Washington Crime Free Rental Housing Program Information

Dear Jenny Wadhwa:
Thank you for contacting the Washington State Legislature. Our office received your public records request on 12/12/2023 and we have assigned your request tracking number P001471-121223. Your request will be processed in accordance with Washington State's Public Records Act, Chapter 42.56 RCW. Records Requested: To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Washington Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

Any and all records from the past two years (December 2021-December 2023) regarding "crime free" housing that will be referred to as “program” in this request but could be known (but not limited to) as “Crime Free rental housing program" as described in Washington's state law RCW 25.106.020.

Please provide any and all written records (including but not limited to hard-copy documents, memos, emails, word processor documents, PDF documents, PowerPoint files, images files, video files etc.) regarding the Program including but not limited to:

• any training/presentation materials used in communication, promotions, workshops, seminars, etc
• evictions filed by property owners and number of tenants evicted as a result of the program
• police calls, reports, citations, or arrests, collected by the municipality police department for the purpose of enforcing the program
• meeting minutes and correspondence between municipality officials, regarding the implementation and enforcement of the program and ordinance
• An estimate or exact number of Crime Free Rental Housing Programs currently employed in the state of Washington

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Jenny Wadhwa

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We will work with the appropriate Member office and/or department(s) to locate the records you seek and to determine the volume and any costs associated with satisfying your request. We will contact you about the availability and/or provide you with copies of the records in question.
PLEASE NOTE: Washington State’s Public Records Act, Chapter 42.56 RCW, does not require a governmental body to create new information, do legal research, or answer general questions. For information about the Washington State Legislature and the legislative process, visit the Legislative Information Center or call (360) 786-7573.

You'll receive an email when your records are available. You can also monitor the progress of your request at the Wash. State Legislature’s Public Records Center.
Again, thank you for using the Wash. State Legislature’s Public Records Center.
Washington State Legislature

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Dear Jenny Wadhwa,

This letter acknowledges receipt of your request directed to the Senate Public Records Office on December 13, 2023, for public records under the Washington Public Records Act (PRA), chapter 42.56 RCW.  Please use the above request number when contacting us about this request.
You requested the following:
"Any and all records from the past two years (December 2021-December 2023) regarding "crime free" housing that will be referred to as “program” in this request but could be known (but not limited to) as “Crime Free rental housing program" as described in Washington's state law RCW 25.106.020.
Please provide any and all written records (including but not limited to hard-copy documents, memos, emails, word processor documents, PDF documents, PowerPoint files, images files, video files etc.) regarding the Program including but not limited to:
• any training/presentation materials used in communication, promotions, workshops, seminars, etc
• evictions filed by property owners and number of tenants evicted as a result of the program
• police calls, reports, citations, or arrests, collected by the municipality police department for the purpose of enforcing the program
• meeting minutes and correspondence between municipality officials, regarding the implementation and enforcement of the program and ordinance
• An estimate or exact number of Crime Free Rental Housing Programs currently employed in the state of Washington

Due to our current workload and other pending requests, we estimate having responsive records ready for production on or before January 10, 2024.  Records will be provided in installments as appropriate. If you have questions, please contact our office.
Sincerely,
Senate Public Records

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Dear Jenny Wadhwa,

Before I can provide you responsive records, I am seeking clarification of your request.  Please specify which senators or representatives that you would like records from for this request.

On December 19, 2019, the Washington State Supreme Court issued its opinion in Associated Press, et al. v. Legislature.  The Court determined that each individual legislators’ office is considered an "agency" for the purposes of the public records act (PRA) and therefore each individual legislators' office is subject to the disclosure requirements of the PRA, but not the Senate or House as an institutional body.

Please note that a specific and much more narrow definition of “public records” applies to the Chief Clerk and the Secretary of the Senate.  For the Office of the Chief Clerk and the Secretary of the Senate, which includes staff of both legislative bodies, RCW 42.56.010 and RCW 40.14.100 define the scope of that term.

Also, the crime free rental housing program that you seek records about was codified in RCW 35.106.020, not RCW 25.106.020 as you cite in your request.  I will assume this is just a typographical error on your part unless you are seeking records for some other program.

Additionally, you are more likely to find responsive public records with local governments since the crime free rental housing program applies to local governments.  Once we receive your clarification we will make a diligent search for senate records.  However, you may consider submitting your request to local governments that have adopted these programs, or to the State Auditor who may have records related to an audit or other report.

The adoption of a program is voluntary, so not all local governments may have a program.  The Association of Washington Cities (AWC) and the Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC) represent local governments.  AWC & WSAC may know which cities and counties have adopted such programs, and you may ask AWC & WSAC for a list of local governments that have adopted a program, and then you can make individual public records requests to those local governments.

Your clarification is needed to specify which senators or representatives that you would like records from for this request.  We will close this request unless you provide clarification by January 22, 2024.  After the request is closed, you may submit a new request to receive additional records.

Sincerely,

Senate Public Records

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Dear Jenny Wadhwa,
We last communicated with you on December 21, 2023 seeking clarification from you to specify which senators' records you were requesting.  We didn't hear back from you in response to our request for clarification.  We will interpret your request to be for all senators for any records that may be responsive to your request. Reasonable Estimate: Due to our current workload and other pending requests, we estimate having responsive records ready on or by February 21, 2024. Records maybe provided in installments as appropriate. Under the law, if an installment of a records request is not claimed or reviewed, the agency is not obligated to fulfill the balance of the request. See RCW 42.56.120(4). When a requester does not review records, the request will be considered abandoned and closed. See also the Attorney General Model Rules at WAC 44-14-04005. If a request is closed due to abandonment, a requester may submit a new request for any additional records. The purpose for closing an abandoned request is for records management and efficiency of agency resources. We want to use our resources to fulfill requests that have not been abandoned. Please let us know if you have any questions. Sincerely, Senate Public Records

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Dear Jenny Wadhwa,

The Senate Public Records Office last communicated with you regarding this request on January 22, 2024. Please use the above request number when contacting us about this request.
You requested the following:
Any and all records from the past two years (December 2021-December 2023) regarding "crime free" housing that will be referred to as “program” in this request but could be known (but not limited to) as “Crime Free rental housing program" as described in Washington's state law RCW 25.106.020.
Please provide any and all written records (including but not limited to hard-copy documents, memos, emails, word processor documents, PDF documents, PowerPoint files, images files, video files etc.) regarding the Program including but not limited to:
• any training/presentation materials used in communication, promotions, workshops, seminars, etc
• evictions filed by property owners and number of tenants evicted as a result of the program
• police calls, reports, citations, or arrests, collected by the municipality police department for the purpose of enforcing the program
• meeting minutes and correspondence between municipality officials, regarding the implementation and enforcement of the program and ordinance
• An estimate or exact number of Crime Free Rental Housing Programs currently employed in the state of Washington

We requested clarification from you on December 21, 2024, however we did not received a response. Therefore, we interpreted your request to be for all Senate records.
We are providing you with records responsive to this request which consists of emails belonging to Senators Conway, Hansen, Keiser, Torres, and Wilson. You can access the records on the "My Records Center" page of our online public records portal.
We have not located any further records responsive to your request following a diligent search. Therefore, this completes the Senate’s response to your public records request.  If you disagree with any denial of records or information, you may seek internal review by submitting a request in writing to the Secretary of the Senate at P.O. Box 40482 Olympia, WA 98504-0482 or by email at: Senate.Publicrecords@leg.wa.gov.
Sincerely,
Senate Public Records