PRA Boot Camp for public records officers

EDC, SJC PA’s office and SJCPHD1 host AG’s office for Public Records Act Workshop & Training in March.

The EDC, in partnership with the San Juan County Prosecuting Attorney’s office and the San Juan County Public Hospital District No. 1, will host the Washington State Attorney General’s office for two events on the Public Records Act in March, including a general information Public Records Act Workshop and a two-day PRA Boot Camp for agency Public Records Officers.

Morgan Damerow, the Open Government Ombuds and Local Government PRA Consultant, Office of the Attorney General, and Lucy Collis, Local Government PRA Consultant and certified PRO, Office of the Attorney General, will lead the workshops.

PRA Events

Public Records Act Workshop – Building a strong PRA foundation for agencies and requesters

The Public Records Act (PRA) is a significant tool in open government. It requires that agencies make public records available to requesters with narrow exemptions. The PRA does not have secret rules. It works best with a shared understanding of its requirements. In this workshop, we will discuss the PRA’s expectations on agencies in responding to requests for records and on requesters obtaining records. Some of the topics we’ll cover include what is a public record, how to request a record, agency records searches, sensitive information in records and exemptions allowing information to be withheld.

• Date: March 20, 2023, 2:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
• Location: San Juan Island Grange, 152 First Street N, Friday Harbor, WA 98250
• Who should attend? Members of the public, elected officials, agency leaders and staff, Public Records Officers, and members of the media.
• Presenter: Morgan Damerow, Open Government Ombuds and Local Government PRA Consultant, Office of the Attorney General
• How to participate: No registration required
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If you are an agency Public Records Officer with less than two years’ experience, or with an agency that does not receive many records requests, Morgan will also be hosting a PRA Boot Camp providing an in-depth training on the PRA response process. This will be in Friday Harbor on March 21 (full day) and March 22 (half day). For more information, please contact Morgan by at PRAConsultation@atg.wa.gov or by phone at (360) 570-3418.

The PRA Boot Camp is a one and a half day in person training for new, and nearly new, Public Records Officers or employees who play a key role in an agency’s response to Public Records Requests. Over the day and a half, we cover the whole process of responding to Public Records Requests with in-depth sessions on each of the essential parts new PROs will need to know. The sessions are designed to be interactive with group discussion and practice exercises.

Date: March 21, 2023, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., March 22, 2023, 9:00 a.m. – Noon.

Location: San Juan County Public Hospital District No. 1, Training Room, 535 Market Street, Friday Harbor, WA 98250. Who should attend? Agency Public Records Officers with less than two years’ experience or with an agency that does not receive many records requests.

Economic Development Council of San Juan County. 849 Spring St, PO Box 3053 ∙ Friday Harbor, WA 98250 ∙ (360) 378-2906 ∙ info@sanjuansedc.org ∙ www.sanjuansedc.org

Presenters: Morgan Damerow, Open Government Ombuds and Local Government PRA Consultant, Office of the Attorney General; Lucy Collis, Local Government PRA Consultant and certified PRO, Office of the Attorney General.