State Supreme Court to review Legislative secrecy case
Contact: Colette Weeks, WashCOG executive director, cweeks@washcog.org
Washington State Supreme Court, Olympia
Sept. 2, 2026 — The Washington State Supreme Court has announced it will review a case challenging “legislative privilege,” which lawmakers claim gives them the power to withhold some documents from the public.
The decision is welcomed by the Washington Coalition for Open Government, which joined a lawsuit with Washington resident Jamie Nixon against the state Legislature. The lawsuit contends that legislative privilege never existed and was never utilized in the five decades since the Public Records Act was enacted.
Lawmakers started using that approach in recent years after losing a 2020 case in in which the Supreme Court said the Public Records Act does apply to them.
“Perhaps ironically, this review will come as we are forming celebration plans for the 55th anniversary of the birth of the Public Records Act and the 25th anniversary of the Washington Coalition for Open Government,” WashCOG President Mike Fancher said. “The citizen-led initiative that led to the PRA passed by an overwhelming majority. All these years later, the people have not changed their minds about their right to know what their elected and appointed representatives are doing.”
The appellate court ruling showed concern about overstepping the power of other branches, saying “legislative privilege is necessary to protect the integrity of the legislature’s decision-making process and to maintain the boundaries between the different branches of government.” Fancher said it failed to recognize that the people are the primary stakeholders.
“The people never agreed to hand over their power and access,” he said, noting that the 1972 act states: “The people of this state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies that serve them.”
“We hope the state’s highest court will remind all that the three branches are meant as checks and balances for each other,” Fancher said.
WashCOG’s position is that privilege equates to secrecy, which does not belong in any branch of government.
Jamie Nixon, who is a co-plaintiff with WashCOG, said the case aims to hold the government accountable to the people.
“The Legislature does not own the government. The people do,” he said. “Elected officials are temporary stewards of the power we entrust to them, and accountability to the people is the price they should expect to pay for wielding that power.”
No matter the outcome of this case, the fight for transparency continues.
WashCOG Executive Director Colette Weeks said Washington residents may not realize how much they stand to lose.
“We plan to fix that,” Weeks said. “We are committed to building a movement that reignites the people’s interest and passion for what we consider basic tenets of a healthy government. Our hope is that the next big step forward will begin with this Supreme Court.”
