Take 'Gotcha!' out of records requests

When state voters adopted the state’s Public Records Act in 1972, they wanted to make sure state, county and city governments operate openly and are transparent to the people. They recognized the best way to ensure transparency and accountability is to require most government records are made available to the public.

The PRA, however, was never intended to help some make money at the expense of governments. Unfortunately, there are a few “vexatious requesters” who learned how to financially profit through excessive, frivolous and punitive requests.

Under the PRA, government agencies have five...