The Washington State Archives has announced a series of open government training workshops throughout Washington in March in support of a state law that was introduced by the Washington State Attorney General‘s Office and passed in 2014.

The Open Government Trainings Act requires training for public officials, public disclosure officers and state-appointed records officers.

The free workshops, presented jointly by the State Archives and the Office of the Attorney General, provide an overview of the rules and requirements of records retention and management, open public meetings, and the state Public Records Act.

“If you‘re an elected official or state or local government employee who deals with public records, you should attend one of these workshops so you get up to speed on the latest rules and requirements dealing with such records,” said State Archivist Steve Excell.

“Open government is vital to a free and informed society,” said Attorney General Bob Ferguson.“The Open Government Trainings Act provides transparency and ensures that public officials know and understand our state‘s public disclosure laws which were overwhelmingly approved by the voters.”

The workshops cover best practices, tips, strategies and updates to recent court cases and legislation. The presentations are geared toward elected and appointed officials, members of governing bodies, public records officers, and other local and state agency employees who work with records retention and disclosure. Participation in this event satisfies the requirements of the Open Government Trainings Act.

Training sessions are being held on the following dates in the following cities:

March 18, Bellingham:

Open Public Meetings & Public Disclosure Highlights, 1-2 p.m.; Public Records and Retention, 2-3 p.m.; Open Public Meetings & Public Disclosure Highlights, 4-5 p.m., Whatcom County Council Chambers, 311 Grand Ave.

March 24, Yakima:

Open Government Training, 9-11 a.m., Special Operations Training Room, 207 South Third St.

March 24, Ellensburg:

Open Government Training, 1:30-3:30 p.m., Kittitas County Fairgrounds, Manastash Room (underneath grandstands, south side of Rodeo Arena).

March 25, Clarkston:

Open Government Training, 9-11 a.m. or 1-3 p.m., Asotin County PUD Conference Room, 1500 Scenic Way.

March 26, Spokane:

Open Government Training, 9-11 a.m., Enduris Training Facility, 1610 S. Technology Blvd.

People can register for any of these training sessions through the Records Management Training Calendar page, located at http://1.usa.gov/1K9SMD6. People are encouraged to check the training calendar for future workshops.

The Open Government Training workshop in Tumwater March 17 is now full, according to the State Archives‘ Records Management staff.

For more information about the training sessions, contact the Records Management staff at recordsmanagement@sos.wa.gov .

For more information on the Open Government Trainings Act, visit the Attorney General‘s website here: http://www.atg.wa.gov/open-government-training.