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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Closed-door meeting bill dies in committee

Kathie Durbin (Vancouver, Wash.) Columbian

OLYMPIA – The state attorney general, state auditor and House majority leader tried to make their case to a legislative committee Monday that public entities should be required to tape their closed executive sessions.

The audio tapes would create a record, they said, in case someone challenges the propriety of a governing body’s discussions in closed sessions.

But despite its powerful advocates, House Bill 3292 apparently died Tuesday when it failed to come up for a vote in the House Committee on State Government and Tribal Affairs. The committee has no more meetings scheduled before a Friday deadline to pass bills on to the Rules Committee.

Opponents, including some legislators who have served on city councils or school boards, said the mere presence of a tape recorder in a closed session would have a chilling effect on attorney-client discussions.

Both the Association of Washington Cities and the Washington State Association of Counties adamantly opposed the measure. Its co-sponsors, House Democratic Leader Lynn Kessler and House Republican Leader Richard DeBolt, had trouble even getting a hearing on it. No companion bill has been introduced on the Senate side.

Clark County Commissioner Mark Boldt, a former state legislator, was among those who testified that the law would create headaches for governing boards. He recalled having to hammer out a settlement with attorneys in a liability case in a closed county commission session.

“We had to ask the hard questions,” he said. “When you put a tape recorder in front of an executive session, you may not say that uncomfortable question.”

Boldt compared executive sessions to closed caucuses legislators hold to plot strategy. “If there was a tape recorder in your caucus, you would think twice,” he said.

The state’s 1971 Open Public Meetings Act permits public bodies to meet in closed executive session only to discuss specified matters, including real estate transactions, personnel matters and litigation. Executive sessions must be held during regular meetings.

The law does not apply to the Legislature.