HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/12/2022 04. Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) Presentation t 7mre
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BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
YAKIMA, WASHINGTON
AGENDA STATEMENT
Item No. 4.
For Meeting of:April 12, 2022
ITEM TITLE: Open Public Meetings Act(OPMA) Presentation
SUBMITTED BY: Ryan Bleek, Senior Assistant City Attorney
SUMMARY EXPLANATION:
See attached.
ITEM BUDGETED: NA
STRATEGIC PRIORITY: Public Trust and Accountability
APPROVED FOR SUBMITTAL BY THE CITY MANAGER
RECOMMENDATION:
ATTACHMENTS:
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0 Presentation
Open Public
Meetings Act
( "OPMA" )
OPMA in a nutshell :
• Meetings of a municipal governing body
must be open and public.
OPMA applies :
• To City Council meetings; and
• Any meetings of a commission or similar
sub-entity of the City Council .
Different Types of Meetings :
• Regular Meeting : the recurring, regularly
scheduled meeting of governing body.
• Special Meeting : Any meeting other than
a regular meeting.
— May be called by Mayor or majority of
Council at least 24 hours prior to meeting .
— But notice requirement suspended in case
of emergency (fire, flood, etc. ) .
What is a " meeting ? "
• A "meeting" takes place where "action" is
taken by majority of the governing body.
• "Action" means all transacting of government
business, including receipt of public testimony,
discussions, evaluations, and final actions .
• "Final action" means a collective decision or
vote by a majority of members on any motion,
proposal, resolution, order, or ordinance .
"Open and Public"
" [A] ll persons shall be permitted to attend any
meeting of the governing body of a public
agency, except as otherwise provided in this
chapter."
What are the exceptions ?
• Disorderly individuals may be excluded .
• If interruption is severe enough to render
orderly conduct of meeting unfeasible, then
by majority vote Council may clear the room,
except as to members of the press .
— In such instance, only matters on the agenda are
subject to final disposition .
What are the exceptions ?
( continued )
• Executive Sessions ( RCW 42 . 30 . 110)
— To consider purchase/lease/sale of real estate.
— Review negotiations regarding publicly bid
contracts .
— Review complaint against public officer/employee.
— Evaluate qualifications of public.
employee/candidate for elective office, or review
performance of public employee.
— Pending or potential litigation .
Question : Does a meeting have to
be conducted in - person in order to
be subject to OPMA?
Answer : NO ! ! !
"Thus, in light of the OPMA's broad definition of
`meeting' and its broad purpose, and considering
the mandate to liberally construe this statute in
favor of coverage, we conclude that the exchange
of e-mails can constitute a `meeting.'"
Wood v. Battle Ground Sch. Dist., 107 Wn . App. 550, 564, 27 P.3d
1208, 1217 (2001)
What does "can " mean ?
• " [As to emailing] the OPMA is not implicated
when members receive information about
upcoming issues or communicate amongst
themselves about matters unrelated to the
governing body' s business via e- mail ." Wood.
• Also applies to text messages or other forms
of communication !
Best Practices RE : Email and the
OPMA :
• Send information through City Manager's
office .
• Avoid " reply all" when all Council members
are included in an email .
Violations
( RCW 42 . 30. 120)
• Each council member who attends a meeting
where action is taken in knowing violation of
the OPMA shall be subject to PERSONAL
LIABILITY for such violations.
• $500 for a first violation .
• $ 1000 for subsequent violations .
Public Records Act
( " PRA" )
PRA in a nutshell :
• All public records of an agency are
subject to disclosure to any individual
upon request, unless there is an explicit
statutory exemption for the record
requested.
The PRA is intentionally broad :
"This chapter shall be liberally construed
and its exemptions narrowly construed . . . "
What is a " public record " ?
• "' Public record' includes any writing
containing information relating to the conduct
of government . . ."
• Writing is not defined literally— it includes
virtually any medium, including text messages,
pictures, voicemails, etc .
Important to Note :
• The PRA does not distinguish between
personal and public devices or forums .
• Records you generate on your personal
phone, computer, Facebook page, etc . are
subject to PRA.
— Yes, this includes text messages, Facebook
chats, etc.
Exemptions
• Exemptions are too numerous to list, but
there is no general "privacy" exemption, nor
any "personal embarrassment" exemption .
• Unless there is a SPECIFIC exemption, the
record is subject to disclosure .