Bill to Limit Inmates' Access to Records Passes House

The state's more than 18,000 prison inmates may soon be limited in the types of records they can obtain under the Public Records Act.

This morning, the House passed a Senate Bill 5130 with a vote of 94-2. Supporters say the bill will save corrections officers from inmates obtaining personal information about them.

The bill will go back to the Senate for approval of amendments that one Department of Corrections employee characterized as minor.

"This bill is about justice for our correctional officers," said Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, D-Seattle.

Under the bill, a court could block an inmate from requesting certain records if a judge finds that the request is intended to harass an agency or its employees, or that fulfilling the request would threaten security or assist in criminal activity.

Read more here.

Public Records Persistence Nets Seattle Man $1 Million Settlement

f you go back 10 years, you see how little Armen Yousoufian was asking for: some papers. He wanted to make sure that King County officials were being honest about their deal-making for a new "$300 million" Seattle football stadium (the true price tag ended up closer to $1 billion with interest and other taxpayer costs). Yousoufian, a hotel owner in the University District, was worried about the impact of a hotel-motel tax to fund the stadium for billionaire Paul Allen. So he made a public records request to see internal documents and splash a bit of sunshine into the county's back rooms.

How does this lead to $1 million? Find out at the Seattle Weekly.

Arsonist's Case Tests Limits of Washington Public Records Act

Allan Parmelee has a lot of time on his hands - another 19 years, for having the cars of two lawyers firebombed. He's using it to dig up information about the people who sent him to prison, including judges and prosecutors, as well as pretty much every other public employee he's encountered in his legal odyssey.

But his hundreds of requests under the state's Public Records Act have become so numerous, and so creepy, that King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg has taken the extraordinary step of asking a judge not only to let his office ignore Parmelee's pending requests, but to bar him from filing any more with the prosecutor's office in the future. Superior Court Judge Glenna Hall is scheduled to hear arguments Tuesday in the case, which tests the limits of the state's disclosure law.


http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420ap_wa_public_records_harassment.html

Throw Open City Records? State Insurer Says No Way

Some Monroe City Council members wanted to make city business as open and transparent as possible. They proposed prompt disclosure of public records, broadcast of all council meetings and online access to all city documents.

City leaders also wanted to waive their right under the Public Disclosure Act to withhold some documents related to legal advice and negotiations, if their lawyers said they could do so without opening the city to liability.

But what was intended as a "good-faith effort to instill more confidence in government," according to Councilman Mitch Ruth, instead provoked a threat from the city's insurance
provider that its liability coverage would be canceled.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/snohomishcountynews/2004138960_records23n0.html