(The Center Square) – The Spokane Valley City Council adopted a list of priorities on Tuesday ahead of the next legislative session, including one on reducing the “impact of abusive public records requests.”
The Legislature convenes in January for the upcoming session, so this list will guide lobbyists as they advocate for the Valley. Legislative Policy Coordinator Virginia Clough provided an update on Tuesday regarding a few changes since last month, but no one mentioned the item related to record requests.
Briahna Murray, a state lobbyist and partner of Gordon Thomas Honeywell Government Relations, ran the city officials through the initial discussion on September 9 and also appeared virtually on Tuesday.
“Spokane Valley faces rising costs and is supportive of efforts by the State Legislature to … reduce the impact of abusive pubic records requests,” according to the priorities the council approved on Tuesday.
The priority fell under two others in the “reducing costs through reform” section, with those requesting policies to keep construction costs down and reduce liability that drives up claims and litigation costs.
The entire document spans six pages, providing explanations for many of the priorities, but not the one related to public records. It also appears on the September agenda, although Murray didn’t address the abusive requests then either, so The Center Square contacted city staff to find out who asked for this.
Communications Manager Jill Smith told The Center Square that the priority around abusive records requests was a carryover from the council’s 2025 legislative priorities. She did not name which city official or staffer requested this priority when asked by The Center Square, other than adding that the Association of Washington Cities has the exact same priority, though it’s not included in AWC’s list.
Murray presented the 2025 legislative priorities in September 2024, but the only mention of this item was her reading aloud, “to address the impact of abusive records requests,” to the council.
“Those are really all items you all have had in the queue for some time that I anticipate we’ll continue to work on,” Murray said in September 2024 after reading the priorities to reduce costs through reforms.
However, the city didn’t mention abusive public records requests in the 2024 state legislative agenda.
The Valley has received dozens of records requests related to Councilmember Al Merkel over the past two years related to his alleged violations of the Public Records Act. The council voted to sue Merkel in February after an investigation found he “more likely than not” violated state law, but he refutes those claims.
The investigation also highlighted Merkel’s interactions with others on the council, prompting Rep. Rob Chase, R-Spokane Valley, to propose legislation earlier this year, which passed and became law in July.
The legislation amended the PRA to require agencies to redact the images, job titles, email addresses and phone numbers of complainants and witnesses, unless the person is an elected official. It also requires staff to alter the voices of those complainants and witnesses in audio recordings that people request.
Sometimes, record requests can take weeks, months or even years to fulfill, which takes up staff time and additional resources if the requester sues for the materials. The issue isn’t unique to the Valley, but staff there also release records in installments, sometimes up to dozens, as they become available.
The delay means getting a hold of emails from elected officials could take over a year in some cases.
“We are providing responsive records in a series of installments due to the size and scope of your request,” Deputy City Clerk Patricia Rhoades emailed The Center Square last month in response to a request from July 2024. “The twenty-first installment of records responsive to your request is available.”
