As port attorneys, we spend a lot of our time advising port staff and commissions on ways to mitigate legal risks and avoid lawsuits and the courtroom.

From time to time, the Washington State Auditor’s Office (“SAO”) has issued findings or management letters for how ports and other agencies have procured services.

Recently, a port asked me if there was a clear way to explain the Washington public port’s statutory charge to perform economic development.

Knowing the Waters has covered social media in prior columns, including back in 2024, following two United States Supreme Court decisions addressing government employees and elected officials use of social media and when the use of personal pages crosses the line into a public forum subject to constitutional limitations.

Governments in Washington have the power to join together to conduct joint activities through interlocal agreements authorized in Chapter 39.34 RCW.

This month’s column discusses effective strategies for conducting commission meetings—a continuation of the theme from the last few columns, which have focused on topics of interest to newly elected commissioners.

This month’s column revisits a reoccurring conversation regarding a port commission’s delegation of authority resolution. Several newly elected commissioners recently began their terms, and many ports are in the process of reviewing, updating, and reauthorizing their delegation of powers resolutions (as was recommended in last month’s column).