From the Seattle PI:

The Washington State Supreme Court, in an expansive opinion, ruled Thursday that ports and public agencies cannot use an exemption in the state’s Open Public Meetings Act for closed-door deal making where the public has a major interest.

The justices ruled in favor of environmental groups, which challenged the Port of Vancouver, Washington, over five closed-door meetings held when it was negotiating a lease for Tesoro’s planned oil-by-rail terminal along the Columbia River.

In a unanimous opinion written by Justice Charlie Wiggins, the high court ruled:

“The Open Public Meetings Act is crystal clear in its response to such arguments: ‘The people do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know.'”

More at the Seattle PI