Chapter §13.1 Introduction

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§13.1 INTRODUCTION

For government to function, it needs to interact with private commercial entities that may provide certain necessary services, products, or skills. These interactions may range from permitting to purchasing to regulatory investigations. In a variety of circumstances, these private entities may be required to submit information to the government that they consider sensitive and proprietary and would not want to be disclosed publicly. Yet the PRA requires agencies to make available for public inspection and copying all public records, unless the record falls within the specific exemptions of the PRA or "other statute" that exempts or prohibits disclosure of specific information or records. RCW 42.56.070(1). This chapter will discuss those PRA exemptions designed to protect private financial and commercial information, trade secrets, and the valuable formulas provided to an agency. Prior to the PRA's recodification in 2006, the majority of these exemptions appeared in former RCW 42.17.310, which contained 64...