AG Brown commemorates Sunshine Week with pledge for continued progress on opening government to the people of Washington state

For more than two decades, Sunshine Week has raised awareness about the importance of transparency in government. This year, the Attorney General's Office celebrates its success in processing a record number of public records requests and a commitment for further improvement in open government practices in Washington.

"The AG's office works hard to process more than a thousand public records requests every year, providing information and insight to the media, individuals, and other stakeholders," said AG Nick Brown. "We work for the people of Washington. That's why our work is open and transparent to all."

The AG's office received 1,202 public records requests in 2025, which is 44% more than in 2020 and a 106% increase from 2015. The office has so far completed 84% of those requests, and the remaining requests, some of which came in at the end of the year, are in progress. In 2020, the office provided 449,943 pages of records in response to requests. In comparison, the number of pages provided in 2025 more than doubled, to 922,084 pages. This is equivalent to more than 750 copies of War and Peace. If you printed out all these pages and stacked them (we do not print them), it would be more than 300 feet tall -- higher than the dome of the Washington State Legislative Building.

Anyone can request public records: members of the media, law firms, businesses, non-profits, other government agencies, and individuals. The office works hard to address every request received, providing the public with transparent information about a variety of topics, including the office's litigation, legislation, and consumer complaints. Very few records requests are denied-of the 1,202 requests in 2025, only nine were denied. One common reason the office denies a request is when someone requests juvenile records, which we cannot disclose by law.

While the office has done an effective job responding to requests, there is room for improvement. During 2025 the median days to complete records production and close a request was 55 days. Some requests require most of the nearly 2,000 employees of the Attorney General's office to search their files and records to see if they have any responsive records. Then, public records specialists must examine those records to ensure that protected information like personally identifying information in medical records or other information protected by law is redacted. The records are then provided to the requestor.

AG Brown came into office with a strong commitment to opening government up to the public. In November, the office hired its first ever Chief Transparency Counsel (CTC) to work holistically on the agency's process of responding to records requests and make changes across the organization to increase the agency's performance and efficiency. The CTC, Morgan Damerow, leads the newly created Public Records and Open Government Unit, which is responsible for implementing these improvements and providing agency staff with training and advice to ensure they're successfully adopted. The AG's office's goal is to make responses to records requests faster and more efficient, including reducing the number of days to complete an average records request.

The AG's office is also responsible for helping other state agencies and local governments improve their responses to public records requests. In November, the AG's office proposed changes to the model rules that guide governments' responses to Public Records Act requests. These changes would help public agencies across the state develop timely and diligent responses to records requests.

-30-

Washington's Attorney General serves the people and the state of Washington. As the state's largest law firm, the Attorney General's Office provides legal representation to every state agency, board, and commission in Washington. Additionally, the Office serves the people directly by enforcing consumer protection, civil rights, and environmental protection laws. The Office also prosecutes elder abuse, Medicaid fraud, and handles sexually violent predator cases in 38 of Washington's 39 counties. Visit www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.

Media Contact:

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (360) 753-2727

General contacts: Click here

Media Resource Guide & Attorney General's Office FAQ