When A Meeting Is Public
RCW 42.30.030 — open to all, no secret ballot, and a personal penalty for members
In Washington, all meetings of the governing body of a public agency are open and public, and all persons are permitted to attend any of them, except as the chapter otherwise provides. Agencies are encouraged to add ways for the public to observe and take part remotely at no extra cost.
An action taken out of the open is null and void. A governing body adopts an ordinance, resolution, rule, regulation, order or directive only in a meeting open to the public, held on a date fixed by law or rule or with notice given under the chapter. Any action taken at a meeting that fails that test is null and void. No vote at a meeting required to be open may be by secret ballot, and a vote taken that way is also null and void.
| Who | What the chapter provides |
|---|---|
| WhoA member who knowingly attends a meeting where action is taken in violation | What the chapter providesA civil penalty of five hundred dollars for the first violation |
| WhoA member already assessed that penalty in a final judgment | What the chapter providesA civil penalty of one thousand dollars for any later violation |
| WhoAny person who prevails against the agency in court | What the chapter providesAll costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees |
| WhoAn agency that prevails against a frivolous action | What the chapter providesMay be awarded reasonable expenses and attorney fees, on written findings |
The civil penalty is assessed by a superior court judge, and any person may bring the action to enforce it. A violation of the chapter is not a crime, and the penalty carries no disability that follows a criminal conviction.
The purposes for which an executive session may be held, the notice rules for special meetings, and the time limits for bringing an action are in other sections of the chapter and are not reproduced here. Whether a particular gathering was a meeting of a governing body is a question for a court and for a licensed Washington attorney.
Sources for this section (3)
- RCW 42.30.030 — Meetings declared open and public
- RCW 42.30.060 — Ordinances, rules, resolutions adopted at public meetings; secret voting prohibited
- RCW 42.30.120 — Violations; personal liability; civil penalty; attorneys fees
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Washington attorney.