Short session brings surprising load of transparency challenges

WashCOG’s Government Committee entered the 2026 session of the Legislature hopeful that we would have a light workload, because even-year legislative sessions are just 60 days, compared to the 105-day odd-year “long” sessions. Usually, short sessions feature fewer slings and arrows aimed at the Public Records Act and the Open Public Meetings Act.

Not so this year. It seemed some were working overtime on measures that would hurt the effectiveness of the PRA and OPMA. We tracked more than 40 bills and testified on many of them. Fortunately, with the help of our able and highly experienced lobbyist, Donna Christensen, we were able to minimize the damage and even managed to get a few positive bills passed.

Here’s a rundown of the high points of the 2026 session:

Biggest loss of the year:

SB 5892, “Protection of voter registration database,” was aimed at resisting federal immigration enforcement actions but is unlikely to be effective, while also restricting information important to voters, journalists and others who monitor civic affairs. ICE doesn’t file PRA requests, but the people of Washington do, WashCOG pointed out in testifying against the bill. WashCOG opposed this bill because it puts so much “personal information” that has always been subject to the voter-passed Public Records Act out of the public’s reach. Unfortunately, Gov. Bob Ferguson signed this into law. 

Second biggest loss of the year:

HB 2244, implementing a handful of the most recent Sunshine Committee recommendations, passed the House but saw no action in the Senate. The Legislature created the Sunshine Committee in 2007 to sort through the hundreds of exemptions passed by the Legislature after citizens overwhelmingly approved the forerunner of the Public Records Act. The committee identifies exemptions that are obsolete or ill-considered. But it has been years since the Legislature even considered the panel’s recommendations. We’re grateful that Rep. Sharlett Mena, chair of the House State Government & Tribal Affairs Committee, agreed to sponsor this bill, even though it died in the Senate without even getting a hearing.

A win!

SB 6268 requires the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to maintain for 20 years and make public decisions in cases in which students/parents file complaints under the Disabilities Education Act. OSPI apparently had been destroying these after five years. WashCOG supported this legislation.

Win No. 2!

SB 5863, “Authorizes restricted records transferred to the Division of Archives and Records Management to be open to inspection and copying after the expiration of 75 years from creation of the record. Extends the period when no documents or artifacts identified as part of the Lakeland Village preservation plan may be destroyed, until fiscal year 2030.” Lakeland Village serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. WashCOG supported this legislation, which the governor signed into law

Mostly, we worked to kill bad stuff

Those victories include: 

  • HB 1610, a PRA exemption on “critical energy infrastructure.”  Under legislation proposed by the Department of Commerce with the backing of energy companies, this term was so broadly defined that it conceivably could have covered,  for example, how much fuel is expected to flow through a proposed nearby pipeline, how some particular plant is going to generate energy, and other critical information about the safety and other impacts of proposed energy facilities. WashCOG opposed this. Special thanks to WashCOG Board Member Eric Stahl and the Legal Committee for their analysis of the proposed legislation.  

  • HB 2356, which would have created a weird and ill-advised PRA exemption for minors in homicide investigations;

  • HB 2391, “Disclosure of lists of individuals under the PRA,” which would have banned release of information to requesters desiring to use lists for purposes of “solicitation or fundraising,” terms that were not adequately defined; 

  • SB 5920, “Providing protections for school districts against burdensome public records requests.” We would need to see much more proof that this voter-mandated “burden” is too much for school systems to handle. Providing information to the public, including responding to PRA requests, is a basic function of government;

  • HB 2440, which “exempts from public disclosure complaint-related records and files maintained by the Office of the Education Ombuds ( OEO)” and other exemptions. WashCOG opposed this. Thanks to WashCOG Board Member Kathy George for providing background and expertise on this bill; 

  • HB 2637, “Safeguarding personal information entrusted to agencies that is of no legitimate concern to the public,” which appears to be an anti-ICE measure but might have broader implications. WashCOG opposed this bill;

  • HB 2419, “Concerning participation in the address confidentiality program by administrative law judges and staff employed by the office of administrative hearings;” 

  • HB 2661, establishing a task force to “modernize” the PRA. WashCOG opposed this legislation. The inflammatory language used in the legislative intent section of the bill focused not on modernization but on limiting access;

  • HB 1692, “Exempting certain data related to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Indian tribes from public inspection and copying,” which was held over from last year but saw no action. Also dead: HB 2685, “Concerning sharing and protection of tribal data,” a quite similar piece of legislation introduced by the same sponsor in 2026 and assigned to a different committee. Rep. Gerry Pollet, a WashCOG board member, cosponsored this second piece of legislation, and sought an amendment specifying that it applied only to health data of tribes, as he believes was the original intent. The Health Care Authority and WashCOG testified that this legislation was overly broad. We expect to see some version of it again in 2027, which would mark a third year the concept is considered by the Legislature.

  • We monitored and expressed reservations about SB 6164, “Concerning individual privacy by Washington Technology Solutions through an exemption from public inspection and copying,” and HB 2491 “Concerning individual privacy” by Washington Technology Solutions through an exemption from public inspection and copying. Both measures sought to facilitate a new online portal to allow residents to interact with numerous state agencies for state benefits, to reserve campgrounds and a host of other purposes. Our concern is that the language is too broad and could lead to limits on access in unanticipated ways.

Bills that didn’t make it (select list) 

  • SB 5977, “Requiring publication of child near fatality reviews,” passed the Senate and got a hearing in the House;

  • HB 2333, “Protecting elected officials,” aka the “political violence” bill, would have exempted from the PRA the primary residential address for selected officials and candidates, executive state officers, election officials, and criminal justice participants. It was intended to mitigate against threats and violent incidents, and would have authorized additional security measures. WashCOG found it dubious that this legislation would do much to help these officials, in part because commercial people finders are available. We remained officially neutral.

Also of note

SB 6002 is the bill on automatic license plate readers. WashCOG did not take a stand on this. Gov. Ferguson signed this into law.