Local Open Government Blog : Open Government Law : Foster Pepper Law Firm : Northwest, Seattle, Spokane, Portland Lawyer & Attorney

In last year's performance audit  entitled "Open Public Records Practices at 30 Government Entities," the Washington State Auditor objected to the City of Seattle's practice (modeled after the State) of  treating each department of City government as a separate entity.  These departments include such large and diverse operations as Seattle City Light, Seattle Municipal Court, the Department of Transportation, Seattle Police, Seattle Fire and the Department of Public Utilities (e.g. water and sewer).  The City changed that practice after the audit report.  It is now going an extra step to look at incorporating the "best practices" that the Auditor highlighted in its report.   Starting Friday, February 27, the Special Committee for Open Government will hold a series of hearings and taking public comment on how the City can enhance its practices.   Bravo Seattle. 

UPDATE:  Here is the press release, with addional details.  

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Foster Pepper assists local governments with open government compliance.  As part of our work, we train public officers and employees from Local Governments on Washington’s open government laws. 

In a recent editorial in the Seattle Times, Ramsey Ramerman, the chair of Foster Pepper's Public Disclosure team and one of the lawyers most active in this practice, explained his views on these laws:

I believe "trust is the coin of the realm." Only with the public's trust can those who serve in government use government to help the public. Open government mints trust. With this coin, government serves. 

Washington's local governments mint trust with the state's open government laws — the Public Records Act, the Open Public Meetings Act, the Public Disclosure Act (campaign laws) and state and local ethics laws.  These laws are ranked among the best in the nation. And Washington's Public Records Act is one of the country's most "user-friendly" laws.

Foster Pepper attorneys, including Ramsey Ramerman and Steve DiJulio, have trained thousands of elected officials and other public officers and employees on the Public Records Act.  We have also advised nearly every type of local government in this state on open government issues.  From this experience, we have witnessed Washington’s open government laws at work.  In this blog, Foster Pepper will use that experience to track developments in open government law, policy and application.  

The voices and perspectives of the public records officer, general counsel and other public employees are rarely heard in the press’s coverage of open government issues.  In Foster Pepper's Local Open Government Blog, we will analyze these issues, taking into account this missing voice, as well as other perspectives. 

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Every year there are always numerous proposals for amending our open government laws.  Below, Foster Pepper lists the most significant bills introduced in this session affecting the Public Records Act and Open Public Meetings Act.  We have included links to the bill summary pages and a short description about the topic of the bill — these are NOT the titles of the bills, only a descriptive summary.  If you see a bill you think we should be watching, please let us know.

Significant and/or likely to make it out of committee

These are bills that may be voted out of committee or are significant enough that they deserve extra attention.  The first legislative cut off is February 25. 

HB 1017/SB 5339.  Study Open Government agency
HB 1181/SB 5130.  Enjoining prisoners
HB 1471.  Release of collective bargaining records
HB 1552.  Additional requirements for open meetings
HB 1676.  Executive Session, model rules and mandatory training for OPMA
HB 1784.  Granting PDC enforcement authority over PRA and OPMA
SB 5119/HB 1497.  Eliminate Sunshine Committee
SB 5295.  Unanimous Sunshine Committee recommendations

Other bills

These are bills that do not appear likely to make it out of committee or will not make significant changes to the law.

HB 1105.  Work Product
HB 1106.  Agency Injunctions
HB 1107.  Insurance for PRA disputes
HB 1316.  Enjoining harassing requesters
HB 1317.  New exemption of personnel records of criminal justice employees
SB 5249.  Unpaid costs
SB 5250.  Increase amount agencies can charge for copies
SB 5251.  Recover full copying costs
SB 5293.  In-camera review of exempt records
SB 5294.  Non-unanimous Sunshine Committee recommendations

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