This page focuses on the laws that impact library board meetings. Many general questions can be answered by consulting the in-depth resource, Open Government Resource Manual, which cites the laws and subsequent legal interpretations. Specific questions should be addressed to your library's legal counsel.
From the Open Government Resource Manual, Chapter 3:
"The Open Public Meetings Act ("OPMA"), chapter RCW 42.30, was passed by the legislature in 1971 as part of a nationwide effort to make government affairs more accessible and, in theory, more responsive. It was modeled on a California law known as the "Brown Act" and a similar Florida statute. The OPMA and the Public Records Act (PRA), chapter 42.56 RCW, create important and powerful tools enabling the people to inform themselves about their government, both state and local.
The Open Public Meetings Act, along with the Public Disclosure Act (now referred to as the Public Records Act, RCW 42.56), addressed requirements for state and local governmental units to conduct open public meetings and to provide public access to their records. The Public Disclosure Commission is responsible for providing information about the RCWs as well as ensuring compliance.
The following opening statement from RCW 42.30.010 demonstrates the clear intent of the law and the manner in which courts have interpreted the law:
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.
As per RCW 42.30.020.
AG Opinion AGO 1991 No. 5 provides further information on the definition of "public agency," including the following four-part analysis to determine if an organization or entity is the functional equivalent of a state agency:
RCW 42.30.140
The presence of a quorum of the members of a city or county council at a meeting not called by the council does not, in itself, make the meeting a "public meeting" for purposes of the Open Public Meetings Act (RCW 42.30); the Open Public Meetings Act would apply if the council members took any "action" (as defined in RCW 42.30) at the meeting, such as voting, deliberating together, or using the meeting as a source of public testimony for council action.
Such alternative venues would require that:
RCW 42.30.020
The media may file a written request to be notified of a particular special meeting or all special meetings. These on-file requests should be periodically reviewed to assure that appropriate notice is given.
A written notice may be dispensed with if a member files a written waiver of notice with the clerk or secretary of the board at or prior to the time the meeting convenes, or who provides written notice to the clerk or secretary of the board via telegram, fax, or e-mail waiving notice. RCW 42.30.080
Less than a quorum of the library board cannot operate as a governing body, and therefore cannot approve vouchers, pay bills, etc. The library district, therefore, should do its best to ensure that it has sufficient board members to reach a quorum. However, because annual appropriations are made by the local government for which the library was established (see RCW 27.12.240) and the county, in the case of a rural county library district, is responsible for the collection and disbursement of revenue (RCW 27.12.070), perhaps the local government could step in, if needed.
However, pursuant to RCW 27.12.210(5), the library trustees “have exclusive control of the finances of the library.” So, again, the default is that the library needs to maintain a sufficient number of its board of trustees. Another option described below is to allow for the payment of bills prior to approval by the governing body pursuant to RCW 42.24.180, however even then, approval still needs to be obtained by the governing body.
(Posted by the Open Government Ombudsman at 06/08/2009 02:52:43 PM on Unredacted.)