County Councilmember Dunn and Dembowski introduce legislation to retain instant messages sent between King County employees for the Public Record

On February 20, 2025, King County Councilmembers Reagan Dunn and Rod Dembowski introduced a significant ordinance aimed at preserving instant messages sent between county employees as part of the public record. The proposed legislation responds to the shift in communication practices, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to a rise in the use of Microsoft Teams for internal messaging. Currently, King County automatically deletes these messages after 17 days, while other forms of communication are retained indefinitely. Dunn and Dembowski argue that this policy undermines transparency and the public's right to access important discussions related to governance. Dembowski highlighted the need for compliance with the state's Public Records Act, originally passed in 1972, which was designed for a paper-based communication environment.

By aligning local policies with recent changes made by Washington State Governor Bob Ferguson, who suspended the automatic deletion of instant messages at state agencies, the ordinance aims to ensure that all electronic communications are retained until reviewed. The legislation will be reviewed by the Government Accountability and Oversight Committee in the coming weeks, and if approved, it is set to take effect on July 1, 2025. This initiative marks a proactive step towards adapting public records retention policies to modern communication technologies.