WA law says public records are a right, so why is it taking longer than ever to get them? | Opinion

By the Tri-City Herald Editorial Board, March 03, 2024

Washington State Code leaves no question that the government must remain open to the people, declaring, “The people of this state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. 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. The people insist on remaining informed and informing the people’s public servants of their views so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created.”

So it’s disheartening to read WashCOG’s recent assessment that public access to records is as bad as it’s been over the past half-century. As the nonpartisan nonprofit’s president, Mike Fancher wrote in a recent op-ed, “Open government advocates like WashCOG have won many battles but are losing the war.”

The report’s findings reveal a concerning trend regarding the length of time Washingtonians must wait for the “final disposition” of their records inquiries. In 2019, on average people got the records they asked for – or a denial – in 15 days. By 2022, that had increased by more than a week to almost 23 days. The average masks significant discrepancies in individual agencies’ and localities’ response times.