Local News

Governor signs Hawkins’ government transparency bill

Mar 28, 2014

A bill authored by Rep. Brad Hawkins that requires public agencies to post their meeting agendas online at least 24 hours in advance was signed Thursday by Gov. Jay Inslee.

House Bill 2105 is part of an ongoing effort to increase transparency in government, said Hawkins, R-East Wenatchee.

“It makes a modest change to the state’s Open Public Meetings Act to require public agencies to post their meeting agendas online at least 24 hours in advance,” Hawkins noted. “Interestingly, the Open Public Meetings Act was first enacted in 1971 and requires public agencies to issue notice of their meetings, such as the date, time, and location, but does not speak to posting meeting agendas. My bill is an effort to modernize the law to reflect our current online society.”

The measure provides exceptions for government entities without websites or with fewer than 10 full-time employees.

“Posting agendas online is important to providing more transparency in government,” added Hawkins. “This legislation will help citizens know what a public agency plans to discuss so they can better determine if an issue is important to them.”

Hawkins says the bill received the support of various newspaper associations and open government advocates. The measure takes effect June 11.