Washington State Public Records Act Penalties
Chapter 42.56 RCW: PUBLIC RECORDS ACT - Washington
Documents and indexes to be made public — Statement of costs. HTML PDF. 42.56.080. Identifiable records — Facilities for copying — Availability of public records. HTML PDF. 42.56.090. Times for inspection and copying — Posting on website. HTML PDF. 42.56.100.
https://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=42.56
Penalties & Fines | Washington State Public Disclosure Commission (PDC)
If the Commission finds an agency in violation of the law -- whether it be for non-reporting, late or inaccurate reporting, or for violating other provisions of the law -- it may impose a penalty of up to $10,000 per violation unless the parties stipulate otherwise.
https://pdc.wa.gov/registration-reporting/lobbying/public-agency-lobbying/penalties-fines
MRSC - Public Records Act Court Decisions
In so doing, it imposed $10 per-day penalties per record from the time the city received the complaint to when it started responding nine months later. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s ruling that the city should have processed the public records requests when it received them attached to the complaint in November 2017.
https://mrsc.org/Home/Explore-Topics/Legal/Open-Government/Public-Records-Act-Court-Decisions.aspx
MRSC - Washington Supreme Court Upholds Per Page Penalties Under the ...
Penalties on a per page basis. Based on the Supreme Court’s analysis, courts in our state have broad discretion under the PRA to impose reasonable penalties on an agency for improperly withholding requested records. See, e.g., RCW 42.56.550. Such broad discretion allows courts to determine the appropriate method of calculating that penalty.
https://mrsc.org/Home/Stay-Informed/MRSC-Insight/March-2016/Washington-Supreme-Court-Upholds-Per-Page-Penaltie.aspx
Chapter 2 | Washington State
Other statutes outside the PRA typically prohibit disclosure and may impose penalties if the prohibition is violated. See, for example, Chapter 70.02 RCW (Health Care Information Act), Chapter 13.50 RCW (Juvenile Records Act), RCW 82.32.330 (state excise tax records), and RCW 74.04.060 (public assistance records).
https://www.atg.wa.gov/Open-Government-Resource-Manual/Chapter-2
Justices uphold $502,000 public records fine against state
SEATTLE – The Washington Supreme Court has upheld a $502,000 penalty for Public Records Act violations by the state Department of Labor and Industries, in a ruling which affirms that judges can...
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/mar/24/justices-uphold-502000-public-records-fine-against/
Washington State Public Records Act, RCW 42 - FreeDoc
Washington State courts have issued numerous fines against government agencies over the last decade for non-compliance to the Public Records Act. (Department of Social and Health Services [DSHS] for $650,000 [Wright v. DSHS]. In addition, the agency reached a settlement with Wright for $2.85 million).
https://www.freedoc.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Open-Govt-Elected-and-Appointed-Officials.pdf
WA Case Update: The Public Records Act ... - Smith Freed Eberhard
The court imposed a $502,827.40 penalty for the PRA violations based on the number of pages of public records L&I wrongfully withheld and L&I’s culpability during five separate time periods. The court also awarded the Times’ attorney fees and costs, for a total judgment of $546,509.26. L&I appealed.
https://www.smithfreed.com/legal-updates/wa-case-update-the-public-records-act-violations-exemptions-and-per-page-penalties/
Public Records Act | Washington State Department of Corrections
The Public Records Act provides the people with broad rights of access to public records. The purpose of the act is to allow people to be informed about governmental decisions and therefore help keep government accountable ( WAC 44-14-01003 ). The act declares that it must be "liberally construed" to promote the public policy of open government ...
https://www.doc.wa.gov/information/records/request.htm
High court: Penalty for state records violation too low
Office of Ron Sims, the court said the $15 per day penalty was not severe enough for the county’s failure to produce public records in a timely manner, and that the trial court abused its discretion in setting the fine so low. Public Records Act violations can lead to daily penalties ranging range from $5 to $100.
https://www.rcfp.org/high-court-penalty-state-records-violation-too-low/
Seattle Public Records & FOIA Lawyer | MacDonald Hoague & Bayless
Fortunately for us in Washington, the state Public Records Act (PRA), RCW 42.56 et seq., is a powerful tool to enforce the public’s right to information. The PRA requires local and state government agencies to search for and produce records to requesters, under the pain of statutory monetary penalties if they wrongfully deny access.
https://www.mhb.com/what-we-do/public-records-and-foia