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Committee hears narrow bill to exempt citizen newsletter email addresses from public records requests after Bainbridge incident
Summary
House Bill 17 65 would exempt email addresses submitted to local agencies to receive regular communications (newsletters) from disclosure under the Public Records Act. Supporters said the change protects trust in local government newsletters after a city list was used for campaign mailings; media and open-government groups opposed broadening PRA.
Lawmakers received testimony for House Bill 17 65, a narrowly framed proposal to exempt from the Washington Public Records Act email addresses that individuals provide to local agencies for newsletters and routine updates.
Sponsor Representative Joel Simmons (state Representative, cosponsored by Representative Waters) described the bill as a targeted response to an incident on Bainbridge Island where a candidate used a city newsletter email list to send campaign material. ‘‘It is just a very narrow exception to the PRA,’’ Simmons told the committee, saying the change is intended to preserve trust and encourage civic engagement.
Local officials and supporters said the exemption would protect residents who sign up for one-way city updates. Clarence Moriwaki, a Bainbridge Island City Council member, described erosion of trust after mailing-list addresses were used for campaign messages. City Manager Blair King said the city’s weekly newsletter, City Connects, has about 1,600 subscribers and an open rate around 75%, and confirmed the city collects only email addresses—not names or street addresses.
Opposition and alternatives: The Washington Coalition for Open Government opposed the bill as unnecessary and urged alternative remedies such as clearer notice to subscribers and reliance on existing federal anti‑spam rules (CAN‑SPAM). A witness representing WCOG said Washington has accumulated many PRA exemptions and cautioned against adding another.
Procedure and next steps: The committee closed the public hearing on HB 17 65; no committee vote was taken that day. Testimony included specific details from Bainbridge: the newsletter subscriber count (about 1,600) and the city’s stated practice of collecting only email addresses.
Ending: Committee members asked clarifying questions about scope; witnesses suggested avenues for compromise, including informing residents that sign-up lists could be subject to public records requests and ensuring opt-out processes under federal law are observed.
