JLARC Report

January 2020

Legislature requires agencies to report data on their public records practices

Agency is defined in statute

Agency means any public agency subject to the Public Records Act, including:

State agencies, boards, and commissions.
Counties, cities, and towns.
School districts and higher education institutions.
Special purpose districts.

The 2017 Legislature passed RCW 40.14.026, which requires agencies that are subject to the Public Records Act to report information about their public records practices. Agencies that spent $100,000 or more in the prior fiscal year managing public records requests must submit a report. Agencies that spend less may report voluntarily. Each agency is responsible for determining whether they meet the reporting threshold.

See Tab 1 for more detail about the reporting process.

JLARC staff must collect and report data from agencies

The same law directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) to develop a process to collect information from agencies and to standardize definitions for the metrics listed in statute.

For 2018, JLARC staff identified 2,374 agencies that may be subject to the reporting requirement. It is unknown how many of these agencies met the expenditure threshold. JLARC staff used multiple communication channels to inform agencies about how to report information.

Bar chart that reads 204 agencies submitted data, 718 below the threshold and did not submit data, and 1,452 no response.

204 agencies submitted data on their 2018 public records activities

A total of 922 agencies responded to JLARC's information request: 204 provided data and 718 indicated that they were below the expenditure threshold and chose not to submit data. The law requires agencies that meet the expenditure threshold to report data on 15 performance metrics, including response times, costs, staff time, and the methods used to to respond to record requests.

The 2018 Public Records Data tabs include interactive dashboards with summaries and agency-level detail for each metric. JLARC staff provide guidance, definitions, and an online reporting system, but do not verify the accuracy of the data reported by agencies.

Reporting rates vary by type of agency. Many agencies may not meet the reporting threshold.

Most state, local, and higher education agencies reported information to JLARC staff. School districts and special districts had lower response rates.

62% of state agencies, boards, or commissions reported data or confirmed agency was below $100,000 reporting threshold
86% of cities/towns
55% of county government agencies
94% of higher education institutions
39% of school districts/Educational Service Districts (ESD)
24% of special districts

Many of these districts may not have met the expenditure threshold and potentially were not required to report.

Legislature changed some metrics since last report

See Tab 3 for more detail about changes to the metrics.

In 2018, agencies reported receiving 337,653 public records requests, averaging 16 days to close requests, and spending $78.4M to respond

A total of 204 agencies reported receiving 337,653 public records requests between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018. Agencies reported an average of 16 days from receiving to closing requests and spending $78.4 million responding to requests. These agencies also reported that they responded to and closed 184,251 requests within five days. JLARC staff do not verify the accuracy of the data reported by agencies. More details on each metric are contained in the 2018 Public Records Data tabs.

2018 Public Records Report

January 2020

State and local agencies must report data to JLARC if they spend over $100,000 to fulfill public records requests

Legislature requires agencies to report data on their public records practices

The 2017 Legislature passed RCW 40.14.026, which requires agencies that are subject to the Public Records Act to report information about their public records practices. Statute defines public agencies as state agencies, boards, commissions, counties, cities, towns, school districts, higher education institutions, and special purpose districts.

Each agency is responsible for:

Determining whether it meets the expenditure threshold that requires it to submit data. If an agency spent $100,000 or more to fulfill public records requests in the prior fiscal year, it must submit the required data. If it spends less, it may report voluntarily.
Ensuring the accuracy of the data it submits. JLARC staff do not independently verify the information.

JLARC staff must collect and report data from agencies

The same law that established the reporting requirements for agencies also directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) to collect and report on the data submitted by agencies. JLARC staff and their consultants from Sightline, LLC worked with an advisory committee that included state and local agencies and other stakeholders to:

Develop and publish standard definitions for the statutory metrics.
Develop an online reporting system.
Draft guidance documents.
Give public presentations about the reporting requirements.
Provide phone and email support to agencies during the reporting period.

For more details, see the Methodology Tab.

This report reflects the second year of reporting to JLARC

Agencies are required to report data on their public records practices each year. JLARC staff began collecting agency data in the spring of 2018. That first reporting period covered public records activities from July 23, 2017 through December 31, 2017.

This is the second report on agency public records practices. The data in this report covers agency activities between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018. This is the first reporting period to cover an entire calendar year of data.

2018 Public Records Report

January 2020

Reporting rates vary by type of agency. Many agencies may not meet the reporting threshold.

204 agencies submitted data and another 718 indicated they were not required to report

Currently, there is no comprehensive list of public agencies that are subject to the Public Records Act. JLARC staff identified 2,374 public agencies based on information from the Municipal Research and Services Center, the State Auditor's Office, and the Office of the Code Reviser. This includes an additional 24 special districts and 54 county government agencies that reported as a consolidated entity for 2017 and as separate county departments for 2018.

Agencies reported data on their 2018 public records activities through JLARC's online reporting system between June 2019 and August 2019. JLARC staff asked agencies to report whether they met the $100,000 expenditure threshold for required reporting.

Exhibit 2.1: For 2018, 922 agencies (39%) either submitted data or indicated that they did not meet the $100,000 reporting threshold

Source: Information reported by public agencies.

Note: "Submitted data" includes all agencies that provided data to JLARC staff. Of these, 142 met the threshold, while 62 reported voluntarily.

Reporting rates varied by the type of agency

Most state and local agencies and higher education institutions submitted data on their 2018 public records practices. Reporting rates varied from 94% (higher education) to 24% (special districts).

Of the 2,374 agencies identified by JLARC staff in 2018, 1,452 (61%) did not respond to the data collection effort. Many of these agencies are special districts and school and educational service districts. It is likely that a large portion of these districts did not meet the expenditure threshold for required reporting. For example, JLARC staff found that 89% of the non-responders had annual operating expenditures of less than $10 million. If these agencies spent up to 1 percent of their operating budgets on responses to public records requests, they would be under the expenditure threshold and not required to report.

For this report, public agencies are organized into one of three categories:

Submitted data: Agencies that provided performance metrics to JLARC staff. Some agencies were required to do so because they met or exceeded the expenditure threshold and others reported data voluntarily.
Below threshold and did not submit data: Agencies that indicated they were below the $100,000 expenditure threshold and declined to submit a voluntary performance report.
No response: Agencies that did not provide any response. It is unclear how many of these agencies were above the $100,000 expenditure level and required to submit a performance report.

Exhibit 2.2: Most higher education institutions and state and local agencies submitted data on their 2018 public records practices

Source: Data reported by public agencies.

List of agencies that did not respond to data request

A total of 1,452 agencies did not provide any information to JLARC staff on their 2018 public records practices. It is unclear how many of these agencies met the expenditure threshold for required reporting. Click the image below for more detail on these agencies.

Source: JLARC staff analysis.

2018 Public Records Report

January 2020

The metrics reported for 2018 activities differ from metrics reported for 2017

The 2019 Legislature modified or removed several of the metrics that agencies are required to report each year. In response, JLARC staff revised its online reporting system by:

Adding a new data element to clarify the baseline data metrics, and adding a data element to Metric 4 (median days to final disposition).
Modifying two metrics to focus on specific types of public records responses (Metrics 2 and 3 - providing responses within 5 days, and providing estimates for responses beyond 5 days).
Removing three metrics (Metrics 1, 5, and 18 - best practices, estimates for full disclosure, measures of customer satisfaction).
Clarifying the definition of one metric (Metric 16 - total costs for managing records).

The remainder of the metrics remain the same as last year's data collection effort. The exhibit below includes a full list of the changes to metrics between the 2017 and 2018 reporting periods.

Exhibit 3.1: Changes to metrics for the 2018 reporting period

Metrics used to report 2017 data		Metrics used to report 2018 data		What changed?
Baseline data	Total number of open requests at the start of the reporting period. Total number of requests received during the reporting period. Total number of requests closed during the reporting period.	Baseline data	Total number of open requests at the start of the reporting period. Total number of those open requests that were closed during the reporting period. Total number of requests received during the reporting period. Total number of requests closed during the reporting period.	Added one data point for clarification: Total number of those open requests that were closed during the reporting period.
1	~~Best practices for managing public records~~			Removed
2	Average time to respond to a records requests.	(1)	The number of requests where the agency provided the requested records within five days.	Modified - Now focuses only on the requests when the agency provided the records within five days.
3	Percent of records requests fulfilled within five days and the percent for which an estimate for fulfillment is provided.	(2)	The number of requests where the agency provided a time estimate for providing records beyond five days after receiving the request.	Modified - Now focuses only on instances where an estimate beyond five days was provided.
4	Average number of days from receipt of request to final disposition of request.	(3)	Average and median number of days from receipt of request to final disposition of a request.	Modified - Median is a new data element. Median is calculated by the agency and reported to JLARC staff. Averages are calculated by the reporting system.
5	~~Average time estimate provided for full disclosure and average actual time to provide full disclosure~~.			Removed
6	The number of requests where the agency sought additional clarification from the requester.	(4)	The number of requests where the agency sought additional clarification from the requester.	No change
7	The number of closed requests denied and the common reasons for denying requests.	(5)	The number of requests denied in full or in part and common reasons for denying the requests.	No change
8	The number of abandoned records requests.	(6)	The number of abandoned records requests.	No change
9	Number of records requests, by type of requester.	(7)	Number of records requests, by type of requester.	No change
10	Percent of records requests fulfilled electronically and physically.	(8)	Percent of records requests fulfilled electronically and physically.	No change
11	Number records requests involving scanning.	(9)	Number records requests involving scanning.	No change
12	Average estimated staff time spent responding to records requests.	(10)	Average estimated staff time spent responding to records requests.	No change
13	Estimated cost of fulfilling records requests.	(11)	Estimated cost of fulfilling records requests.	No change
14	Number of claims filed alleging a statutory violation.	(12)	Number of claims filed alleging a statutory violation.	No change
15	Costs of litigating claims alleging a statutory violation.	(13)	Costs of litigating claims alleging a statutory violation.	No change
16	Total costs incurred by the agency with managing and retaining records, including staff compensation and purchases of equipment, hardware, software, and services to manage and retain public records ~~or otherwise assist in the fulfillment of public records requests~~.	(14)	The estimated costs of managing and retaining records.	Clarification Clarified to remove reference to fulfillment of records requests.
17	Expenses recovered.	(15)	Expenses recovered.	No change
18	~~Measures of requester satisfaction with agency responses, communication, and process relating to the fulfillment of public records requests~~.			Removed

2018 Public Records Report

January 2020

Legislature identified performance metrics for agency records retention, management, and disclosure practices

The 2017 Legislature passed legislation requiring agencies that are subject to the Public Records Act to report information about their public records practices. The law includes a list of performance metrics that agencies must submit annually. JLARC staff compiled the 2018 data reported by agencies into interactive dashboards for each metric. The legislation on reporting requirements for this reporting period is linked here: RCW 40.14.026,

A total of 204 agencies reported receiving 337,653 public records requests between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018. Agencies reported an average of 16 days from receiving to closing requests and spending $78.4 million responding to requests. These agencies also reported that they responded to and closed 184,251 requests within five days. JLARC staff do not verify the accuracy of the data reported by agencies. More details on each metric are contained in the 2018 Public Records Data tabs.

View 2018 data for each metric in interactive dashboards

Agencies reported performance metrics for calendar year 2018 using an online reporting system developed by JLARC staff. Agencies are responsible for the accuracy of their data, and any questions should be directed to the reporting agency. JLARC staff do not independently verify the information submitted.

To use the dashboards:

Click on the images in the table below to open interactive dashboards for each metric in a new window.
Make selections to the data using the drop down menus and sliders highlighted in yellow.
View instructions to learn more about navigation.
Download the complete dataset in an Excel file here.

Exhibit A1: Dashboards for 2018 Agency Performance Metrics

Statutory metric	Metric definition	Link to dashboard
Requests open, received, and closed (Baseline data) See Tab B for more information.
Metric 1 - The number of requests where the agency provided the requested records within five days See Tab C for more information.
Metric 2 - The number of requests where the agency provided a time estimate for providing records beyond five days after receiving the request See Tab C for more information.
Metric 3 - Average and median number of days from receipt to final disposition of a request See Tab C for more information.
Metric 4 - Number of requests where the agency sought additional clarification from the requester See Tab D for more information.
Metric 5 - Number of records requests denied in full or in part and common reasons for denying the requests See Tab D for more information.
Metric 6 - Number of abandoned records requests See Tab D for more information.
Metric 7 - Number of records requests, by type of requester See Tab B for more information.
Metric 8 - Percent of records requests fulfilled electronically and physically See Tab E for more information.
Metric 9 - Number of records requests involving scanning See Tab E for more information.
Metric 10 - Average estimated staff time spent responding to records requests See Tab F for more information.
Metric 11 - Estimated cost of fulfilling records requests See Tab F for more information.
Metric 12 - Number of claims filed alleging a statutory violation See Tab G for more information.
Metric 13 - Costs of litigating claims alleging a statutory violation See Tab G for more information.
Metric 14 - Estimated costs of managing and retaining records See Tab F for more information.
Metric 15 - Expenses recovered See Tab F for more information.

2018 Public Records Report

January 2020

Agencies reported receiving 337,653 records requests from individuals, organizations, other entities, and law firms

A total of 204 agencies reported information to JLARC staff during the 2018 reporting periodJanuary 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018. These agencies received a total of 337,653 records requests.

Exhibit B1: Reporting agencies received an average of 1,647 public records requests in 2018, ranging from 1 to 46,144 per agency

Requests open, received, and closed (Baseline data)

A picture of the 2018 baseline data dashboard with the words click here to view interactive dashboard across it. This image is a link to the 2018 baseline data dashboard.

Baseline data includes:

19,588 public records requests that were already open at the start of the reporting period.
337,653 public records requests that were received during the reporting period.
335,958 public records requests that were closed during the reporting period.

South Sound 911 reported the largest number of records requests, at 46,144 requests.

Five agencies received one records request each.

On average, agencies received 1,647 requests in 2018.

Click here to view interactive dashboard.

2018 Public Records Reporting

Legislature requires agencies to report data on their public records practices

JLARC staff must collect and report data from agencies

204 agencies submitted data on their 2018 public records activities

Reporting rates vary by type of agency. Many agencies may not meet the reporting threshold.

Legislature changed some metrics since last report

In 2018, agencies reported receiving 337,653 public records requests, averaging 16 days to close requests, and spending $78.4M to respond

Reporting Process

1. Agencies must report on public record practices

State and local agencies must report data to JLARC if they spend over $100,000 to fulfill public records requests

Legislature requires agencies to report data on their public records practices

JLARC staff must collect and report data from agencies

This report reflects the second year of reporting to JLARC

Reporting process

2. Reporting rates vary by type of agency

Reporting rates vary by type of agency. Many agencies may not meet the reporting threshold.

204 agencies submitted data and another 718 indicated they were not required to report

Exhibit 2.1: For 2018, 922 agencies (39%) either submitted data or indicated that they did not meet the $100,000 reporting threshold

Source: Information reported by public agencies.

Note: "Submitted data" includes all agencies that provided data to JLARC staff. Of these, 142 met the threshold, while 62 reported voluntarily.

Reporting rates varied by the type of agency

Exhibit 2.2: Most higher education institutions and state and local agencies submitted data on their 2018 public records practices

Source: Data reported by public agencies.

List of agencies that did not respond to data request

Source: JLARC staff analysis.

REPORTING PROCESS

3. Some metrics changed since last report

The metrics reported for 2018 activities differ from metrics reported for 2017

Exhibit 3.1: Changes to metrics for the 2018 reporting period

2018 Public Records Data

A. Overview of metrics and results

Legislature identified performance metrics for agency records retention, management, and disclosure practices

View 2018 data for each metric in interactive dashboards

Exhibit A1: Dashboards for 2018 Agency Performance Metrics

2018 public RECORDS DATA

B. Records received and closed

Agencies reported receiving 337,653 records requests from individuals, organizations, other entities, and law firms

Exhibit B1: Reporting agencies received an average of 1,647 public records requests in 2018, ranging from 1 to 46,144 per agency

Source: JLARC staff compilation of data reported by 204 agencies.

Exhibit B2: The most common requesters were individuals, organizations, other entities, and law firms

Source: JLARC staff compilation of data reported by 204 agencies.

2018 Public Records Data

C. Response time

Agency response time

State law requires agencies to respond to public records requests within five days

Exhibit C1: Agencies closed a total of 184,251 requests within five days

Source: JLARC staff compilation of data reported by 204 agencies.

Exhibit C2: For 173,000 records requests, agencies estimated it would take more than five days to respond

Source: JLARC staff compilation of data reported by 204 agencies.

Exhibit C3: On average, agencies closed records requests in 16 days. The median time to close was 5 days.

Source: JLARC staff compilation of data reported by 204 agencies.

2018 Public records Data

D. Clarified, denied, abandoned

Few records requests were clarified, denied, or abandoned

Exhibit D1: Six percent of records requests required clarification

Source: JLARC staff compilation of data reported by 204 agencies.

Exhibit D2: Less than one percent of requests were fully denied, and 11 percent were partially denied or redacted

Source: JLARC staff compilation of data reported by 204 agencies.

Exhibit D3: Requesters abandoned four percent of their requests

Source: JLARC staff compilation of data reported by 204 agencies.

2018 Public records Data

E. Response format

71 percent of records requests were fulfilled electronically

Exhibit E1: 71 percent of records requests were fulfilled electronically

Source: JLARC staff compilation of data reported by 204 agencies.

Exhibit E2: 18 percent of requests required agencies to scan physical records

Source: JLARC staff compilation of data reported by 204 agencies.

2018 Public records Data

F. Time and Cost

Reporting agencies estimated spending over 1 million hours and $76.4 million responding to records requests

Agencies reported challenges in estimating the time and cost of responding to public records requests

Agencies reported challenges in estimating the costs for managing records

Exhibit F1: Agencies spent 1,012,364 staff hours responding to public records requests

Source: JLARC staff compilation of data reported by 204 agencies.

Exhibit F2: Agencies spent $76.4 million fulfilling records requests

Source: JLARC staff compilation of data reported by 204 agencies.

Exhibit F3: Agencies spent $144 million managing and retaining public records

Source: JLARC staff compilation of data reported by 204 agencies.

Exhibit F4: Agencies recovered $283,173 of costs associated with responding to records requests

Note: The report and interactive dashboard have been updated for this metric on 5/12/2020 for the City of Spokane Valley, which had originally been incorrectly submitted as $70,310.