Sunshine Committee

Voters approved the Public Disclosure Act by initiative in 1972. At the time, the Act included only 10 exemptions from disclosure. As of 2016, there are over 500 exemptions in the Revised Code of Washington.

The Attorney General’s Office requested a bill to establish a Blue-Ribbon Committee to review all exemptions to the Public Disclosure Act. Senate Bill 5435, which created the Public Records Exemptions Accountability Committee (Sunshine Committee), became law on July 22, 2007. The Sunshine Committee makes recommendations to the Legislature to repeal or amend exemptions to the Public Records Act.

Public testimony regarding exemptions the Sunshine Committee is currently considering is welcome. If you are unable to give your testimony in person, you may do so online or by mail using the contact form linked below.

To ensure inclusion in the written information provided to the Committee, online and mailed comments must be received two business days prior to the next scheduled meeting.

CONTACT THE SUNSHINE COMMITTEE

Staff contact: Elaine Ganga

Next Meeting:

What: Public Records Exemptions Accountability Committee (Sunshine Committee)
When: May 24, 2022
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Where: Remote via GoToWebinar
Materials: Agenda

Previous Meeting Materials (Agendas, Minutes, Video Recordings)

Important Meeting Information:

Due to health and safety concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the May 24, 2022 meeting will be held remotely.
The Sunshine Committee will not be able to monitor and receive public comment through the GoToWebinar chat feature. Please click here to learn how to submit public comments to the Sunshine Committee.
GoToWebinar Meeting Information: To access the May 24, 2022 meeting, click on the link to register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3289581982622993935 (works best in Google Chrome or Firefox browsers)
You can register for the meeting prior to May 24, 2022.
To join by phone to listen only: Dial 1-914-614-3221; When prompted enter Access Code 820-254-270
The Sunshine Committee strives to make its meetings accessible to all. For questions about a reasonable accommodation in Washington State Legislative buildings, please go to their website here. (Note, for the May 24, 2022 meeting, there is no public access to the Cherberg Building Conference Rooms due to the COVID-19 pandemic.) Contact the Washington Relay Service at 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6388 for telephone relay service. For any other requests, please email SunshineCommittee@atg.wa.gov.