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Bill would extend grievance window for executive-session records from 30 to 90 days, sponsor says
Summary
House Bill 3638 would allow a person to file a written grievance within 90 days after an executive-session record becomes public for alleged violations of public meetings law covering executive sessions. Sponsor said change closes a loophole created by a prior 30-day deadline.
Representative Jeff Helfrich told the Senate Rules Committee June 20 that House Bill 3638 would allow members of the public up to 90 days after an executive-session record is published to file a written grievance alleging violations of public meetings law.
Helfrich said a previous change shortened grievance windows to 30 days but that treating executive-session records the same as open-record timelines undermined accountability because those records sometimes remain confidential for longer than 30 days. “This ensures accountability without burdening our agencies,” Helfrich said of the dash-2 amendment that he described as the negotiated solution.
Leslie (committee staff) summarized that the bill “allows a person to file a written grievance with the public body within 90 days of a record of the alleged violation becoming available to the public” when the grievance concerns executive-session rules. Helfrich said the proposal emerged from stakeholder discussions and that the House Rules Committee unanimously adopted the dash-2 amendment.
A letter from the Special Districts Association was noted in the hearing record; Helfrich said there was no opposition to the dash-2 amendment as it moved through House Rules. No committee vote was recorded at the hearing.
