David Cuillier Comments on Barriers to Requesting Public Records for Commercial Purposes

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information (FOI) Project, is quoted in “Spokane Now Requires a Notary for Some Public Records Requests – ‘A Waste of Tax Dollars,’ Critics Say” published in InvestigateWest on Sept. 30.

The article focuses on a new barrier resulting from a Washington law limiting use of public records for commercial purposes. The law prohibits the release of most “lists of individuals” if the requester plans to use it for “commercial purposes,” such as real estate agents requesting lists of code-enforcement complaints against property owners. The barrier was implemented shortly before Spokane’s recent efforts to improve the speed of providing public records. Spokane is one of the slowest major cities in the Northwest for fulfilling records requests in a timely manner.

“What a waste of tax dollars,” said Cuillier. “What a waste of staff time. What a waste of the average person’s time. This is where it’s leading: harm to society with really no benefit.”

According to Cuillier, scrutinizing the purposes of records requests flies in the face of how public records are understood across the globe.

“It shouldn’t matter who’s asking for it and why,” he said. “It shouldn’t matter. A record’s a record.”

In addition to exposing government dishonesty and inefficiency, public records are also worth big money. At the national level, Cuillier said, about two-thirds of requests are submitted by commercial interests.

“The reality is public records grease our economic machine,” Cuillier said. “Businesses rely on this information to survive… Is it really so wrong to let people make money on records? Why is that a sin in America?”

Posted: October 4, 2024
Category: Brechner Center, College News
Tagged as: Brechner Freedom of Information Project, David Cuillier, Public Records Requests