Open Public Meetings Act

The OPMA and the Student Senate

As a subsidiary body of the Board of Directors delegated with certain decision making authority, the Student Senate falls under the rules established by the Open Public Meetings Act. The act has a number of provisions designed to ensure the meetings are accessable to the public they are intended to serve. While it is the responsibility of the Chair to ensure the Senate is in compliance with these regulations, it is important that other Senators and the public be aware of their rights to ensure that the Chair is in compliance. Below is a breif introduction to the OPMA with a link to further resources to help understand the Act.

Introduction to the OPMA

In 1971, the state legislature enacted the Open Public Meetings Act (the "Act") to make the conduct of government more accessible and open to the public. The Act begins with a strongly worded statement of purpose: [ RCW 42.30.010.]

The legislature finds and declares that all public commissions, boards, councils, committees, subcommittees, departments, divisions, offices, and all other public agencies of this state and subdivisions thereof exist to aid in the conduct of the people's business. It is the intent of this chapter that their actions be taken openly and that their deliberations be conducted openly.

The people of this state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created.

Codified in chapter 42.30 RCW, the Act applies to all city and town councils and to all county councils and boards of county commissioners, as well as to some subordinate city and county commissions, boards, and committees. It requires, basically, that all "meetings" of such bodies be open to the public and that all "action" taken by such bodies be done at meetings that are open to the public. The terms "meetings" and "action" are defined broadly in the Act and, consequently, the Act can have daily significance for cities and counties, even when no formal meetings are being conducted.

Continue reading the Municiple Research & Services Center's report on the Open Public Meetings Act.