Greeting WAPRO Community,
As you know, we are facing an unprecedented public health crisis in our state and world. Your health and safety is a priority and
after thoughtful consideration we have decided to cancel the 2020 Spring Training Conference
.
- See Nancy Krier's, Assistant Attorney General for Open Government, Governor's Proclamation information here.
We look forward to seeing you at our 2020 Fall Conference. Our 2020 Fall Conference, celebrating WAPRO's 10th Anniversary, is scheduled for Thursday, October 15, 2020 in Tacoma, WA. Please mark your calendars, we can't wait to see you there!
We are sharing this helpful information as awareness as we navigate the COVID-19 impacts. Please consult with your legal counsel for further guidance.
- We have been getting questions as to how we should respond to PDRs in light of the current situation with COVID. It is important to remember the agencies obligations under the PRA remain the same.
- If you need to extend a deadline because you cannot access records or subject matter experts either because you or others in your department are either not present or are tied up with COVID response work, then you can do so. You will need to keep all requesters informed of any deadline changes. Unreasonable delay is still a violation of the PRA.
- As always, the PRA does not require an agency to stop doing its other work to respond to requests. Access to agency records, such as paper records might be limited during this period. Response time estimates should take this into account. There is not a blanket extension on deadlines. The reasonable estimate on how long it will take to respond to a request should be made based on the nature of that specific request.
- If a PDO will be out of work due to a protracted illness or that of a family member, and unavailable to communicate 5-day letters and deadlines to requesters, a back-up PDO should be assigned to do so.
Helpful links regarding COVID-19:
As always, we are here to support our members. Please reach out to
office@wa-pro.org if you have any questions or need assistance.
Take good care of yourselves & be well-
WAPRO
