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Washington Coalition for Open Government

@WashingtonCOG

WashCOG is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit advocate for the people’s right to know what their government is doing.

 Washington State
washingtoncog.org
Joined March 2013
  • Tweets24.1K
  • Following2.4K
  • Followers3.3K
You can also follow WashCOG on: ➡️ Facebook at facebook.com/washingtoncog/ ➡️ Threads at @waopengov ➡️ Instagram at waopengov ➡️ Mastodon at @[email protected] ➡️ And especially our website at washcog.org

Washington Coalition for Open Government | Redmond WA

Washington Coalition for Open Government, Redmond. 2,422 followers · 377 talking about this. WashCOG is an independent, nonpartisan and nonprofit advocate of open government and informed citizens....

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WashCOG applauds the Secretary of State's guidelines for public records request processing. washcog.org/in-the-news/wash…
WashCOG welcomes updated model rules for public records law

WashCOG welcomes updated model rules for public records law

The Washington state Attorney General’s Office has filed revised model rules for the PRA, requiring “prompt” responses to records requests and reminding officials have a duty to preserve and not...

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Here's what's new with WashCOG -- Check out our fall newsletter with updates on Key Award honorees and strategy to fight legislative secrecy. washcog.org/in-the-news/wash…
WashCOG newsletter: Ramping up the fight against legislative secrecy; applauding access efforts

WashCOG newsletter: Ramping up the fight against legislative secrecy; applauding access efforts

WashCOG’s fall newsletter shares our plans for the 2027 legislative session, recognition of transparency warriors and the latest on legislative secrecy.

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Range Media of Spokane earned WashCOG's recognition with a Key Award for its extensive investigative series of Flock cameras. washcog.org/in-the-news/rang…
Range Media earns Key Award for Flock camera scrutiny

Range Media earns Key Award for Flock camera scrutiny

Range Media of Spokane was recognized recently with a Key Award for its investigative series about the increasing use of Flock Safety license plate cameras and the use of the surveillance tool.

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Breaking news: The WashCOG/Nixon legal challenge of so-called "legislative secrecy" will be heard by the State Supreme Court this term! washcog.org/in-the-news/stat…
State Supreme Court to review Legislative secrecy case

State Supreme Court to review Legislative secrecy case

A challenge to the legality of “legislative privilege,” which some lawmakers say allows them to withhold materials from the public, will be heard by the Washington State Supreme Court this term.

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Jamie Nixon shares an analysis -- with documents -- about his efforts to hold the state accountable for its use of Teams chats and other easily disposable public records. washcog.org/in-the-news/stat…
State review of chat deletions policy has taken place — quietly

State review of chat deletions policy has taken place — quietly

Gov. Bob Ferguson issued an early order prohibiting automatic deletion of Microsoft Teams chats and other messaging by state employees, but we’ve heard very little about what happened next. Here are...

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Congratulations to Joe Kunzler for recognition of his access activism with a WashCOG Key Award! washcog.org/in-the-news/kunz…
Kunzler receives Key Award for access activism

Kunzler receives Key Award for access activism

Joe Kunzler of Sedro-Woolley received a Key Award to honor his work advocating for government transparency and access.

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WashCOG recognizes the exposure of "spiking" in Seattle -- boosting pensions at taxpayer expense. Manuel Villa of The Seattle Times gets a Key Award for his work. @seattletimes washcog.org/in-the-news/key-…
Investigation shows overtime raises pensions (and taxpayer costs) for police, firefighters

Investigation shows overtime raises pensions (and taxpayer costs) for police, firefighters

Seattle Times reporter Manuel Villa was honored with a Key Award for his deep dive into overtime “spiking,” which helped raise retirement pensions for some city employees.

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Check out WashCOG's review of stragglers and stalwart agencies handling public records requests! washcog.org/in-the-news/winn…
WashCOG identifies Winners and Sinners in records responses

WashCOG identifies Winners and Sinners in records responses

Now we know which Washington agencies are speediest and which are slowpokes in fulfilling public records requests, based on our analysis of data filed with a state legislative committee for 2020 to...

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WashCOG is taking its fight against legislative "privilege" to the next level, seeking review from the state supreme court. washcog.org/in-the-news/supr…
WashCOG, Nixon ask Supreme Court to review secrecy ruling

WashCOG, Nixon ask Supreme Court to review secrecy ruling

Co-plaintiffs WashCOG and Jaime Nixon have asked the state Supreme Court to review a recent appellate court ruling that the state Legislature has a “privilege” to withhold internal legislative...

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Americans overwhelmingly support their right to access government information, a Sunshine Week poll reveals. What's more, the expectation spans political affiliation. washcog.org/in-the-news/amer…
Americans want access, national poll shows

Americans want access, national poll shows

Americans overwhelmingly support access to public information, according to a national survey released during Sunshine Week by the University of Florida. The support spanned the political spectrum..

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Check out some of the efforts to shine the light on access issues during Sunshine Week! washcog.org/in-the-news/suns…
Sunshine Week 2026 shines new light on access issues

Sunshine Week 2026 shines new light on access issues

Every year, Sunshine Week promotes awareness of access issues. Check out some of the coverage, discussions and alerts about state and federal sunshine laws.

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Washington's 2026 legislative session adjourned sine die -- and here's how WashCOG and our fellow access advocates think it went. washcog.org/in-the-news/2026…
2026 Legislative session ends: Here’s the scorecard

2026 Legislative session ends: Here’s the scorecard

As the 2026 legislative session ends, WashCOG and its access allies count the successes and ongoing challenges to government transparency addressed (or not!) this year — plus a few bills on the...

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WashCOG honored transparency warriors at a packed Sunshine Breakfast to launch Sunshine Week. Check out our gallery. washcog.org/sunshine-breakfa…
Sunshine Breakfast | Washington Coalition for Open Government

Sunshine Breakfast | Washington Coalition for Open Government

The Washington Coalition for Open Government's annual Sunshine Breakfast is an opportunity to honor those who have worked for access and transparency inn government, and assess our challenges...

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Government transparency lost another round in WashCOG's legal challenge of "legislative privilege." Stay tuned. washcog.org/in-the-news/appe…
WashCOG responds to Court of Appeals ruling on ‘legislative privilege’

WashCOG responds to Court of Appeals ruling on ‘legislative privilege’

WashCOG responds to disappointing appeals court ruling on “legislative privilege,” supporting legislators who wish to withhold records from oversight.

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Join us for our sunshine breakfast, March 13! washcog.org/in-the-news/2025…
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Another crusader for sunlight in government will be honored at our Sunshine Breakfast March 13! washcog.org/in-the-news/2025…
InvestigateWest to receive Nixon Award for holding power to account

InvestigateWest to receive Nixon Award for holding power to account

The nonprofit newsroom InvestigateWest will be honored with the Toby Nixon Award at this year’s Sunshine Breakfast, recognizing its longstanding commitment to civic accountability.

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Here's another honoree for the upcoming Sunshine Breakfast! Check out details on washcog.org. washcog.org/in-the-news/bunt…
WashCOG - Washington Coalition for Open Government

WashCOG - Washington Coalition for Open Government

The Washington Coalition for Open Government is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit advocate for government transparency & accountability in Washington state

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Transparency takes another hit in Washington -- But we're not through fighting! washcog.org/in-the-news/appe…

Appeals Court rejects challenge to state auto-deleting chats

The Washington state Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit that challenged the state’s automatic destruction of agency text messages after seven days.

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Hear author Miranda Spivack at our annual Sunshine Breakfast! washcog.org/in-the-news/suns…
Sunshine Breakfast features author of access stories

Sunshine Breakfast features author of access stories

Tickets are now available for WashCOG’s 2026 Sunshi ne Breakfast on March 13, which features awards for transparency warriors and a presentation by Miranda Spivack, author of “Backroom Deals in Our...

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Please tell a state legislative committee *now* that we don't want to water down the Public Records Act. Get details here -- we're on deadline! washcog.org/in-the-news/wash…
WashCOG seeks help squashing bill that threatens Public Records Act

WashCOG seeks help squashing bill that threatens Public Records Act

WashCOG urges supporters of the Public Records Act to log on and oppose pending legislation that would water down our state transparency law.

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