Nixon Drafted for State Records Portal Study

WashCOG will have eyes and voice in a records access study authorized by recent legislation, which seeks to consider a website “portal” for public records management by Washington agencies.

WashCOG president Toby Nixon was invited by the state archivist, which is charged with overseeing this project, to serve on the stakeholder advisory group on the Portal Study that was authorized in HB 1594, approved during the last legislative session. Other members include legislators and public records officers.

The legislation is intended to improve public records administration and share resources with local agencies. The state archivist is charged with training public records officers and conducting a feasibility study for the proposed portal. The attorney general’s office is to develop a consulting program to help local agencies with best practices for managing records requests.

Nixon, who is also a Kirkland city councilmember, would be one of three community representatives on the Portal Study Stakeholder Advisory Group.