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Open Records Portal Feasibility Study

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Open Records Portal Feasibility Study Legislative Building PO Box 40220 Olympia, WA 98504-0220 Tel 360.902.4151 Fax 360.586.5629 www.sos.wa.gov August 29th 2018 TO: Honorable Zack Hudgins, Chair Honorable Vicki Kraft, Ranking Member House State Government, Elections & Information Technology Committee Honorable Sam Hunt, Chair Honorable Mark Miloscia, Ranking Member Senate State Government, Tribal Relations & Elections Committee Honorable Timm Ormsby, Chair Honorable Bruce Chandler, Ranking Member House Appropriations Committee Honorable Christine Rolfes, Chair Honorable John Braun, Ranking Member Senate Ways & Means Committee FROM: Kim Wyman Secretary of State SUBJECT: ESHB 1594 - Study on the Feasibility of Implementing a Statewide Open Records Portal In Engrossed Substitute House Bill (ESHB) 1594, Laws of 2017, the Legislature asked the Secretary of State to conduct a study assessing the feasibility of implementing a statewide open records portal, housed on a single internet web site relating to public records information, through which a user could request and receive a response. The Legislature set out a list of questions to be answered regarding the time and costs to implement different types of records portals, including a review of open records portals in other states. The findings of the study are included in this report. Study on the Feasibility of Implementing a Statewide Open Records Portal Submitted by Cindy Evans and Patricia Smith-Mansfield Table of Contents Study on the Feasibility of Implementing a Statewide Open Records Portal ................................ 1 Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................... 2 Some Background on Public Records in Washington ..................................................................... 8 Results of Research ....................................................................................................................... 10 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 25 List of Appendices ......................................................................................................................... 28 Appendix A – Copy of ESHB 1594, new section 8, Laws of 2017. ................................................. 29 Appendix B-- Experience of Utah detailed report ........................................................................ 34 Appendix C -- Bill questions and full text of bill responses. .......................................................... 84 APPENDIX D – Full text of Encouraging Widespread Public Electronic Access to Public Records and Information Held by State and Local Governments ............................................................... 89 APPENDIX E -- Resources and reference materials used in preparing this report ....................... 90 Appendix F – Searchable Collections Currently Held by the Washington State Digital Archives . 93 Appendix G – Washington State Agencies with Open Data Plans ................................................ 96 Appendix H -- Pass through website cost estimates .……………………………..………………………..………98 Author Biographies …………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…….99 ESHB 1594 Portal Study Page 1 of 99 September 1, 2018 Executive Summary In Engrossed Substitute House Bill (ESHB) 1594, Laws of 2017, the Legislature asked the Secretary of State to conduct a study assessing the feasibility of implementing a statewide open records portal, housed on a single internet web site relating to public records information, through which a user could request and receive a response. The Legislature set out a list of questions to be answered regarding the time and costs to implement different types of records portals, including a review of open records portals in other states. (The full text of section 8 of the bill that was not codified into the Revised Code of Washington, is in Appendix A.) Answer in brief It is not currently feasible to implement a statewide open records portal through which a user can request and receive a response through a single internet web site. Although there are many ways for people to request access to public records, none currently meet the framework outlined in the legislation. No other state has attempted a centralized repository and archive for all state and local records for public records purposes. The few states that have designed portals have not made them repositories of all state and local public records. Many of the questions asked in the bill cannot be answered at this time, not least because structural and legal barriers would need to be removed before timelines or costs could even begin to be estimated. Challenges to the goal of transparency While one of the goals of ESHB 1594 is to deliver greater transparency in government, the online posting of records may not serve everyone equally. According to Pew Research Center survey data, published in March 2018 and titled “11% of Americans don’t use the internet. Who are they?”, found that “internet non-adoption is correlated to a number of demographic variables, including age, educational attainment, household income and community type.” The article also stated that the offline populations has been shrinking and will likely continue to do so. However, it is reasonable to assume there will always be at least some telephone and written letter requests made by people unable or unwilling to use an online resource. Conversely, local governments without an internet presence pose their own challenges for a person seeking information. According to the State Auditor’s Office, about 750 of the almost- 1,950 local governments subject to audit in 2018 receive assessment audits based on an annual revenue of less than $300,000 annually. Some special purpose districts may only have one or two employees, in addition to the governing board, and managing or paying for a website may not be an option. But aside from the problems of people who don’t use the internet and governments without web presences, Washington faces five significant barriers to the creation and operation of an open records portal: ESHB 1594 Portal Study Page 2 of 99 September 1, 2018 Current statutory structure of Public Records Act (PRA), chapter 42.56 RCW The storage and volume of state and local records currently held by the State Records Centers and the amount of new records created each day Volume of state and local records that contain personally identifiable information (PII) and information that is classified as confidential information or information that requires special handling Federal data sharing agreements with state agencies Increased legal liability costs for the operator of the open records portal These barriers are discussed at length in the results section of the report. Takeaways from other states' attempts at open records portals ESHB 1594 asked about the experiences of other states that have crafted or attempted to expand the public’s access to government records. Research found no other state has attempted a statewide open portal as contemplated by the legislation. Utah’s Records Portal The bill specifically asked about the portal developed by Utah. The 2013 Utah State Legislature mandated the Utah Transparency Board (Board) to study the establishment of an information website. The guiding principles were to make public records more accessible to the public, to establish standards for uniformity in records posted on the website, and to consider removing barriers to the reuse of public information – while safeguarding sensitive information. The Board issued a report to the Utah Legislature that fall. It recommended having three portals featured on the OpenUtah.gov website that included: 1. The existing financial Utah Transparency Website, 2. An Open Data website for access to existing public repositories of datasets, and ESHB 1594 Portal Study Page 3 of 99 September 1, 2018 3. An Open Records website to act as a single point of access for records requests made under the state’s open records law, the Government Records Management and Access Act (GRAMA requests), and access to public records ‒ with priority to public records that documented the accountability of government such as ordinances, policies, and legislatively-mandated reports. The OpenUtah.gov homepage would also include links to datasets and records of public interest. The Board would serve as the administrative policy maker. Goals The Board has set the goal for the three portals on the Open.Utah.gov homepage that comprise the information website to be integrated more thoroughly. They identified the need to: create and establish an integrated naming convention for governmental entities in the three websites and the Utah Public Notice Website, to further integrate the websites in other ways and in content-exchange, and to develop a registry of governmental entities. The State Archives’ goals are to improve the Open Records portal interface; to engage entities more; to encourage entities to get information online; and to display information and documents that are about the governmental entity and created from other sources, not just the records from the governmental entity. To realize these goals, the Open Records portal should move from APPX to a new platform, one capable of the integration and performance needed. (The complete report can be found in Appendix B.) Alternatives to Utah’s Portal Model There are alternatives that offer somewhat
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