OLYMPIA… With a unanimous vote, the Washington State Senate today approved a bill that would limit the number of frivolous public records requests by inmates in state penitentiaries. 

Senate Bill 5130, sponsored by Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood, allows a court to reject any public record request by a person serving a criminal sentence if it finds the request was made to harass or intimidate the agency, its employees, or any person, or if disclosure of the record would likely threaten the security of correctional facilities, the safety and security of staff or other persons, or the deterrence of criminal activity. 

“When the attorney general brought this idea to me, I knew something had to be done to protect both the public and corrections officers and their families,” Carrell said. “Some of these inmates are fishing for personal information using drift nets when they should be limited to using one line at a time.” 

The bill also allows the court to reject future requests by the same inmate if their track record shows a history of abusing the system. Carrell says that’s just common sense. 

“Offenders who abuse the public disclosure system waste taxpayer time and money by clogging up the system,” Carrell said. “Now more than ever, with today’s economic climate, state government should be watching out for taxpayers and that’s exactly what this bill does.” 

SB 5130 will now go to the House of Representatives for consideration.