Privacy Of Drivers Protected Revised Rule Doesn’t Affect Media’s Access To Records

The Locke administration and Washington’s newspaper industry agreed Wednesday to amend a rule at the Department of Licensing to comply with a federal privacy law without hurting access to driver records.

The rule change, effective Sept. 13, is necessary to comply with the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of 1994.

The Legislature had approved a bill earlier this year that also would have brought the state into compliance, but Gov. Gary Locke vetoed it due to concern about provisions that would have provided broad access to personal information by businesses.

Instead, Locke ordered the Department of Licensing to modify its information disclosure policies until a review of the issue is completed and “legislation with greater safeguards for personal privacy can be enacted.”

The revised rule, discussed during a hearing Wednesday, prohibits the department from releasing personal information from driver and automobile records unless it is a matter of safety regarding the driver, passengers, pedestrians, other vehicles or property.

Rowland Thompson, representing Allied Daily Newspapers and the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association, said he and Locke administration officials agreed on language that protects the media’s access to Licensing records, considered among the most reliable in government.

Clark Holloway, an agency official who develops policies regarding driver records, said requests for information will continue to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.