Sign Washington Travel Agency Agreement Free

Document type sign travel agency agreement washington free

hi I'm Washington state attorney general Bob Ferguson joining me in this video is our open government Assistant Attorney General Nancy career this training video provides an overview of the open public meetings act for both the general public and for public agencies it is intended to provide a greater understanding of the legal requirements of this important Act the open public means act is a law passed by the people of the state of Washington in 1971 at the time of a nationwide effort to make government affairs more accessible and government more responsive the purpose of the Act is to provide the public access to information concerning the conduct of state and local government the law is based on the principle that open government is essential to a free society the Act provided that people of our state the opportunity to witness the deliberations and the decisions of their government state and local agencies such as school boards city and county councils and state commissions must comply with the open public meetings Act actions and deliberations of these governing bodies must be conducted openly meetings subject to the act must be open to the public gavel-to-gavel unless a law permits a meeting or part of the meeting to be closed thank you so much for watching and I hope you find this training informative this training presentation is based on the open public meetings act the OPM a is in RCW 40 2.30 this training video contains 15 short segments the Attorney General just discussed segment 1 the history intent and purpose of the Act in the remaining segments we will cover scope of the OPM a what is a governing body what is a meeting what is action what is final action travel and gathering regular meetings special meetings executive sessions public attendance and comment minutes liability other laws and additional resources the apt has several clear requirements and compliance with them is improved with training training can mean the difference between complying with the law and expensive litigation the Act applies to governing bodies of multi-member public agencies both state and local public agency includes a and a State Board Commission committee Department educational institution or other state agency which is created by or pursuant to statute other than the courts and the legislature be any County City School District special purpose district or other Municipal Corporation or political subdivision of the state of Washington C any sub agency of a public agency which is created by or pursuant to statute ordinance or other legislative act including but not limited to Planning Commission's library or Park boards commissions and agencies and D any policy group whose membership includes representatives of publicly owned utilities formed by or pursuant to the Washington laws when meeting together or on behalf of participants who have contracted for the output of generating plants being planned or built by an operating agency in some cases an entity which is not an agency can still be subject to the act when it is the functional equivalent of a public agency this determination depends on whether it performs a government function receives government funding the extent of government involvement or regulation and whether the entity was created by government examples of public agencies subject to the Act include city councils County Council's school boards Fire District boards and state Commission's agencies governed by an individual such as a single director are not subject to the act some activities of public agencies are not subject to the OPM a they include certain licensing and permitting activities quasi judicial matters matters governed by the Washington State Administrative Procedure Act APA and certain collective bargaining activities all meetings of the governing body of a public agency shall be open in public and all persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting of the governing body of a public agency except as otherwise provided in the OPM a a governing body is defined as the multi-member board Commission committee Council or other policy or rulemaking body of a public agency or any committee thereof when the committee acts on behalf of the governing body conducts hearings or takes testimony or public comment meeting means meetings at which action is taken physical presence of the members is not required a meeting can occur by phone or in some cases by email I will talk more about email exchanges later in this video a meeting does not need to be titled meeting the OPM a also applies to retreats workshops and study sessions a meeting does not occur if there is not a quorum both actions and final actions are subject to yo PMA action means the transaction of the official business of a public agency by a governing body including but not limited to receipt of public testimony deliberations discussions considerations reviews evaluations and final actions final action means a collective positive or negative decision or an actual vote by a majority of the members of the governing body when sitting as a body or entity upon a motion proposal resolution order or ordinance final actions must occur in public secret ballots are not allowed a majority of the members of the governing body may travel together or gather for purposes other than a regular meeting or special meeting so long as no action is taken and remember action includes discussion of agency business this means a quorum of members can travel to a meeting together or they can gather at a public or private event such as a festival or social function so long as they do not collectively discuss agency business or matters regular meetings are recurring meetings held in accordance with a periodic schedule by ordinance resolution bylaws or other rule state agencies file the notice of regular meetings each year with the office of the coab reviser regular meeting agendas are to be posted online on an agency's website 24 hours in advance unless the agency does not have a website or if it employs fewer than 10 full-time equivalent employees special meetings are meetings that are not regular meetings called by the presiding officer or a majority of the members this means they are meetings not on a fixed schedule such as on a day different than the regularly scheduled meetings certain notice requirements apply to special meetings for example 24 hour advance written notice must be provided to members of the governing body and less waived provided to local newspapers radio and TV stations that have a request on file posted on the agency's website if the agency has a website unless other exceptions apply for agencies with few staff and prominently displayed at the main entrance and the meeting site the notice must specify the time place and business to be transacted there is an exception to the notice requirements for emergency special meetings those are meetings involving injury or damage to persons or property or the likelihood of injury or damage where time requirements make notice impractical an increased likelihood of injury or damage under the OPM a an executive session is a part of a regular or special meeting that is closed to the public for the limited purposes listed in the OPM a the grounds for holding an executive session are narrowly construed the purpose of the executive session and the time it will end must be publicly announced before excluding the public and the time can be extended by further announcement examples of purposes include certain real estate discussions reviewing negotiations on publicly big contracts under certain conditions evaluating the qualifications of an applicant for public employment and meeting with legal counsel regarding enforcement actions litigation or potential litigation the OPM a provides a list of authorized executive session purposes at RCW 40 2.30 point 1 1 0 in addition a public agency can have a closed meeting to discuss matters not subject to the OPM a such as deliberating on a quasi-judicial matter other laws may provide additional procedures or authority for particular meetings or hearings or for particular agencies an agency must carefully follow the law when meeting in an executive or closed session for example when meeting in an executive session under the OPM a to discuss agency enforcement actions litigation or potential litigation there are three requirements first legal counsel representing the agency must be present second the purpose is to discuss an agency enforcement action litigation or potential litigation to which the agency governing body or a member acting in an official capacity is a party or is likely to become a party and finally public knowledge regarding the discussion is likely to result in an adverse legal or financial consequence to the agency remember an agency can discuss only those matters in an executive session under the OPM a that it has told the public it would discuss the members cannot talk about other topics in that executive session as we discussed all meetings of the governing body of a public agency shall be open in public and all persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting of the governing body of a public agency except as otherwise provided in the OPM a an agency also cannot place conditions on attendants such as requiring persons to register their names or fill out a questionnaire before attending as noted email or phone call discussions among members of a governing body can be a meeting under the OPM a but the purpose of the OPM a is to permit the public to attend and observe agency meetings so when the public is unable to attend email or phone call discussions that are meetings under the OPM a the act has been violated for example it is generally agreed that the members can meet via a teleconference call so long as one any public notice procedures are satisfied and to an agency sets up a process for the public to attend such as having a speakerphone available at the agency's official meeting location so the public can hear the discussion in contrast since an email exchange among a quorum of members of a governing body is not open to the public such an exchange in which action takes place is a meeting that would violate the OPM a and remember again action is broadly defined those email exchanges do not comply with public notice and attendance requirements for regular or special meetings the OPM a does not include a requirement that public agencies allow public comment nevertheless many public agencies do permit some public comment period at a meeting such as at the beginning of a meeting agencies can put reasonable procedures in place to allow for public comment and the OPM a has procedures for dealing with disruptions when the orderly conduct of the meeting is unfeasible the minutes of all regular and special meetings except executive sessions of such boards Commission's agencies or authorities shall be promptly recorded and such records shall be open to public inspection that law does not require any specific format for minutes that law also does not require an audio or video recording of a meeting although many agencies make such recordings we have advised that the minutes should at a minimum recite the significant actions of the agency violations of the OPM a can result in a lawsuit against an agency and its members a court can impose a $500 civil penalty as personal liability against each member who attends a meeting in knowing violation of the OPM a and a 1000 dollar penalty for a subsequent knowing violation a court can declare any action taken at a meeting not held in compliance with the OPM a no and void and a court will award costs and attorneys fees to a successful party seeking a remedy under the OPM a to recap this presentation covers the highlights of the open public meetings act public agencies may be subject to other laws governing other particular meeting or hearing procedures or governing particular agencies and the laws concerning agency meetings and hearings can also be amended from time to time therefore agencies are cautioned to be mindful of all the current laws concerning their meeting and hearing procedures thanks for participating in the Attorney General's open government training for more information there are resources available for agencies to receive training and technical assistance for compliance with the open public meetings act an official should first consult with its agencies Council for routine assistance and for training additional resources are listed on this website the assistant attorney general for open government anti career is also available to write information about the open public meetings Act you