Off-target attempt to limit open records

Cooler heads must prevail in the full state Senate to stop a bill that would imperil public scrutiny of public contracts in the guise of resolving a situation that a bill supporter acknowledges never harmed anyone.

The danger with SHB 1569 is that a contractor bidding for a public project need only identify in writing that information given to the public agency is a "trade secret" and must be kept confidential. There is no requirement that anyone at the public agency deem that reason valid.

This bill is an overreaction to a potential problem with far simpler solutions. The bill would add a new exemption to the state Open Records Act and could create an environment where backroom deals that don't serve the public could occur.

Supporters of the bill, chiefly the Utility Contractors Association of Washington, say the bill would not apply to regular public bids, but to special documents that shed light on the contractors' thinking and specific pricing strategies that went into their bids. Such documents are not supposed to be used to award contracts, only to be used later in their administration.

The association grew concerned when an unsuccessful bidder for a $42 million King County project protested and filed an Open Records Act request to see the bid winner's documents. The unsuccessful bidder's protest failed and the records request was withdrawn, but the association fears it might have prevailed in court under the Open Records Act.

Lawmakers should work harder to find a simpler and more precise way to solve any potential release of proprietary information that could harm a business and reduce competition for public contracts.

SHB 1569 isn't it. The nebulous wording of this bill would do far more harm than good. Astonishingly, the full House and the Senate Government Operations Committee have approved the bill, which is in line for a Senate floor vote.

In a year when talk of accountability dominates many legislative policy debates, a bill that poses such risk to public scrutiny should be laughed out of Olympia.