This bill adds a new exemption to the Washington Public Records Act (chapter 42.56 RCW) by creating a new section that shields certain scholarly communications and research-related materials from public inspection and copying. It specifically exempts the identity of a human subject when the study’s informed consent protocol guaranteed confidentiality; records used for peer review of scholarly manuscripts and research proposals (materials provided to reviewers, peer reviewer evaluations, and reviewer-requester correspondence to the extent it would reveal the reviewer’s identity); and research data, computer code, or draft manuscripts created in the conduct of research until those items are publicly disseminated, published, copyrighted, or patented. "Human subject" and "research" are defined by reference to 45 C.F.R. §46.102 as it existed on February 1, 2025. Legally, this is a new statutory exemption to public records access (a procedural change limiting disclosure) rather than the creation of a new crime or change to criminal penalties. The exemption would affect public agencies subject to chapter 42.56 RCW and people and entities involved in research and scholarly publication, including faculty, research staff, students, journal editors, scholarly presses, funding agencies and reviewers, investigators working with human subjects, and institutions of higher education. The bill was read for the first time on 02/11/25. The extracted text does not specify the exact RCW section number being added, an effective date for the exemptions, procedures for claiming the exemptions, how they interact with other exemptions in chapter 42.56 RCW, or any enforcement, appeals, or penalty provisions.

If enacted, public agencies would be allowed to withhold from records requests certain research-related items: the identity of human subjects when a study’s informed consent promised confidentiality, materials used in peer review (what reviewers receive, their evaluations, and correspondence that would reveal a reviewer’s identity), and research data, computer code, or draft manuscripts until those items are publicly disseminated, published, copyrighted, or patented. That will make investigators, students, faculty, journal editors, scholarly presses, and reviewers less likely to have unpublished work or promised confidential subject information released, and it should make peer review and sharing of draft work feel safer for those groups. Public agencies will need to apply this new exemption when handling requests, which could reduce some disclosure work but also requires relying on definitions tied to 45 C.F.R. Sec. 46.102 as it existed on February 1, 2025. Several practical details are unclear from the text provided — the exact statutory citation, any effective date, how agencies should claim or document the exemption, how it interacts with other public records exemptions, and what enforcement or appeal process applies — so agencies and institutions may face uncertainty about how to implement and defend these withholdings until those details are resolved.