The Washington Senate passed HB 1105 on Wednesday with a striking amendment. Under the amended version of the bill, when a public agency is required to solicit public comment for a statutorily specific period of time and to provide notice about the public comment, the agency must include the beginning and end date and time for the public comment period in the notice.

Local governments that fail to do so would be subject to the same penalties as OPMA violations—a potential personal liability of $500 for the first violation and $1,000 for subsequent violations.

The bill now awaits concurrence in the House.

House considering additional requirements for public comment periods again this year

January 26, 2024

HB 1105, sponsored by Rep. Shelley Kloba (D–Kirkland), adds additional requirements to public comment periods and is scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate State Government & Elections Committee. The bill was originally introduced in the 2023 session and passed out of the House with amendments that were developed with input from AWC. The Senate failed to pass the bill before cutoff, but the House resurrected HB 1105 earlier this session.

Under this bill, when a public agency is required to hold a public comment for a statutorily specific period of time, and to provide notice about the public comment, the agency must include the end date for the public comment period in the notice. For example, if a statute says that the public comment period must be 30 days, then the agency that posts the notice would have to specifically note the last day of the 30 days (i.e., including in the notice that the public comment period begins on January 2 and ends on January 31). Local governments that do not provide the notice specifying the last date for public comment would be subject to a civil penalty of $500 for the first violation and $1000 for any subsequent violations.

AWC is neutral on the amended version of the bill.

Dates to remember

HB 1105 is scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate State Government & Elections Committee on January 30 at 1:30 pm.