Attorney General Rob McKenna has memorably described the slow creep of exemptions to public disclosure laws as a coral-like "accretion" that grows slowly, steadily -- and is very hard to get rid of.

Former state Rep. Toby Nixon, an outspoken proponent of open government, has compiled a list of proposed laws that would affect open records or open meetings. Among them:

-HB 2099: Would conceal information related to the Department of Health's "certificate of need" program, which determines which hospitals and other health-care facilities can expand and where.
-HB 2100: Would exempt information obtained by a newly proposed "Health Resources Strategy Commission."
-HB 2150: Would allow a new "Judicial Nominating Commission" to decide for itself which of its meetings would be open to the public.
-HB 2255 and HB 2277: Would exempt initiative and referenda petitions from public disclosure
-and SB 6076: Would allow police investigative records to be forever sealed after one year, if no action is taken on the investigation.

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