Bill > HB1949

This bill aims to modify the Washington state Public Records Act to protect certain scholarly and academic communications from mandatory public disclosure. The legislation recognizes the importance of maintaining confidentiality in academic settings by creating specific exemptions from public inspection. These exemptions include: (1) protecting the identity of human research subjects when confidentiality was originally promised, (2) shielding peer review materials and correspondence that could reveal a reviewer's identity, and (3) keeping research-related data, computer code, and draft manuscripts confidential until they are publicly disseminated, published, copyrighted, or patented. The bill's legislative findings emphasize that confidentiality encourages frank participation in academic processes, supports academic freedom, and allows researchers to work without concerns about premature disclosure of sensitive or competitive intellectual work. The exemptions are specifically defined using federal regulatory definitions for terms like "human subject" and are intended to create a narrow, targeted protection for scholarly communications while maintaining the overall transparency goals of public records laws.

Government Affairs

https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1949&Year=2025&Initiative=false