Public Information Request and Privacy Policy
Section A. Introduction
Thank you for visiting the Washington
State Housing Finance Commission ("Commission") website and
reviewing our Privacy Notice. This statement addresses collection, use and
security of and access to information that may be obtained through use of
the Commission web site. This notice covers the following topics:
Information
Collected and How It Is Used
Personal Information
and Choice
Public Access to
Information
Nondisclosure of
Certain Personal/Private Information
Review and
Correction of Personally Identifiable Information
Cookies and Applets
Security
Disclaimer
Contact Information
Section B. Information Collected and
How It Is Used
Information collected if you only
browse this site:
If you do nothing during your visit to
our web site but browse, read pages, or download information, we will
gather and store certain information about your visit. This information
does not identify you personally. We automatically collect and store the
following information about your visit:
The Internet Protocol Address and
domain name used. The Internet Protocol address is a numerical identifier
assigned either to your Internet service provider or directly to your
computer. We use the Internet Protocol Address to direct Internet traffic
to you. This address can be translated to determine the domain name of
your service provider (e.g. xcompany.com or yourschool.edu); the type of
browser and operating system you used; the date and time you visited this
site; the web pages or services you accessed at this site; and the web
site you visited prior to coming to this web site.
The information we automatically collect
or store is logged and used by the Commission only to improve the content
of our web services and to help us understand how people are using our
services. The Commission analyzes the web site logs to determine how our
web site is being used, so that we may continually improve the site's
usefulness to the public.
What we collect if you volunteer
information:
If during your visit to our web site you
participate in a survey, send an email, or perform some other transaction
on-line, the following additional information will be collected: The email
address, and contents of email, for those who communicate with us via
email; information volunteered in response to a survey; and information
volunteered through an on-line form for any other purpose. The information
collected is not limited to text characters and may include audio, video,
and graphic information formats you send us.
We use your email to respond
appropriately. This may be to respond to you, to address issues you may
identify, to further improve our web site, or to forward the email to
another agency for appropriate action. Survey information and information
from other on-line forms is used by the Commission to improve the quality
of our services or for any additional purposes identified when we present
a survey or otherwise request information from you. The Commission may use
and disclose to third parties summaries or other non-personally
identifiable information derived from information submitted on the site
for other internal or external purposes, but the Commission will not
disclose any such information personally identifying you without your
prior permission.
Section C. Personal Information and
Choice
You may choose whether to provide
personal information on-line. "Personal information" is
information about a natural person that is readily identifiable to that
specific individual. Personal information includes such things as an
individual's name, address, and phone number. A domain name or Internet
Protocol address is not considered personal information.
We collect no personal information about
you unless you voluntarily provide it to us by sending us email,
participating in a survey, or completing an on-line form. You may choose
not to contact us by email, participate in a survey or to provide any
personal information using an online form. Your choice to not participate
in these activities will not impair your ability to browse the Commission
web site and read or download any information provided on the site. You
may contact us as shown in Section J below (Contact Information) if you
would prefer not to volunteer information online, but still furnish us
with comments, input for a survey or do anything else which would
otherwise involve the voluntary furnishing of information online.
If personal information is requested on
the web site or volunteered by the user, state law and the federal Privacy
Act of 1974 may protect it. However, this information is a public record
once you provide it, and may be subject to public inspection and copying
if not protected by federal or state law.
If you believe that your personal
information is being used for a purpose other than what was intended when
submitted, you may contact the Housing Finance Commission Public
Information Officer as shown in the Contact Information Section of this
statement.
Users are cautioned that the collection
of personal information requested from or volunteered by children on-line
or by email will be treated the same as information given by an adult, and
may be subject to public access.
Section D. Public Access to
Information
In the State of Washington, laws exist to
ensure that government is open and that the public has a right to access
appropriate records and information possessed by state government. At the
same time, there are exceptions to the public's right to access public
records that serve various needs including the privacy of individuals.
Exceptions are provided by both state and federal laws.
All of the information collected at this
site becomes public records that may be subject to inspection and copying
by members of the public, unless an exemption in law exists. RCW 42.17.
260(1) states that:
Each agency, in accordance with published
rules, shall make available for public inspection and copying all public
records, unless the record falls within the specific exemptions of
subsection (6) of this section [RCW 42.17.260(6)], RCW 42.17.310,
42.17.315, or other statute which exempts or prohibits disclosure of
specific information or records. To the extent required to prevent an
unreasonable invasion of personal privacy interests protected by RCW
42.17.310 and 42.17.315, an agency shall delete identifying details in a
manner consistent with RCW 42.17.310 and 42.17.315 when it makes available
or publishes any public record; however, in each case, the justification
for the deletion shall be explained fully in writing.
In the event of a conflict between this
Privacy Notice and the Public Records Act or other law governing the
agency’s disclosure of records, the Public Records Act or other
applicable law will control.
Section E. Nondisclosure of Certain
Personal Information
The Commission may request you to provide
certain personal/private information in order to fulfill a request made by
you and/or to improve the quality of our services.
Generally, all the Commission's files are
available for public inspection, unless exempt from disclosure under the
provisions of Chapter 42.17.310 RCW. Examples of information that is not
available for public review include: Personal information maintained on
borrowers or applicants for Commission programs; lists of individuals to
be used for commercial purposes; personal information maintained on
employees, appointees, or elected officials.
Section F. Review and Correction of
Personally Identifiable Information
You can review any personally
identifiable information we collect about you by using the information in
the Contact Information section at the end of this Notice. You may
recommend changes to your personally identifiable information you believe
to be inaccurate by submitting a written request that credibly shows the
inaccuracy. We will take reasonable steps to verify your identity before
granting access or making corrections. (RCW 43.105.310)
Section G. Cookies and Applets
To better serve our users we may use
"cookies" to customize your browsing experience with the
Commission web site. Cookies are simple text files stored on your computer
by your web browser. Cookies created on your computer by using this web
site do not contain personally identifying information and do not
compromise your privacy or security. We use the cookie feature only to
store a randomly generated identifying tag on your computer.
Applets are tools downloaded to your
computer to work with the software you have. Applets are intended to
enhance your browsing experience by enabling you to view information in a
unique manner. We use applets with this site to provide visual
enhancements such as hover buttons and alternate text formats. You are not
required to use applets to browse this site. Choosing not to accept
applets will not affect your general ability to browse this web site and
download information, but may adversely affect how information appears on
your computer or your ability to view the information that the applet is
intended to support.
Section H. Security
The Department of Information Services,
as developer and host of the site and the Commission as manager of this
web site, have taken and are continuing to take several steps to safeguard
the integrity of its data and prevent unauthorized access to information
collected on the web site and maintained by the Commission. These measures
are designed and intended to prevent corruption of data, block unknown or
unauthorized access to our systems and information, and to provide
reasonable protection of private information in our possession.
This information should not be construed
in any way as giving business, legal, or other advice, or warranting as
fail proof, the security of information provided via the Commission web
sites.
Section I. Disclaimer
The Commission web site has many links to
other web sites. These include links to web sites operated by other
government agencies, nonprofit organizations and private businesses. When
you link to another site, you are no longer on the Commission web site and
this Privacy Notice will not apply. When you link to another web site, you
are subject to the privacy policy of that new site.
Neither the State of Washington, nor any
agency, officer, or employee of the State of Washington warrants the
accuracy, reliability or timeliness of any information published by this
system, nor endorses any content, viewpoints, products, or services linked
from this system, and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by
reliance on the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of such information.
Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person
or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so
at their own risk.
Section J. Housing Finance Commission
Contact Information
To contact the Commission, review or request correction of your personal information,
or questions about the information presented in this Privacy Notice:
Communications Manager
Washington State Housing Finance Commission
1000 Second Avenue, Suite 2700
Seattle, Washington 98104-1046
Fax: 206.587.5113
Phone: 206.287-4409
PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUEST FORM (PDF)
I have read and understand the terms of this
Privacy Policy and would like to download the Public
Information Request Form (PDF).
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