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Posts for Sarah Doar

Checking the Trash: Catching Public Records Requests Sent to Junk Email Folders

June 2, 2025  by  Sarah Doar ,  Steve Gross ,  Steve Hawley ,  Leah LaCivita ,  Maria Tobin
Category:  Court Decisions and AGO Opinions ,  Public Records Act

If a records request gets lost in the junk email folder, an agency might not respond timely to the request, potentially leading to a PRA lawsuit. These are real fears for an agency, but steps can be taken to make sure emailed requests are not lost or misdirected.

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Washington Supreme Court Clarifies Agency Obligations Regarding Constitutional PRA Exemptions

March 20, 2025  by  Sarah Doar
Category:  Court Decisions and AGO Opinions ,  Public Records Act

An appeals court decision originally indicated that a public agency has an obligation to assert and defend a third-party’s constitutional rights that may exist outside of the PRA. A recent state supreme court decision reversed this stance and clarified the burdens of proof.

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Alert to Records Staff: Significant Update to the Local Government Common Records (CORE) Retention Schedule

December 13, 2024  by  Sarah Doar
Category:  Public Records Act

The State Archives recently published an update to the Local Government Common Records Retention Schedule (CORE), the first major revision in nearly eight years. Records management staff should review these changes to determine if they need to update their retention processes.

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man reviews judicial records in front of a computer

I’m Not Judging You: Handling Public Records Requests Related to the Courts

October 16, 2024  by  Sarah Doar
Category:  Court Decisions and AGO Opinions ,  Public Records Act

Requests for public records related to a court sometimes make their way to a city or county that has a relationship with that court. Is the city or county obligated to respond to such requests under the Public Records Act, and if so, how should they proceed?

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Public Records Officers, Check Your Email – JLARC Needs Your Help!

August 19, 2024  by  Sarah Doar
Category:  Public Records Act

The Joint Legislative and Research Committee (JLARC) is requesting feedback from Public Records Officers (PROs) on a new exemption to the Public Records Act (PRA) by September 3, 2024. 

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Concept of use of Artificial Intelligence for work

Open the Pod Bay Doors: Navigating the Intersection of Public Records and Generative AI

July 29, 2024  by  Sarah Doar
Category:  Information Technology ,  Public Records Act

Local government employees and elected officials are increasingly exploring the use of generative AI in their day-to-day duties. The results will likely be treated as public records, but what about prompts people use to generate that result?

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Hand holding stopwatch against a background of shelves filled with files

Starting the Clock: Washington’s Supreme Court Gives New Guidance on Closing Records Requests

May 13, 2024  by  Sarah Doar
Category:  Court Decisions and AGO Opinions ,  Public Records Act

A new state supreme court decision provides the clearest guidance yet on how a public agency should inform members of the public that a public records request is considered closed by the agency.

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person on laptop using emojis

Emojis in Public Agency Communication: Miscommunications and Records Ramifications 😱

February 12, 2024  by  Sarah Doar ,  Alicia Bones
Category:  Open Public Meetings Act ,  Public Records Act

Emojis may make it easy to respond quickly to professional correspondence, but public agency staff and elected officials should think twice before giving a thumbs up to that email or Teams post.

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Red stamp labeled cancelled set against business to do list

Best Laid Plans: Following the OPMA When Adjourning or Canceling a Public Meeting

December 4, 2023  by  Sarah Doar
Category:  Open Public Meetings Act

Sometimes a public meeting cannot occur at the scheduled time. When unforeseen circumstances intervene, procedures outlined in the Open Public Meetings Act allow an agency to adjourn any type of public meeting to a later time and place. Advance cancellation is also allowed.

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An open laptop with an image of a lock hovering above the keyboard

2023 Public Records Legislative Changes — School and Election Records

October 2, 2023  by  Sarah Doar
Category:  Public Records Act ,  New Legislation and Regulations

County election officials and school districts will be pleased to learn about new public records changes: one exempts voted ballots and another exempts the personal information of students in any records pertaining to the student.

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A bunch of file folders with a lock on one folder

New PRA Exemption Available to Protect Employee Safety

September 25, 2023  by  Sarah Doar
Category:  Public Records Act

New in 2023, ESHB 1533 amends the Public Records Act to exempt from disclosure certain information on employees (and dependents) who are survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, harassment, or stalking or who are enrolled in the state's Address Confidentiality Program.

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Worker reading a file stands in front of stacked file boxes.

Tackling the Big Ones: Strategies for Broad Records Requests

June 20, 2023  by  Sarah Doar
Category:  Public Records Act

Big public records requests can put a strain on agency resources, but records staff can put a few practices in place to help the process become more manageable.

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Shows a group of social media icons against a table at which two people are working; one on a cell phone and another on an iPad.

Social Media Policy Questions for Local Governments to Answer

April 12, 2023  by  Sarah Doar
Category:  Social Media

Establishing effective social media policies requires your agency consider a number of questions, from what is the communications-related goal of using these tools to how the agency might address personal use of social media sites by employees and elected officials. 

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A woman is upset by what she has just read on her computer

Private Lives of Public Employees: The PRA Implications of Working for the Government

February 21, 2023  by  Sarah Doar
Category:  Public Records Act

New public employees are often surprised by what is subject to public disclosure under Washington’s Public Records Act and should consider the possibility that their private communications on digital platforms, like email and social media, may become very public.

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New Technology, Same Old Open Government Challenges

January 9, 2023  by  Sarah Doar
Category:  Information Technology ,  Open Public Meetings Act ,  Public Records Act

Software such as Microsoft Teams can help to facilitate communication in a workplace, but the use of such tools is tricky for governing bodies whose meetings must be open to the public and whose communications should be easily searchable if a public records request arises.

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Data as Records: PRA Disclosure of Database Information

November 13, 2022  by  Sarah Doar
Category:  Public Records Act

Fulfilling a public records request that seeks information contained in a database can be challenging. Local government staff must understand they have an obligation to produce data within a database but must come up with a practical method to do so. 

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2022 Court Legislation Impacting Local Governments

September 19, 2022  by  Sarah Doar
Category:  Courts and Criminal Justice System ,  New Legislation and Regulations

A few bills from the 2022 Regular Legislative Session deal with courts in a manner that will impact local governments, including giving courts more flexibility to not impose certain legal financial obligations or to waive those obligations.  

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Responding to Sea Level Rise: A Multijurisdictional Approach to Protecting Downtown Olympia

August 8, 2022  by  Sarah Doar
Category:  Climate Change ,  Interlocal Cooperation

With a history of flooding and concerns about sea level rise due to climate change, Olympia has teamed up with other jurisdictions to address this potential challenge and safeguard vital services.

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2022 Legislative Updates to Personnel Laws — Salary and Leave

June 27, 2022  by  Sarah Doar
Category:  Compensation ,  Leave Policies ,  New Legislation and Regulations

New legislation requires many employers to include wage and benefit information in all job postings and makes changes to the state's Paid Family and Medical Leave program.

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Resolving Financial Conflicts of Interest: Is Abstaining from Voting Enough?

February 22, 2022  by  Sarah Doar
Category:  Ethics and Conflicts of Interest

When a governing body votes on contracts, it's important that the individual members not have a conflict of interest in it being awarded to a specific firm. Is it enough for an individual to abstain from voting or should the governing body avoid any chance a conflict may arise?

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