The State Auditor today officially released a performance audit on government compliance with the Public Records Act. So what does public records compliance have to do with government spending and efficiency? Consider some of the recent taxpayer payouts for government violations of the law:

"In recent years, court cases in which state agencies and local governments have been assessed fines and penalties have been specifically related to the entities’ improperly withholding public records and/or delaying release of the records. We did not identify litigation that was based on entities’ practices other than improper denials or excessive delays. In addition to penalties, attorneys’ fees, and costs awarded by the court, the entity also bears it own legal costs of the litigation. Accordingly, minor court awards can be expensive if the legal costs associated with the ! litigation are considered as well. Examples of recent lawsuits include:

• The Department of Corrections settled a lawsuit for $65,000 in late 2007. A Tacoma man made public records requests at 10 government agencies for information about employee health insurance coverage. The Department said it could not electronically redact the requested records and offered to provide paper copies at a cost of $8,900. A Thurston County judge ruled in this case that the Public Records Act does not require agencies to provide records in an electronic format. However, the agency ultimately provided the records electronically to the requestor.

• The Department of Corrections settled another public records lawsuit earlier in 2007 for $541,000. Prison Legal News, a watchdog newspaper, requested records in 2000 and disagreed with DOC regarding the documents withheld and the time it took to provide the records requested. The Thurston Co! unty Superior Court order supported the position of the Depart! ment and, on appeal, that decision was supported by the Washington Court of Appeals. After a favorable decision from the two lower courts, the Supreme Court reversed their decisions and ordered the documents to be released. DOC was ordered to pay statutory penalties, attorney fees and costs incurred over the 7 years it took for the case to pass through the appellate process. The case involved issues over exemptions in the Public Records Act.

• In 2006, the City of Spokane settled a case for $299,000 involving its refusal to release public records regarding financing of a parking garage. At the time, it was thought to be the largest public records-related settlement in the history of the 1972 Public Records Act.

• A state Court of Appeals judge in 2007 fined the King County Executive $123,000 for failing to comply with the state’s Public Disclosure Act. A Seattle businessman took a case to court in 2000 after the ! Executive’s office failed to respond to a 1997 public records request for documents regarding the public financing of Qwest Field. A King County Superior Court judge originally fined the Executive $5 per day for each day it failed to produce the requested records. The Act allows up to $100 per day. The case was still being resolved at the time of the audit.

In addition to the financial expense of being involved in a legal dispute involving public records, failing to respond properly to public records requests can erode the public’s overall trust and regard for the entity and government in general."

To view the full audit and recommendations for improvements, click here.