HOUSE BILL REPORT

HB 1744

BYRepresentatives Leonard, Betrozoff, Zellinsky, Peery, Taylor, Haugen, Holm, Cole, J. Williams,P. King and D. Sommers 

Providing an exemption from the open public meetings act for a meeting held by school district boards of directors for self-evaluation.

House Committe on Constitution, Elections & Ethics

Majority Report:  The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.  (5)

      Signed by Representatives Fisher, Chair; Pruitt, Vice Chair; Barnes, R. King and Leonard.

Minority Report:  Do not pass.  (1)

      Signed by Representative Sanders.

House Staff:Kenneth Hirst (786-7105)

AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON CONSTITUTION, ELECTIONS & ETHICS

FEBRUARY 4, 1988

BACKGROUND:

In general, the Open Public Meetings Act requires that meetings of a multi-member governing body of a public agency be open to the public.  The "public agencies" governed by the Act are the commissions and other agencies of the executive branch of state government, the various units of local government, and the subunits of local government which have been created by statute, ordinance or other legislative act. Any official action of such a multi-member governing body taken in a meeting which fails to comply with this requirement is null and void.  Civil penalties are also provided for certain violations of the Act.

Expressly exempted from this requirement for meetings to be open and public are certain executive sessions of the governing body which are held during regular or special meetings of the body.

SUMMARY:

SUBSTITUTE BILL:  The Open Public Meetings Act is amended to expand the purposes for which executive sessions may be conducted by a school district board of directors.  Such an executive session may be held for the purpose of self-evaluation.  However, only one session may be held for this purpose in a year.

SUBSTITUTE BILL COMPARED TO ORIGINAL:  The substitute bill describes the "self-evaluation" for which an executive session may be conducted.

Fiscal Note:      Not Requested.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Larry Swift, Washington School Directors Association.

House Committee - Testified Against:      Mindy Cameron, Allied Daily Newspapers; Paul Conrad, Washington Newspaper Publishers Association; and Chuck Sauvage, Common Cause.

House Committee - Testimony For:    (1) The school board directors need an opportunity to establish procedures for working through their differences of opinion.  When the public is present, the members of the board are less candid.  (2) The Renton School District's board established guidelines for conducting self-evaluations but, because the evaluations cannot be conducted in executive sessions, they are not conducted.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      (1) Such an executive session defies the spirit of the Open Meetings Act and sets a bad precedent for other legislative bodies.  (2) The bill contains no definition of "self-evaluation" so the members could discuss policy matters.  (3) School boards are not a unique legislative body; the bill suggests they can meet like the members of a club.  (4) Minutes of these sessions should be required.