Yes folks, we are truly “working for the weekend” of policy bill cut-off of 5 PM, February 4 where policy bills must leave their committee of orgin or be almost certainly frozen for the 2026 legislative session. Yes, state government committees…
Everyone's watching, to see what you will do
Everyone's looking at you, oh
Everyone's wondering, will you come out tonight
Everyone's trying to get it right, get it right
You may also notice that I’ve returned to the old template for this 1889-word (Washington State was born in 1889) update - that is partially as I like having sections hyperlinked for sharing.
Table of Contents
Two Different Solutions to OPMA During Emergencies
The recent flooding events in Washington State have led to both chambers proposing separate solutions to clarify how the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) applies during emergencies. Even though the 2020-2022 renovations were to deal with similar situations during the COVID-19 airborne pandemic, there is concern about the public’s right to know and maintain respectful influence over their elected officials when there is a state or nationally declared emergency event such as a flood.
Enter HB 2520 and SB 6000
HB 2520 is a straightforward bill introduced by Washington State House Democrats stating that, “The legislative authority of each county may hold a special meeting outside of the county seat, or remotely, when necessary to take expedited action needed to meet an emergency;” but notice and minutes are required. It’s not as good as SB 6000, but still the principles of notice and transparency are kept.
SB 6000 is a bit more technical. Sponsored by State Senator Keith Wagoner, a former Sedro-Woolley Mayor, the bill has two key parts. The first is:
During a state or federally declared emergency in response to a natural disaster, it shall not be a violation of the requirements of this chapter for a majority of the members of a governing body to attend briefings held by county, state, or federal agencies responding to the natural disaster; to conduct visual inspections of damage from the natural disaster by boat, plane, or other vehicle; or to hold or attend press conferences related to the natural disaster: PROVIDED, That they take no final action as defined in this chapter.
The second significant addition to RCW 42.30 that SB 6000 recommends is this:
(7) During a state or federally declared emergency in response to a natural disaster, a governing body of a local government located within the area of the declared emergency may take action on items directly related to the declared emergency at a remote meeting or a meeting at which the physical attendance by some or all members of the public is limited due to a declared emergency including, but not limited to:
(a) Authorizing emergency measures;
(b) Approving emergency ordinances;
(c) Approving spending or contracts to manage disaster response or recovery; or
d) Approving agreements with state or federal agencies to manage disaster response or recovery.
My Take on Both Bills
My personal views on both bills are as follows… Due to the clear differences between the bills, they are not companion bills. I prefer SB 6000 as it’s tighter but it’s like one bill is a B+ and the other is an A+. As the great government relations operative Mike Hoover shared with the Washington State Senate State Government and Elections Committee in 2022 about the last significant batch of OPMA renovations;
The OPMA and PRA [Public Records Act] are complicated statutes with big penalties. So for a lot of the counties, if if the OPMA doesn't specifically say something about it, they're afraid to do it.
Both bills are means to the same noble end. The noble end? The last word should go to the legislative declaration of the Open Public Meetings Act:
The legislature finds and declares that all public commissions, boards, councils, committees, subcommittees, departments, divisions, offices, and all other public agencies of this state and subdivisions thereof exist to aid in the conduct of the people's business. It is the intent of this chapter that their actions be taken openly and that their deliberations be conducted openly.
The people of this state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed and informing the people's public servants of their views so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created. For these reasons, even when not required by law, public agencies are encouraged to incorporate and accept public comment during their decision-making process.
Sadly there is some legislation on the public records side that breaks faith with this concept…
5 PM, February 4 Cannot Come Soon Enough, But…
There are some very bad anti-open government bills that hopefully will not get a hearing by this date, which makes it hard for those bills to return to attempt to become law.
Here is a list of the three biggest attacks on the Public Records Act (PRA) so far in 2026:
SB 5920 - the HELL NO bill of 2026
HB 2491 & SB 6164 - two bills by WaTech request arguably targeting Jamie Nixon’s advocacy and podcasting
HB 2235 - the exempt from disclosure records about gun ownership
With the chair of the House State Government Committee wanting to go over to the Senate, this parade of exemption requests makes some cringe and fume. With that, here’s a copy of the 2026 Washington State Legislature calendar for reference:
2026 Washington Legislative Session Deadlines - WA House Democrats
Plus, there is pressure exerted on legislators to conclude “on time” regardless of remaining bills. Some of this is due to a fundraising freeze, and some of this is from conservative pundits who fear more regulation & taxes. Cue Billy Joel’s “Pressure”…
This leads to what is called the “Olympia Fillibuster” where bad bills can be killed off by bills getting tons of amendments that do not pass… but eat valuable floor and committee time. Expect more of this kind of action out of House Republicans & Senate Republicans as one of the few parliamentary tools available to reward their base.
HJR 4210 May Add More Legislative Time
But, as the Northwest Progressive Institute explains, HJR 4210 is in the works to remove the state constitutional definition of a part-time regular session that should releive some of the pressure:
In reality, legislators work year-round and many work full time despite not being paid for full time work. Many legislators already spend the interim — the time in-between regular sessions — taking constituent meetings, visiting schools and community groups in their districts, traveling to National Conference of State Legislatures meetups, or developing legislation for the next session. Regular sessions are so compressed and harried that policy bill development during the interim is a necessity.
. . .
When I’ve spoken to Republican legislators about this idea, they have expressed hesitation, but not outright opposition. We’d love to see them embrace this idea so it can be a bipartisan governance reform. Everyone wins from a saner, more responsible legislative calendar. If sessions are no longer limited to one hundred and five and sixty days, we can move away from opaque budgeting practices and ensure there are more opportunities for the legislative minority to provide input before major decisions are made. There would also be more space for floor debates.
I’ll let readers decide where they stand on this key legislation. But it’s past time to have the difficult conversation.
Why? Well since I’m having to take time away from editing airplane photos, I’m going to quote one of my Top 10 if not Top 5 favorite pilots:
USAF Thunderbird Pilot Michelle “Mace” Curran disembarking From her F-16 for her last public performance in 2021…
In this case, Michelle “Mace” Curran the former USAF F-16 Instructor & Combat Pilot + USAF Thunderbirds pilot turned leadership speaker and 3x published author + continued mountain climber who’s climbed a few Washington State mountains from her leadership newsletter you can subscribe to at macecurran.com today…
Trust doesn't come from competence alone; it comes from being seen as human. Which means the very thing you've been avoiding is the thing that unlocks everything else. When you admit you don't have all the answers, you create space for others to contribute.
When you share a struggle, you give others permission to stop performing.
When you let yourself be influenced, people start bringing you the truth instead of what they think you want to hear.
And that's when leadership stops being a title and starts being a relationship.
Hope these conversations go in the right direction, as the volume of bills flying by is so hard to keep track of and participate in forming. There you go.
An Update - Mostly Personal
How one Wednesday in January 14 went
Let’s start with I had quite the Wednesday in January 14. Got up, helped a family member thru a health issue, ran errands and then typed up a 2-minute speech on HB 2333. I then thanks to the grace of the House State Government Chair Sharlett Mena got a special slot to give almost my full testimony about the need to protect our elected officials as well as media access to address verification ideas. This was although Rep. Mena wanted to cut testimony to a minute and I just could not scrunch my testimony down on the spot.
As if that was not enough commitment, my evening was spent updating my bill tracker. I then filed my Bunting Award nomination - and that took almost 2 hours to do right. But I long ago promised the nominee I’d turn in a nomination so I nominated with time to spare.
Even with a family emergency, I’m making time for open government. Sadly I cannot attend Thursday’s court hearing in Tacoma in person, but TVW and the Washington Coalition for Open Government normally covers the hearings.
Acute Update on the University of Washington
I’m also unhappy how the efforts to hold the University of Washington accountable are unfolding. Sadly I do not have space for a full update this time, but Emily Aldaheff of The Cholent has a through update where the UW33 vandalism I covered had only a partial suspension. More to come…
In Conclusion…
My point is this: I make a commitment to defending open government to defend America and Washington State. I want to be the 2026 MVP for Open Government so we can keep being the Best State in the Union to prove that everyone can make a contribution to making us even better and raising other institutions’ standards - like the University of Washington. Also as my favorite US President in Joe Biden famous.ly said…
"If we do not stand for freedom where is at risk today; we'll surely pay a steeper price tomorrow."
There you go! Oh and…
GO HAWKS! 3 PM today on FOX!
