Washington news outlets have sued the Legislature, which has granted itself disclosure immunity.
OLYMPIA — Whether or not individual lawmakers in Washington state fall under statutory definitions that would require their records to be subject to more stringent public disclosure was at the heart of a two-hour hearing Friday in a case brought by a coalition of news organizations.
Thurston County Superior Court Judge Chris Lanese peppered attorneys for both the Washington Legislature and the media with numerous questions, trying to pin down why lawmakers believe they don’t have to turn over records ranging from daily calendars to work emails, and whether tweaks to state statutes over the years actually did exempt lawmakers, as they now say.
“I think you can tell by my questioning that I am somewhat skeptical that legislative offices are not subject to the public records act,” Lanese said.
The coalition is led by The Associated Press and includes Sound Publishing, the owner of The Daily Herald. They sued in September, challenging state lawmakers’ assertion that they are excluded from stricter disclosure rules that apply to other elected officials and agencies.
Lanese said that he wouldn’t issue a ruling in the case until receiving more information from both sides, as well as a legal brief that he requested the attorney general’s office to submit in two weeks. A ruling could come within the next several weeks.
The lawsuit focuses on how the Washington Legislature interprets a 1995 revision to a 1971 definition of legislative records. Lawyers for the House and Senate regularly cite that change as a reason to withhold records, arguing that most lawmaker records are not considered public.
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