Washington’s attorney general is seeking to reduce public record backlogs as concerns grow over transparency and agencies strain from surging requests.

Attorney General Nick Brown has proposed new advice for locales on how to interpret state public records law, with a focus on providing records faster. The rules Brown is proposing don’t change the state’s Public Records Act. They only serve as a guide for state and local governments on how to comply.

Open government advocates support the changes. Government officials are skeptical.

One of Brown’s bigger recommendations is to triage public disclosure requests so simple asks for one document can be provided faster than complex requests seeking, for example, thousands of pages or hard-to-find records.

Under the current system, narrower re

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