This bill amends RCW 42.56.540 to allow a superior court to enjoin (block) the examination of a specific public record when the court finds that examination would clearly not be in the public interest and would substantially and irreparably damage any person or vital governmental functions. The change is a procedural modification to existing public records law that creates a specified injunctive remedy and does not amend penalties. A motion and affidavit to seek the injunction must be filed by an agency or its representative, a person named in the record or to whom the record specifically pertains, or a person described in subsection (2). The appropriate court is the superior court for the county in which the movant resides or in which the record is maintained. Agencies may notify persons named in a record or to whom a record specifically pertains, or a person described in subsection (2), that release has been requested unless the agency is otherwise required by law to provide notice. For public records of a law enforcement agency relating to a homicide, the victim’s next of kin—or that next of kin’s legal guardian if the next of kin is a minor—may move for the injunction. The bill defines “next of kin” for this purpose as the victim’s spouse, state registered domestic partner, parents, siblings, or children and explicitly excludes any person who is the perpetrator. The bill was prefiled 01/09/26 and read for the first time 01/12/26. The provided text appears to be only Section 1; it is unclear whether other sections or related provisions are included elsewhere in the bill. The extract does not provide definitions for terms such as “public record” or “law enforcement agency,” does not show procedural time limits or notice deadlines, and does not show the prior version of RCW 42.56.540, so exact changes from current law cannot be identified from these facts alone.

If enacted, the bill would make it easier for agencies, people named in a record, and for homicide victims’ next of kin or guardians to go to a county superior court and ask that a specific public record be blocked from public inspection when release would clearly not serve the public interest and would cause substantial, irreparable harm. In practice this likely means more sensitive records—particularly law enforcement records about homicides—could be kept from public release, giving families a clearer legal option to protect privacy or safety and giving agencies a formal route to try to stop disclosure. The most affected parties are law enforcement and other public agencies (which may now file more injunction motions and must decide when to notify people named in records), victims’ next of kin or guardians (who gain a new way to seek protection), and county superior courts (which may see more filings). Agencies and families may face added time and legal costs to prepare motions and affidavits, and courts will have added workload; the text does not include deadlines, detailed procedures, or definitions that would clarify how often or broadly the new authority will be used.