The purpose of the Open Government Task Force is to study and make recommendations on the creation of an administrative board to rule on complaints of violations regarding the Public Records Act (PRA) and the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA).
The Attorney General's Office and the Auditor's Office created this Task Force to address growing concerns among governments and the public. State agencies and local governments face a logjam of citizen complaints, costly litigation over the PRA and the OPMA, and uncertainty regarding potential liability that may require payment of attorneys’ fees, costs, and daily penalties. Citizens who are denied access to public records and public meetings have no choice other than to go to court, and lawsuits may take years to resolve and are costly. Going to court to enforce legal rights to access public records and public meetings is simply not an option for many citizens.
An efficient and inexpensive solution is needed to resolve complaints and provide greater access to public records and public meetings while reducing costs to governmental agencies and the public. Many states provide an independent administrative review process to resolve complaints without litigation. These states use administrative boards to offer services including mediation, dispute resolution, non-binding legal interpretations, investigation of potential violations, issuing final appealable rulings, offerings of legislative reform, and training public officials about their responsibilities under the law.
Submit public comment to timf@atg.wa.gov
November Agenda
Open Government Task Force Report, November 2009
Worksheet Responses
Recent Meeting
October Agenda
October Meeting Materials
Members of the Task Force include:
Kelli Williams, King County
Jim Doherty, Municipal Research and Services Center
Judy Endejan, Graham and Dunn PC
Ruth Gordon, Jefferson County
Jerry Handfield, Secretary of State
John Hendrickson, Kenmore City Council
Mary Hunt, Douglas County
Rep. Chris Hurst, 31st District
Graham Johnson, Former Executive Director of the Public Disclosure Commission 1974-1993
Rep. Lynn Kessler, 24th District
Rep. Joel Kretz, 7th District
Mark Lindquist, Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney
Louis Mitchell, Bremerton School Board
Sen. Bob Morton, 7th District
Shirley Nixon, Citizen Activist
Toby Nixon, Washington Coalition for Open Government
Bob Partlow, Citizen Representative
Althea Paulson, Kitsap Regional Library
Kevin Phelps, Pierce County
Craig Ritchie, Ritchie Law Firm, PS
Rowland Thompson, Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington
Anna Jancewicz, Teamsters Local Union 117
Steve Boyer, Kitsap County Sheriff