Title
AN ORDINANCE relating to fees and reporting requirements for public records act requests; and amending Ordinance 16679, Section 23, and K.C.C. 2.12.260, Ordinance 16679, Section 25, and K.C.C. 2.12.280, Ordinance 16679, Section 27, as amended, and K.C.C.2.12.300 and Ordinance 18635, Section 4 and KCC 2.14.020.
Body
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. K.C.C. 2.12.280 and 2.12.300, adopted in 2009 by Ordinance 16679, authorized reasonable charges for providing copies of public records in accordance with applicable state law and required a report to be filed by each county agency with the council detailing each agency's performance in responding to Public Records Act requests in the preceding calendar year.
2. In 2017, the Washington state Legislature amended chapter 42.56 RCW, adding new requirements for agencies using the statutory default copy fee schedule and for agencies to determine the actual cost for providing copies of public records. An agency need not calculate the actual costs it charges for providing public records if the agency promulgates a regulation declaring that doing so would be unduly burdensome. In such a case, an agency may use the statutory default copy fee schedule set forth in RCW 42.56.120.
3. In 2017, the Washington state Legislature amended chapter 40.14 RCW adding a requirement that each agency maintain a log of Public Records Act requests received during the preceding calendar year. To standardize reporting requirements and improve efficiencies, the information requirements found in the King County Code should mirror the information required by state law.
4. K.C.C. 2.14.020.B.4. adopted in 2017 by Ordinance 18635, added a new requirement that the public records report required in K.C.C. 2.12.300 would be transmitted to council through the public records committee rather than directly from each agency.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Findings: The council finds as facts that calculating the actual costs of p...
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