Sunshine Committee Issues its Annual Report to the Legislature
On November 13 the Sunshine Committee issued its third annual report to the legislature. The Committee adopted recommendations to retain, modify, or eliminate 9 exemptions to the Public Records Act. Among the Committee's recommendations are that the legislature retain exemptions relating to certain records filed with the utilities and transportation commission or Attorney General, including records containing commercially valuable information, and that the legislature eliminate the exemptions that relate to personal records of the legislature, including correspondence and email. The Committee also recommended that all future exemptions be limited to a term of five years, after which they would be examined on a case by case basis.
The Committee's full report including all of its recommendations is available here.
Governor Gregoire signed an executive order on December 3 proposing that the legislature eliminate the Sunshine Committee.
