ESB 5964 the Open Government Trainings Act, was passed by the Legislature on March 2014 and the Governor signed it on March 27, 2014 and went into effective July 1, 2014. The bill was introduced at the request of the Washington State Attorney General with bipartisan support.

The Act is designed to foster open government by making open government education a recognized obligation of public service. The Act is also designed to reduce liability by educating agency officials and staff on the laws that govern them, in order to achieve greater compliance with those laws. Thus, the Act is a risk management requirement for public agencies.

The Act provides for open public meetings and records trainings. In sum, the Act is intended to improve trust in government and at the same time help prevent costly lawsuits to government agencies.

http://www.atg.wa.gov/OpenGovernmentTraining.aspx