A challenge to the legality of “legislative privilege,” which some lawmakers say allows them to withhold materials from the public, will be heard by the Washington State Supreme Court this term.

Gov. Bob Ferguson issued an early order prohibiting automatic deletion of Microsoft Teams chats and other messaging by state employees, but we’ve heard very little about what happened next. Here are the relevant records.

Joe Kunzler of Sedro-Woolley received a Key Award to honor his work advocating for government transparency and access.

Brittany Voie’s use of the PRA to share information about candidates earned her a Key Award, one of several presented this spring for effective use of transparency laws.

Seattle Times reporter Manuel Villa was honored with a Key Award for his deep dive into overtime “spiking,” which helped raise retirement pensions for some city employees.

Now we know which Washington agencies are speediest and which are slowpokes in fulfilling public records requests, based on our analysis of data filed with a state legislative committee for 2020 to 2024.

Our April 2026 newsletter is available, offering updates on our legislative and legal advocacy, our celebration of transparency successes and our plans for this year and next.

Co-plaintiffs WashCOG and Jaime Nixon have asked the state Supreme Court to review a recent appellate court ruling that the state Legislature has a “privilege” to withhold internal legislative records from the public

Americans overwhelmingly support access to public information, according to a national survey released during Sunshine Week by the University of Florida. The support spanned the political spectrum..

Every year, Sunshine Week promotes awareness of access issues. Check out some of the coverage, discussions and alerts about state and federal sunshine laws.

As the 2026 legislative session ends, WashCOG and its access allies count the successes and ongoing challenges to government transparency addressed (or not!) this year — plus a few bills on the governor’s desk.

About 150 people braved rain and snow on March 13, 2026 to attend WashCOG’s annual Sunshine Breakfast and honor individuals for their transparency advocacy.

WashCOG responds to disappointing appeals court ruling on “legislative privilege,” supporting legislators who wish to withhold records from oversight.

The first of several challenges to the state legislature’s claim of a “legislative privilege” to withhold deliberative documents was rejected in a split vote by the Court of Appeals. WashCOG’s case on the same issue is still pending.

WashCOG is taking reservations for its annual Sunshine Breakfast, where we will honor exceptional work in pursuit of access and accountability. Learn about this year’s Sunshine Warriors.

The nonprofit newsroom InvestigateWest will be honored with the Toby Nixon Award at this year’s Sunshine Breakfast, recognizing its longstanding commitment to civic accountability.

WashCOG is recognizing Wilkeson Mayor Jayme Peloli for her persistent public records research to help her community push back against a bridge closure.

Investigative reporter Rebecca Moss of The Seattle Times is being recognized with the Kenneth F. Bunting Award for outstanding journalism in the interest of open government.

The Washington state Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit that challenged the state’s automatic destruction of agency text messages after seven days.

Tickets are now available for WashCOG’s 2026 Sunshine Breakfast on March 13, which features awards for transparency warriors and a presentation by Miranda Spivack, author of “Backroom Deals in Our Backyards: How Government Secrecy Harms our Communities — and the Local Heroes Fighting Back.”