Originally Posted By: Carcassman
They are citizens, as you vote, of the United States. WA open meetings laws do not cover meetings in other states, and the Reservations are not under WA law.

An intersting question for a legal mind to ponder is if the Tribes are US citizens but, as Lorraine says, not subject to WA law then why can they vote in WA elections?

The Tribes are taking a stand that they are going into these meetings as a Sovereign Government, and as such, are not required to adhere to Washington State Law. In other words, they have no legal obligation to have the public attend "their" meetings. The question for the courts is, can a State agency ignore the OPMA (open public meeting act) because it is in negotiations with a "sovereign government"?

More on point, is that the Tribes have the State by the nut sack! Because the tribes can get their permits "Fast Tracked" in a matter of weeks, they have nothing to lose in walking out of negotiations at the NOF. Their "test case" was the Coho fishery last season and it went off very well in their favor!

The State (us) on the other hand cannot get permits through NOAA on our own in a time frame that would allow us to fish.

So, the tribes have the trump card! And I suspect this is why the Tribes and WDFW are fighting to keep these meetings closed. Because the State has capitulated so much over to the tribes under threat of them walking out, that they are now afraid to let the public know what is really going on. They (WDFW) are just hoping that the tribes will back off and the WDFW can try and sugar coat everything to make it look like it's all holding hands and singing Kumbaya like the've been doing for years.
Problem is, they tribes have an agenda, and it doesn't include backing off...


Edited by Bay wolf (12/29/16 10:37 AM)
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