Public Review Committee Linda Sullivan-Colglazier Assistant Attorney General July 28, 2011

t The people of the State of Washington do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them t They do not give public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know t Citizens have the right to remain informed so they may maintain control over the instruments they have created 2

Art. 2, Sec. 3: Complying with Other Laws. In carrying out its responsibilities, the PRC shall comply with  Open Public Meetings Act (RCW )  Public Records Act (RCW 42.56),  Ethics in Public Service Act (RCW 42.52), and  Other applicable Washington State laws 3

Article 6 - meetings  All meetings are subject to the Open Public Meetings Act 4

(RCW 42.30) 5

t Meetings of “governing bodies,” must be open (includes CPARB and PRC) t “Governing Body” - multimember board, commission, committee, council, or any committee thereof when the committee acts on behalf of the governing body, conducts hearings, or takes testimony or public comment t Administrative meetings of government staff are not covered 6

t Law takes a broad view t Meetings where “action” is taken must be open t “Action” includes: sPublic testimony sAll deliberations sDiscussions sReviews sEvaluations sFinal action 7

Article 7 - PRC actions  PRC action will be in compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act.  Action means the transaction of the PRC’s official business, including but not limited to, receipt of public testimony, deliberations, discussions, considerations, reviews, evaluations, and final actions.  Final action means a collective positive or negative decision, or an actual vote by the members present when sitting as the PRC, upon a motion, proposal or resolution.  Final actions include: final determinations on applications for project approval, certification, or recertification, and revocations of certifications. 8

t Cannot place conditions on people for attending t However, reasonable rules of conduct can be set t Cameras and tape recorders are permitted unless disruptive 9

 Regular Meetings  Special Meetings  Executive Sessions 10

t At a regular meeting, committee may address any matter properly before it t At a special meeting, you may only address matters contained in the meeting notice’s agenda 11

t Regular meetings are recurring meetings of the public body t Must adopt regular schedule and file yearly with Code Reviser 12

t When: t Publish notice of meetings 20 days in advance t Where: t Post in legal paper where project or public body located and on PRC website t What: t List public body and projects being considered t How public may give comments 13

t Written notice must be given to: t Each member of governing body t Each local newspaper, radio, and TV station which has requested notice t Delivered at least 24 hours in advance t Must specify: s Time and place s Business to be transacted (agenda) 14

 The Chairman or a majority of the members may call a special meeting at any time. 15

t Meet with legal counsel relating to litigation or legal risks of a proposed action t Receive and evaluate complaints or charges against a public officer or employee t Review performance of public employee t Evaluate qualifications of a job applicant 16

Art. 6, Sec. 6. Executive Sessions.  The PRC may hold an executive session during any regular or special meeting to consider matters appropriate for these sessions under the Open Public Meetings Act.  However, the PRC may take no final action on these matters during an executive session. 17

t Discussions via t Gatherings of a quorum t Serial discussions 18

t Any action taken at an improperly closed meeting can be declared null and void t Superior Court Judge can impose a $100 civil penalty and attorney fees against each member 19

(RCW 42.56) 20

ARTICLE 11 - INSPECTION AND COPYING OF PUBLIC RECORDS  The inspection and copying of the PRC’s public records will be in accordance with the policies and practices of the Department of General Administration. 21

t All public records are to be open and accessible to the public unless there is an exemption from disclosure t Burden of proof is on the agency to show why record is exempt 22

t Any “writing” which contains information t relating to the conduct of government, or t the performance of any governmental function t Note – this may include private computers used for public business 23

t All means of recording any form of communications t and voic messages t Paper documents t Computer data t Notes t Spreadsheets t Photographs and film t Sound recordings t Electronically stored information (ESI) t Metadata 24

t Within 5 days, an agency must: s Provide the record, s Deny the request, smust cite specific exemption or s Acknowledge request and provide reasonable estimate of response time 25

Some examples are: t Preliminary drafts, notes, memoranda, or recommendations in which opinions are expressed or policies discussed t Materials protected by attorney/client privilege t Certain personal information in an employee’s personnel file t SS#, home address, and phone number 26

t Requester may ask for review by Office of the Attorney General t Requester may file lawsuit in Superior Court where the record is located 27

If the agency is found to have violated the Public Records Act, the court may : t Order the records be produced t Award $0 to $100 a day for each day of delay 28

t Office of the Attorney General’s website on Open Government: t 29

 Questions? 30