Open Government Data. An analysis of the potential impacts of an Open Data law for Washington State

Abstract

Open data is a growing movement that encourages Governments to open up as many of their data sets as possible, making it freely available and machine-readable, in order to promote and facilitate Governmental transparency and accountability, increased civic engagement and economic growth. The purpose of this study is to perform a policy analysis on the possible implications of a proposed open data law for Washington State. Such a bill was submitted to the Washington State Legislature (House Bill 2202) in the 2013-2014 biennial legislative session, but failed to become law and was not resubmitted in the 2015-2016 biennial legislative session. To perform the analysis, existing data from the HB 2202 bill proposal was examined, including written and verbal testimony by key supporters and opponents of an open data law for Washington State. Secondary data regarding the implementation of open Data laws in other US States was gathered, including supplemental data on their outcomes to date where available. The research findings highlight potential impacts of open data laws in key sectors such as economic, legal and political, civic engagement, and technology and research. Finally, recommendations were provided regarding amendments that could be added to any future version of such an open data bill which could aid with the successful passing and implementation of an open data law for Washington State.