State Lawmakers Race To Shield Selves From Open Records Law

OLYMPIA, WA - The state Senate and House will likely vote Friday on a measure that would exempt the state Legislature from the Public Records Act. The bill was introduced Wednesday, did not get a formal public hearing, and will proceed to the floor for a vote without passing through a committee.

The bill comes about a month after a coalition of media outlets won a court case over public disclosure of lawmakers' documents - text messages, emails, calendar appointments - dealing with legislative deliberations.

Senate Majority Leader Sharon Nelson, D-Maury Island, and Senate Minority Leader Mark Schoesler, R-Pullman, co-sponsored SB 6617. The law would, "specify that Public Records Act (PRA) does not apply to the

Legislature, its houses, members, employees, and agencies," according to a Senate analysis of the bill.

Some state lawmakers believe the Legislature is a separate arm of government, and therefore exempt from the PRA, which applies to all other state agencies. At the end of January, a Thurston County judge ruled in favor of media organizations that sued to gain access to legislative records. That ruling, however, is being appealed by lawyers representing the Legislature.

Caption: Senate Republican floor leader Joe Fain, R-Auburn, stands at right as he makes a point on the Senate floor, Friday, Jan. 27, 2017, in Olympia, Wash. Fain was the only Republican present as senators debated whether to vote on the "levy cliff" bill, which would delay a reduction in the amount of money school districts can collect though property taxes.

Photo by Ted S. Warren/Associated Press