WA state Senate settles case alleging ‘silent withholding’ of public records
The Washington state Senate settled a lawsuit for $7,000 last month after court filings in the case alleged that some Senate lawmakers were “silently withholding” public records.
The settlement was between the state Senate and Arthur West, an open government advocate, and was signed on Oct. 20.
The lawsuit stemmed from the receipt of new records provided to West, McClatchy and others on Thursday, July 20, that were not previously turned over in public records requests closed out in February. Those requests asked for all redacted and unredacted records withheld, or previously withheld, under “legislative privilege” by state lawmakers.
While the state admitted that records had been withheld in the release of those documents, a declaration signed by the former Senate Public Records Officer Randi Stratton explained that the withholding was unintentional.
Stratton noted that Senate Public Records Officers do not have a database to determine when lawmakers assert legislative privilege. Instead, records officers had to search through thousands of records by hand.
She noted that the process of finding those records came during the 2023 Legislative session after it had been revealed by McClatchy that lawmakers had begun claiming legislative privilege, prompting multiple media outlets and others to submit public records requests during an already busy time.
A second search was later performed without the “burdens” imposed during the session that “yielded additional records in which legislators had previously asserted legislative privilege.”
In 2018, a Thurston County judge ruled that the individual offices of lawmakers are considered separate agencies under the Public Records Act. In 2019 the Washington State Supreme Court affirmed that ruling. Public records advocates contend that means the Public Records Act applies to lawmakers the same way it does to state agencies.
West’s lawsuit said that “due to the recalcitrance of the defendants and the mechanics of the legislature’s records response, it is difficult to determine exactly which entities or agencies actually are responsible for withholding disclosure of records.”
A check from the state Senate was issued to West on Oct. 30.
A similar lawsuit regarding “silent withholding” against the Washington state House of Representatives is scheduled to be heard on Jan. 12. That lawsuit was also filed by West.
This story was originally published November 3, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
