This page provides answers to some of the common and frequently asked questions we have received regarding holding executive sessions as allowed by the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) in Washington State.
It is part of MRSC's series on the Open Public Meetings Act.
OPMA legislation and proclamations: There are several new changes related to the Open Public Meetings Act taking effect in 2022:
- HB 1329, with effective dates in March and June 2022, makes several changes regarding the location of meetings, remote attendance, public comment, posting of notices, and more. For details, see our blog posts The OPMA Gets and Update from the Legislature and HB 1329: Answers to Your OPMA Questions.
- Effective June 1, 2022, Proclamation 20-28 et seq. regarding public meetings during COVID-19 has been rescinded. For details, see our blog post OPMA/PRA Emergency Proclamation Will Expire June 1.
- Effective June 9, 2022, HB 1630 prohibits any person to knowingly open carry a firearm or other weapon, while knowingly being in city, town, county, or other municipal buildings used in connection with meetings of the agency's governing body, or any other location of a public meeting or public hearing of the governing body, during the hearing or meeting. Local agencies must post signs providing notice of these restrictions.
We will be updating our website soon to reflect these changes.