AGO Opinion Topics: AUTHORITY STATE RECORDS COMMITTEE SET RETENTION PERIOD CERTAIN RECORDS PRODUCED

1.Diet information forms submitted to the Department of Health pursuant to a federal/state program, and computer analyses generated with the information submitted, are public records for purposes of the Public Disclosure Act, RCW 42.17.2.Diet information forms submitted to the Department of Health pursuant to a federal/state program, and computer analyses generated with the information provided, contain personal information which is exempt from public inspection and copying; if this personal information is deleted, the remainder of the records are subject to public disclosure.3.Diet information forms submitted to the Department of Health pursuant to a federal/state program, and computer analyses generated with the information provided, generally do not meet the definition of "official public record" contained in RCW 40.14, the Records Retention Law; however, the Records Committee has authority to classify the records as "official public records" if it wishes to do so.4.The Records Committee created in RCW 40.14.050 has authority to approve a retention schedule for agency records which permits an agency not to retain a record for any time at all beyond the time necessary to generate the record; or the committee may choose to require that such records be kept for such period as the committee deems appropriate.