 2661