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SECTION IV - Commissioner Meetings and the Open Public Meetings Act

Compiled from the PHD Legal Manual, Chapter Five

As a public entities, hospital districts are subject to state laws mandating public meetings and accessible records. The meetings and records requirements for public hospital districts are substantially the same requirements that govern all local governments in Washington State. Of the two issues, the meetings requirements are probably the one that affect commissioners most directly. This chapter provides the commissioner with a comprehensive publication on open public meetings entitled the Attorney General of Washington’s Open Records & Open Meetings Desk Book. The Desk Book also contains information on public records. (See the Public Hospital District Legal Manual for additional information on public records requirements.)

Updated versions of the Attorney General’s Office Hand Book can be found at:

• http://www.wa.gov/ago/records/

Executive Sessions for PHDs
The publication contained in this section of the legal manual includes nearly all the information hospital districts require about the Open Public Meetings Act and the Public Records Act. However, there are a couple of hospital district specific issues that must be mentioned in this context.

First, hospital districts (unlike other local governments) enjoy an additional exemption to the open meetings requirement. Hospital districts may convene an executive session when dealing with certain issues related to clinical privileges. RCW 70.44.062 states:

All meetings, proceedings, and deliberations of the board of commissioners, its staff or agents, concerning the granting, denial, revocation, restriction, or other consideration of the status of the clinical or staff privileges of a physician or other health care provider as that term is defined in RCW 7.70.020, if such other providers at the discretion of the district’s commissioners are considered for such privileges, shall be confidential and may be conducted in executive session: PROVIDED, That the final action of the board as to the denial revocation or restriction of clinical or staff privileges of a physician or other health care provider as defined in RCW 7.70.020 shall be done in public session.

Minutes
The state law on minutes is not part of the Open Public Meetings Act. Rather, it is set forth in RCW 42.32.030. Under that statute, minutes of regular and special meetings must be promptly recorded and open to public inspection. Minutes of executive sessions are not required.

Written or taped minutes are public records and, therefore, must be made available for inspection under the Public Records Act [Chapter 42.17 RCW]. Minutes, or portions thereof, may be exempt from disclosure only if they fall within one of the exemptions to the Public Records Act [See Chapter 42.17 RCW]. Consequently, it is possible for a governing body to properly close a meeting under the executive session exemptions but have to release any recorded minutes because they do not fall within an exemption to the Public Records Act.