Recently, the Washington Coalition for Open Government (WashCOG) reminded us all that the Open Government Manual was last updated on… October 31, 2016. Ever since, there’s been annual amendments to RCW 42.56 the Public Records Act and there was a massive renovation of RCW 42.30 the Open Public Meetings Act signed into law in 2022. Yet, no update to the manual.
Yes, the Municipal Research and Services Center (MRSC) exists and has been conducting trainings. I’ve attended both public records and public meetings trainings the MRSC puts on. The MRSC also makes a lot of postings on these issues and others. But the MRSC likes to be their own island, and focused on the local government side of things.
But where is the Washington State Attorney General’s Office? After all, for the Open Public Meetings Act, there’s this:
The attorney general's office may provide information, technical assistance, and training on the provisions of this chapter.
Then there’s this from the Public Records Act:
The attorney general's office may provide information, technical assistance, and training on the provisions of this chapter.
It’s hard to consider accurate “information” and “technical assiistance” a manual circa October 2016. At the least, these events have occurred since October 2016:
RCW 42.30 Open Public Meetings Act had a massive renovation in 2022 with a small 2024 follow-on update about notice for public comment in RCW 42.30.250.
RCW 42.56 has had changes almost every year since 2016, especially in the first half of the 2020s.
Yet, the manual reflects none of this. It’s like trying to run circa 2025 software with a 2016 manual - sure you can probably muddle through, but at some point you have to Bing/Google or hope there’s a YouTube explaining the latest upgrades. It’s not the best way to learn how to operate a computer, much less two of Washington State’s most complex laws.
Let me close out by quoting Attorney General Nick Brown himself as he spoke to the Washington Coalition for Open Government’s 2025 breakfast:
It will be a foundation for my time in office that we're doing everything as an agency, not only to ensure as an agency, we are committed to transparency, but that we are supporting other governmental institutions to make sure that they are improving their own transparency.
One means to that end is very much updating the Washington State Open Government Manual. I hope the Attorney General concurs, please.